Blog

A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order.

The Wikipedia has an excellent overview article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

The P2P Foundation's blog is at http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

We monitor developments in the Blogosphere, the interconnected universe of blogs, through a delicious tag at http://del.icio.us/mbauwens/Blogosphere

Some recent blogging statistics

From http://i-wisdom.typepad.com/iwisdom/2006/11/blogs_as_a_trus.html :

European usage, 2007:

"- Blogs are now a near second to newspapers as the most trusted information source: A quarter (24%) of Europeans consider blogs a trusted source of information, still behind newspaper articles (30%), but ahead of television advertising (17%) and email marketing (14%).

- High spenders are most trusting of blogs: Of those who spend more than 145€ (£100) online every month, the proportion of people who trust blogs rises to 30%.

- France leads European blogging; Britain lags: Across Europe, six out of ten (61%) internet users have heard of blogging, and one in six (17%), have read a blog. France is the most blog-savvy country in Europe, with 90% of respondents familiar with blogs. The British are the least blog-aware, with only 50% having heard the term. In Germany, 55% have heard of blogs, 58% in Italy and 51% in Spain.

- Blogs are now driving purchase decisions: More than half (52%) of Europeans polled said that they were more likely to purchase a product if they had read positive comments from private individuals on the internet.

- They also block purchases: Nearly 40 million Europeans have not bought something after reading comments posted online."