Thursday, September 22, 2005

Blogging: Most Blogs Are Therapeutic?

I posted this earlier today on Slashdot, but thought others might like to read it. I think the poll data from the link is accurate for AOL but not accurate for the blog sea as a whole, my own "therapeutic" blog notwithstanding.

First, I should disclose that my blog, The Splintered Mind, deals with personal issues and is often a form of therapy, though I like to believe that others may find the entries entertaining, useful, and sometimes even funny (even if unintentionally). Certainly the comments I receive from time to time reflect that.

That being said, I don't know how applicable the results of this poll are to blogging in general. I read an awful lot of political and technology blogs and not a single one of them is on AOL. In fact, considering that the poll was conducted for AOL on AOL from AOL users, are we surprised that the majority of AOL "bloggers" blog about anything, read other blogs for entertainment, and don't rate politics or technology high in their answers?

I take issue with the poll participants being referred to as "US Bloggers" and not "AOL Bloggers". I don't believe the poll results represent the blogging mainstream at all. In fact, wouldn't the results differ depending on which blogging service was being polled? Wouldn't we see results like

Subjects that LiveJournal Bloggers write about:
Sexual Fantasies 55%                         
Creative Piercings 31%          
Role Playing 15%


or

Subjects that Blogger Bloggers write about:
Spam 65%                                                       
Cats 23%                              
Auto Insurance 9%


OK, I'm kidding. But the pollsters are quite arrogant to declare their results speak for all bloggers in the United States of America.