世論 What Japan Thinks

I haven’t done such a straightforward topic for quite a while, so it’s nice to get back to basics with this short and to the point survey reported on by japan.internet.com and conducted by JR Tokai Express Research Inc into blogs.

Demographics

On the first of July 2008 330 members of the JR Tokai Express Research monitor group successfully completed an internet-based questionnaire. 52.7% of the sample were female, 3.3% in their teens, 13.9% in their twenties, 27.0% in their thirties, 30.0% in their forties, 12.1% in their fifties, 8.8% in their sixties, and 4.8% aged seventy or older.

There’s a couple of new-to-me sites in the list of hosts in Q2SQ. Lolipop Blog sounds downright suspicious but it seems quite innocent, a paid-for hosted blogging service. My Profile seems to be a mobile phone-targeted blogging service that will make your eyes bleed and your brain melt, and Laff Blog is from Yoshimoto Kogyo, the home of many of Japan’s comedians.

I’m not sure if writing diaries in mixi or other Social Networking Services was counted as blogging in Q2.

Research results

Q1: Have you ever read a blog? (Sample size=330)

Yes	81.8%
No	16.4%
Don’t know what a blog is	1.8%

Q2: Do you update a blog? (Sample size=330)

Yes (to SQ)	25.8%
Have one set up, but don’t update it	10.9%
Don’t have a blog	63.3%

Q2SQ: Which blog services do you currently use? (Sample size=85, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
FC2 Blog	13	15.3%
Livedoor Blog	12	14.1%
Ameba Blog	12	14.1%
Yahoo! Blogs	11	12.9%
Kokolog	10	11.8%
Rakuten Blog	9	10.6%
goo Blog	8	9.4%
Seesaa Blog	5	5.9%
excite Blog	4	4.7%
Lolipop Blog	4	4.7%
Hatena Diary	2	2.4%
Blogger	2	2.4%
yaplog	2	2.4%
My Profile	1	1.2%
Laff Blog	1	1.2%
TypePad	0	0.0%
VOX	0	0.0%
Self-hosted	6	7.1%
Don’t know, don’t remember	2	2.4%
Other	31	36.5%

Apparently most of the Yahoo! bloggers were old people, although I don’t really know if that indicates anything significant.