• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 21, 2009

According to The 2009 Women in Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners, 64% of women are nearly twice as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of information, 43% for advice and recommendations and 55% for opinion-sharing, while they 75% are 50 percent more likely to turn to social networking sites as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family.

Since the release of last year's Benchmark Study, women are turning in even greater numbers to blogs (55%), social networks (75%) and online status updating (20%) as primary sources of community interaction, entertainment and information.

Participation by Active US Women in Social Media (Millions)
Age Group	MM Online	MM Participate in Social Media
Millenials (18-26)	13.3	9.7
GenX (27-43)	25.0	15.4
Boomers (44-62)	28.9	13.3
Matures (63-77)	11.9	3.6
Source: Compass Partners, May 2009

Of the 42 million women engaged in social media weekly:

• 55% of women participate in some form of blogging activity
• 75% participate in social networks such as Facebook or MySpace
• 20% use Twitter
• 45% of survey respondents decided to purchase an item after reading about it on a blog

Susan Wright, President of Compass Partners LLC., says "Bloggers have a broad reach in the social media population... women who blog are the most actively engaged social media participants.. seeking out new ideas and ways to share their opinions... "

As a result of this increased activity, the 2009 study found that women online are now more than ever before spending less time engaging in traditional media activities like:

• Reading the newspaper (39%)
• Reading magazines (36%)
• Listening to the radio (31%)
• Watching TV (30%)
• Talking on the phone (28%)
• Meeting in person            (19%)

The demographic profile of social media users and blog participants in the general population provides a targeting clue:

Demographic Profile (% of General Population)
Demographic	Any Social Media User	Publish or Post a Blog
Married/Living together	60%	57%
Number in HH (actual number)	3.1	3.2
Children at home	44	51
Employed full time	27	27
Education
High school or less	23	21
Tech or trade school graduate	6	6
Some college/university	22	21
College/university grad	22	21
Post grad work	4	4
Master/doctorate degree	7	6
Income ($)
< $25,000	23	24
25-34.9	15	17
35-49.9	20	18
50-74.9	20	21
75-99.9	11	9
100-124.9	6	6
> 125	5	5
Source: Source: Compass Partners, May 2009

 Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer co-founder and COO, says "... when the economy is top of mind for more than 70 percent of these active social media participants...  women are turning to online resources, including blogs, to help them make their day to day purchasing decisions."

Sources Relied On For Topics of Interest (% who rely on source; multiple response OK)
Topic	Blogs	Social Networks	Index
Politics and News	59.5%	37.3%	160
Technology/Gadgets	61.0	39.0	156
Cars	41.3	26.8	154
Business/Career/Personal Finance	52.7	35.6	148
Green	57.1	39.5	145
Health/Wellness	46.3	33.6	138
Pregnancy/Baby	55.2	43.1	128
Arts and Crafts	48.6	38.6	126
Home & Garden	46.4	37.0	125
Food	44.4	39.4	113
Travel	53.4	47.7	112
Parenting	49.4	46.1	107
Sports	46.3	43.8	106
Social activism	65.2	61.4	106
Recipes/Cooking	44.4	42.1	105
Fashion/Beauty/Shopping	44.1	46.4	95
Entertainment (Movies/TV/Music/Books)	48.2	56.1	86
Shopping	39.5	49.9	79
Sex/Relationships/Dating	45.5	59.0	77
Source: Source: Compass Partners, May 2009 (Index compares blogs as source vs. social networks as source)

The Executive Summary (PDF format) of the 2009 Women in Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners can be found here: