How many people publish, read or contribute to blogs? 2.0

Yesterday, while I was updating a previous post on blog usages as new results had been published by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, I recalled an International Herald Tribune article I came across at the end of last year: Souped-up blog takes South Korea by storm; which takes blog usage into a completely new dimension. By the way, this article has been picked up by a number of blogs, but I don't think the significance of the phenomenon it decribes has been valued correctly.

According to the latest Pew survey on the topic, end of 2004 there were 8 M US blog publishers, corresponding to about 7% of Internet users in the U.S. At the same time, in South Korea, 11 M people, corresponding to about 30% of the Internet population or 25% of the total population, were publishing a blog on Cyworld, SK Communication's highly structured blogging environment.  The Cyworld form of blogging has reached 79% adoption among young people in their 20s and 30s (source SK Communication); and 90% adoption among young people in their 20s (source researcher KoreanClick).

When we think that unique identification is required to subscribe to Cyworld and that Cyworld is the largest, but not the unique, blog platform in South Korea, we get a sense of how widespread blogging is among South Koreans.

Cyworld adoption
Cyworld introduced its mini hompies service in 2001 and had 1 M members. Membership exploded when in late 2003 Freechal, the leader home page host, decide to charge for the service. Then Cyworld offered  a guarantee of free service for life, causing a massive switch. Cyworld was acquired by SK Communications and incorporated with Nate.com.

Cyworld in everyday language
Instead of exchanging phone number or e-mail addressed, people ask "do you Cy?". Mini hompies can also be accessed through mobile phones.

Cyworld special features

• basic service is free

• modular mini-hompies with templates, like a room, an open agenda, a note book where to stick pictures

• personalization with digital decorations such as music, wallpapers, animated characters, banners, pieces of furniture, on sale

• acorns, each worth 100 won equivalent to about 9 cents, to purchase the digital decorations. Acorns can be paid via credit card or cell phone account

• popularity displays on the front page with fixe indicators for sexiness, fame, friendliness, karma, kindness, which increase as the number of visitors, gifts received and gifts made increase

• wish boxes and gift shop pages where users indicate the decorations they would like to have for their friends and visitors to see and eventually offer them

• social networking via visibility of who one's friends are and link to their mini-hompies, as well as private areas with limited access

• people search function, to find any Cyworld user by entering the name, year of birth, gender, or the e-mail. 
  

 

 

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