Technorati Documents the Exploding Blogosphere

(MoneyWatch)  Technorati is releasing its fifth annual "State of the Blogosphere" report this week, and some of the initial numbers are eye-popping. According to comScore MediaMetrix, blogs are reaching 77.7 million unique users in the U.S. as of August. Over three-quarters of active Internet users around the world (346 million) read blogs. Globally, at least 184 million people have started a blog.

Yet the scope of blogging is only one part of the story. "...as the blogosphere grows in size and influence," notes Technorati, "the lines between what is a blog and what is a mainstream media site become less clear. Larger blogs are taking on more characteristics of mainstream sites and mainstream sites are incorporating styles and formats from the blogosphere. In fact, 95% of the top 100 US newspapers have reporter blogs."

Less than a year ago, you could still read columnists dissing bloggers in your local newspaper, but no more -- newspapers have clearly decided, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Furthermore, some blogs are supplanting other types of media in popularity. Four of the top ten entertainment websites (OMG, TMZ, Asylum, and PerezHilton), for example, are blogs.

In the U.S., 57% of bloggers are male, 42% are aged 18-34, 26% are single, 56% are employed full time, and 74% are college graduates. Over half of the bloggers say they have benefitted professionally from blogging and over two-thirds say they have made new friends via their blogs. Although relatively few are making money from their blogs, most say they hope to in the future.