Technorati has released the second and the third section of the annual report “State of the Blogosphere,” revealing what, why, and how people blog.

Most bloggers write about multiple topics, and personal and professional topics are both equally popular, according to the study, released on the company's Web site.

Based on a survey targeting more than 1,000 bloggers, Technorati found that half of bloggers consider their style to be sincere, conversational, humorous, and expert in nature, despite the perception that blogging is more tell-all or full of gossip than more traditional online news sources, according to the second section of the study: “The What and Why of Blogging.”

Most bloggers are quite devoted to their blogs – about 25 percent spend 10 hours or more blogging on a weekly basis. They are also sophisticated in using tools to make blogs more robust, as well as to attract visitors, according to the third part “The How of Blogging."

Blogging Topics

According to Technorati, the topics blogged about are diverse. Seventy-five percent of bloggers cover at least three topics, and the average number of topics is five.

Personal/lifestyles topics are covered by more than half of the bloggers, while technology and news are blogged about by more than 40 percent. However, four out of 10 bloggers consider their blogging topics as “others,” which include: 2008 election, alternative energy, art, beauty, blogging, comics, communication, cooking/food, crafts, design, environment, internet/Web 2.0, Jamaica and media/journalism.

The study also found that topics vary by region. In Asia, music is more popular while politics is less, while in Europe, personal, lifestyle, and religious topics are less popular.

Why Blogging?

The top reasons for blogging, according to the study, are self expression and sharing expertise, with more than 70 percent bloggers saying so. Others include networking, gaining entry into the traditional media world, career advancement and monetary reasons.

Metrics for Blog Success

Most bloggers look for multiple metrics to measure the success of their blog; 82 percent said they use more than one means, while the average number of metrics used is four, according to Technorati.

Personal satisfaction is the most important metric to measure blog success – picked by three out of four bloggers. However, quantitative metrics, such as the number of comments, unique visitors, links or even revenue.

Identities on the Blogs

The survey found that more than 30 percent of bloggers are concerned about readers finding out who they are, while two-thirds openly expose their identities.

The biggest reasons for the concern include family and friends being harassed and disapproval from friends, family or employers on views expressed in the blog. The concern is especially high outside the United States.

Time Spent Blogging

Technorati found most respondents are heavy bloggers - about one-fourth spend at least 10 hours blogging each week, and another 21 percent blog between five and 10 hours on a weekly basis. Only 15 percent blog for less than one hour in a week.

Blogging with Help

Nearly eight out of 10 bloggers manage their blogs alone, among professional and corporate bloggers, while 20 percent have others to help. Among those bloggers with outside aid, a higher percentage have unpaid help, Technorati reported.

Categories of Tags

Based on Technorati index data during June 2008, the most popular tags tend to be general categories, such as news, music, video, politics, and business. “News” was ranked on the top, tagged nearly 200,000 times during this period.

Tools Used on the Blogs

It is also common to use tools on the blogs, making them more robust or easily updatable, according to Technorati.

The tools most popular include commenting system, posting archive, as well as built-in syndication, adopted by over 80 percent of blogger. Search box, widgets and multiple tagging are also used by over 60 percent.

On average, bloggers use seven out of the 13 tools listed in the survey.

How Bloggers Attract Visitors

Top traffic-building strategies, according to the study, are to list the blogs on Technorati and Google, comment on or link to other blogs, and tag blog posts.

On average, a blogger does five different activities to attract visitors, while 28 percent do at least seven.

Investment in Blogs

Some bloggers are investing significant money in their blogs (including hosting, marketing, staff, and paid contributors). The average amount of investment among all bloggers over the past year is US$1,020, but the median is only about $50.

Bloggers with advertising tend to spend significantly more money on their blogs compared to those without advertising. European bloggers and corporate bloggers tend to invest more on average as well.

The complete study can be found here.

For a previous story on this report, visit our partner site, EditorsWeblog.org.