• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, May 9, 2008

A recent release of a new social media benchmark study of more than 6,000 women by BlogHer, in conjunction with Compass Partners, shows that 36.2 million women actively participate in the blogsophere every week, with 15.1 million publishing and 21.1 million reading and commenting.

68% of this BlogHer community is concentrated in the 25 to 41 age group (the GenXr's), compared to 42% for the general blogging population. Together, the Millienials and the Matures account for only about 10% of this community. Two thirds have completed college, and 46% earn over $75,000 compared to only 25% of the general community.

The blogging rates are highest among Millennials and GenX "digital natives," says the report, and Online media participation rates decline with increasing age.

Additional highlights from the study:

Women are so passionate about blogging, says the report, that large percentages said they would give something up to keep the blogs they read and/or write:

• 55% would give up alcohol
• 50% would give up their PDAs
• 42% would give up their i-Pod
• 43% would give up reading the newspaper or magazines
• only 20% would give up chocolate

Time shift from traditional media is accelerating in the general Internet population:

• 24% of women surveyed watch less television because of blogging
• 25% read fewer magazines because they are blogging
• 22% read fewer newspapers because they're blogging

In addition:

• More than half of women surveyed consider blogs a reliable source of advice and information
• Half of women surveyed say blogs influence their purchase decisions

For more information, please visit BlohHer/CompassPartners here.

ERRATA:

Apparently some original data provided in a Research Brief posted on April 25, 2008, "Who's Watching What Video Online, And Where" included some incorrect information. The two corrected tables are included here for our reader's information.