Blogs (the term "blog" entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003) are a natural progression from Internet chat rooms, ICQ and online diaries. According to Microsoft's latest survey on blogging in Thailand, about 21 per cent of the country's 8.4 million Internet users are now bloggers, those who read or write online diaries or journals. Comparing this to the regional average of 46 per cent, the survey noted that while blogging is still quite new in Thailand, it is ahead of other places such as India.

The survey is part of the "Blogging Asia: A Windows Live Report" conducted online across seven Asian markets, namely Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, in which more than 25,000 people participated between August and September 2006.

The results showed that Thais blog predominantly to stay in touch with those closest to them, with 65 per cent of respondents saying they found blogs written by family and friends the most interesting, and underlined the importance of the family unit in Thai society.

Sharing a diary or photo album was the main motivation for starting a blog - cited by 58 per cent of Thai respondents. Forty-one per cent said they used blogs to keep up with loved ones, and 35 per cent said they were motivated to start a blog because a friend or family member already had one.

Among Asians, the Thai "blogosphere" or blogging community is most similar to that of Hong Kong, where 86 per cent of respondents said they found blogs by people close to them to be the most interesting.

To tap the growing market, MSN and Windows Live Southeast Asia have jointly launched a new service to promote more blogging in the mainstream by making it easier and more intuitive for anyone to blog or have their own corner in cyberspace.

Besides maintaining bonds with family and friends, the Thai blogosphere is emerging as an important source of information for career development. Browsing blogs written by colleagues ranked a close second to those of friends and family, with 43 per cent of respondents saying they were interested in reading their work mates' online journals. Thais also like to read blogs written by business leaders, and blogs are seen as an important source of information to keep up with the latest career developments.

More than half of Thailand's Internet users regularly read blogs as a leisure activity, and 40 per cent of respondents said they were interested in blogs by popular music artists. By subject, the most popular blogs are on technology, travel, education and news, which is broadly consistent with findings across the region.

Bloggers should also note that aesthetics plays a huge role in attracting and retaining an audience, as respondents said that a good blog should, first, be updated regularly and, second, be well-written with eye-catching content. Blogs that fail to notify updates, badly written entries and uninteresting or boring content are the biggest turnoffs for netizens. Regarding potential for advertising, the survey found that two-thirds of Thai respondents spend between one and five hours a week reading blogs or updating their own blog, even though the Thai blogosphere is still in its early stage. It's likely that in the near future the blogosphere will become an important medium through which to target young consumers, as more than half of all bloggers (57 per cent) are under 25, while 34 per cent are aged 25-34, and only 9 per cent are 35 and over.

By gender, 57 per cent of bloggers in Thailand are female and 43 per cent male. This is consistent with the gender breakdown of bloggers in all other markets except India, where blogging is a far more male-dominated arena.

"Advertisers in Thailand have a good opportunity to reach consumers where they are spending increasing amounts of their time. By including blogging advertising as part of an integrated campaign, companies in Thailand can build important brand awareness that forms the beginnings of a dynamic consumer-to-brand relationship," said Grant Watts, general manager for MSN and Windows Live Southeast Asia.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

 nop1122@yahoo.com