The latest Media Myths & Realities survey confirms something that observant communicators already know: Blog use is rising in Brazil. But the survey also indicates that both the popularity and credibility of this medium will continue to increase. In 2008, 52 percent of Brazilian respondents reported using blogs, compared to 43 percent in 2007. And when it comes to searching for information on the Internet, more and more Brazilians find blogs written by nonjournalists to be just as reliable as the Web sites of highly credible sources such as major newspapers, magazines and TV channels. That underscores the importance of blogs as a media target for anyone trying to reach Brazilian consumers. For a while now, blogs have been growing as an important source of information and entertainment. Among the most popular are humorous blogs with jokes and satires about ordinary life, politics and Brazilian personalities. In addition to travel, fashion, cooking and cultural tips, other blogs bring news—particularly, technological breakthroughs—with exclusive and high-quality content, competing with specialized publications. Another category of popular blogs are those that teach readers how to create, develop and maintain their own blogs—further evidence of the increasing interest of Brazilians in the blogosphere. If blogs represent what consumers are reading, where they are reading is just as important. Our survey also points to an increase in use of mobile media, with 33 percent of respondents saying they get information from their mobile phones, up from 30 percent in 2007. One factor behind the increase might be the expansion of third-generation (3G) networks, which have been in operation in the country for almost one year but are present only in major cities. With 3G mobile phones enabling high-speed Internet and video, more and more medium-size and large companies have been using them to improve communication among employees, customers and suppliers. Still, the potential is far greater. With a large mobile phone base–around 140 million customers, according to official data–the Brazilian market has a lot of opportunity to apply more and more mobile applications. Most people already use their mobile phones to send short messages and download small files, such as ringtones. But only a small part of the population accesses the Internet, sends e-mails or multimedia messages, or employs video-conferencing functions on their handsets. Use of these features by influencers is expected to grow fast, since influencers in our country consume media at a higher rate than other consumers. But once more mobile phones are able to receive information from the Web, it may not be long before the general population, too, is getting its blogs on the go. |
||||||||||||||||||||
| KETCHUM'S ONLINE MAGAZINE | YEAR 2009 ISSUE 1 |
| KETCHUM'S ONLINE MAGAZINE | YEAR 2009 ISSUE 1 |
