This may sound prosaic, but my blog is motivating me to write more. I ‘m enjoying it. And I’m not the only one. Some claim as many as 50 million blogs worldwide (a guess plus a few assumptions), a number that’s been doubling in size every 5 months. A more reliable estimate is for 10 million in the US. We’ll see about the growth rate. But as a share of 285 million Americans, that’s just 2.8%. Of Adults 18-49, the age cohort judged most likely to post, just 6%. Is this a revolution?
Now, its fair to assume that not all blogs are individual endeavors. The Applied Improvisation Network blog has a a dozen active writers. On the other hand, by some estimates, as few as 1 in 5 blogspaces are updated in a given 30 day cycle. And amidst it all, its impossible to know how much of this growth is business blogs.
Interesting to me is the activity of creation that steals share directly from passive consumption of any medium. Active media means making something, possibly with others, and the trend is growing — driven by education, access to tools, and a desire to connect.
What does "consumer" or "target" mean in this creative state of mind? The activity of creation creates/requires a radically different psychological space than the psychology of passive television consumption. Perhaps "marketing" needs some new ideas about how audiences/users "learn about a brand" while active and creating?
Passive media will always exist. But active media seem to growing. Do we count online/multi-player games as active, but single-player videogames only "interactive"? Where’s the line here? There isn’t one, and maybe won’t be. But there are opportunitites out there for media companies, content providers, and marketers to provide more user-directed or user-created media.
In a media world where "relevance" is the currency, targeting is good, permissions (including interactive) are better, and active will be a home run.