This comes via Lee Odden's new link list (good work there). It's a report from Technorati that details the results of a survey sent to 30,000 of the bloggers who subscribe and use the service. From the horse's mouth:
Bloggers were also encouraged to take the study through blog posts on Technorati's website. The online study was open for one week; 18 questions; 3 open-ended. There were 821 respondents. There is a +/- 3% margin of error.
There's more than a few pieces in it worth reading, for example, 33% of respondents say they blog primarily to become visible as an authority in their field (I would argue that it is an excellent reason and a highly successful one). But, what really struck me were the results of this question:
What is the trustworthiness of a blog endorsed and produced by a company?
| Answer | Count | Percent |
| Occasionally trustworthy | 344 | 41.90 % |
| Very trustworthy | 54 | 6.57 % |
| Somewhat trustworthy | 356 | 43.36 % |
| Untrustworthy | 67 | 8.16 % |
I think that's a remarkable response. It tells me that the companies who refuse to set up open and honest blogs because they fear that the web community will not trust them are mistaken. Bloggers and web readers are not yet given to distrust company blogs. I fear the time will come, but by then, the smart ones, who are reading this right now, will have jumped on the bandwagon long ago and be known for providing open, honest feedback.
Just look at how much additional trust, respect and praise Mr. Cutts has engendered by blogging. All sarcasm aside, he is to be commended for taking that brave step. I'm of a mind to give send him some chocolates; I've heard that Vosges are particularly excellent.
UPDATE: Just saw the free form answers - wow. If you're in PR or link building via viral marketing to bloggers, this is a must read. I see a lot of folks saying the same things:
- Email me directly, don't use a PR firm
- Don't send me image-rich e-mails. I can't extract from those easily
- Be honest and forthcoming, don't "sugar coat" it
- Recognize that bloggers are covering them - be aware of your community
I've been going over similar numbers for some of my clients looking to use blogging as a recruiting tool. The blogosphere is a social network that obeys some typical rules, but it also has a variety of new rules that many business owners have trouble adopting.
In essence the very nature of blogging allows a reader to quickly tell whether or not they can trust a given blogger.
In comparison to news reporters or even politics- blogging allows a reader to instantly review previous materials and discover right away if a blogger is changing thier stand on an issue or if there is a problem with the readership in past posts. That type of history ads greatly to whether or not someone finds a site "trustworthy".
Individuals who deal with criticism and can make amends for mistakes through the blogging community are usually seen as honest and upfront, which allows many avenues of communication to be explored even between fairly distinct competitors.
~Barry www.technicaldisaster.com