The Decline and Fall of Blogging?

Blogs and podcasts may be falling by the wayside as more Inc. 500 companies add mobile and social media marketing to their advertising strategies.

A report from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and the Society for New Communications Research reviewed the companies' adoption of social tools and technology, finding that blogging fell from a 50 percent adoption rate in its 2010 study to 37 percent.

Ad agencies and other marketing industry organizations were the biggest users of blogs, the researchers found, with the construction and government services sectors being the least likely to blog.

"As investments in social media increase and the role of social media becomes institutionalized in companies, the future is sure to be exciting and fast paced for these model small companies,” stated Nora Ganim, a senior fellow with the Society. "Older tools are being shed in favor of newer, more nimble tools. Creating networks with other professionals is seen to be as important as communicating with target markets via Facebook or Twitter."

Indeed, the social platforms have been rolling out a number of advertising and analytical tools to help brands and businesses engage customers and measure their responses. Nearly three-quarters of respondents use Facebook, and 73 percent use LinkedIn. Mobile applications and Foursquare are also starting to make their presence felt, with 13 to 15 percent of the group using the platforms. Corporations are still monitoring social media sites as well, but that tactic is also in decline, researchers found, falling from last year's peak of 70 percent to 68 percent this year.

In November 2011, Technorati released its annual State of the Blogosphere report. The majority of bloggers (60 percent) are still hobbyists that do not receive any income from their "personal musings." Corporate bloggers account for just 8 percent of the total blogosphere, discussing technology and business in their posts.