Most of us are online spectators…though not if you are a mother

Oct 4, 2010 by Dirk Singer

Media strategist and Business Week columnist Ben Kunz points us to global research from Forrester, which shows that while 31% of Europeans and Americans online are ‘conversationalists’, most are simply spectators watching from the sidelines.

Not only that but the % of active “creators” in the US, EU and Australia have gone down at the same time as overall (and so passive) social media numbers have gone up.

Ben’s conclusion is as follows:

“The implication is that as social media goes mainstream (Facebook is now the No. 3 website among U.S. adults age 45-54), more users are spending more time watching and less submitting.

“This may be good news for advertisers who seek to use social channels as a push medium for their message, and not-so-good news for those who believe everyone wants to actively engage in a two-way conversation with their brand.”

It also highlights the need to have a system in place to identify those creators and conversationalists, who everyone else is watching (and is influenced by).

The rise and rise of the mommy blogger

A lot of those participants and conversationalists are in fact mothers.   On The Wall Blog Gordon MacMillan has a piece out about the ‘rise and rise of the mommy blogger.’

In particular, Gordon makes the point that ‘mommy bloggers’ are sometimes just mothers that blog, it’s not the case that they will always blog about parenting matters.

According to this chart from emarketer, one in eight (12.1%) US mothers on the Internet will be blogging this year.   Similarly, a study from TNS at the end of 2008 found that UK mothers spend 47% of their free time online.

It’s worth re-emphasising exactly why mothers are so active on social media and this ties into a conversation I had the other day – how can you find the time to blog?

The flippant answer – don’t have a social life (I was talking to two 20 somethings who do).  The more serious answer – online social tools are actually pretty well suited for parents.

It works well if you have bursts of free time in 30 min segments here and there (like new mothers).    It also works for people who are sometimes awake at odd hours (again parents), and finally as a way of keeping in touch with an extended social circle when circumstances (so small children) might not allow you to.

The above post is one of the items on this week’s Rabbit Feed.  Every week at Rabbit we put together a weekly online digest, you can sign up to receive by email.

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