1. A Closer Look at
Indonesian Bloggers
Indonesia Blogger Survey 2009
Key Findings
2. 2009 Indonesia Blogger Survey
The 2009 Indonesia Blogger Survey is an online survey carried out by
IndoPacific Edelman and Blogfam
It is designed to take a closer look at the profiles of Indonesian bloggers
Research period: October 2008 – February 2009
219 bloggers (members and non-members of Blogfam) participated
IndoPacific Edelman also interviewed 7 prominent bloggers
45% of bloggers live in the Greater Jakarta area, while the rest are spread
over other areas in Indonesia, such as Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi,
Bali, and Papua, as well as overseas
3. Key Findings
Intensity and
frequency of blogging
increase over time
Bloggers have low
interest in monitoring
their own blogs as
well as identifying
their blogs’ level of
influence
Bloggers have strong
presence in social
media
Bloggers trust other
bloggers when
looking for
information
4. WHO & WHY
Indonesia Blogger Survey
“Blogging is a journey for
bloggers to find their
passions.” (Enda Nasution)
5. Facts & Figures
Base: all respondents
Male
67%
Female
33%
Married with children
33%
Married,no
children5%
Single
62%
21-25
11%
26-30
30%
31-35
20%
36-40
23%
> 41
15%
GenderMaritalstatusAge
6. Facts & Figures
Base: all respondents
College students
22%
Full time employees
38%
Freelancers and
entrepreneurs
24%
Professionals
13%
< High School
23%
College
14%
University
51%
Post Graduate
or higher
13%
ProfessionsEducation
7. Most bloggers are relatively new
Below 1
12%
1
24%
2
25%
3
15%
4
16%
5 and
above
8%
Years of blogging
61% have been
blogging for 2
years or less
Q: How long have you had a blog? (in years)
Base: all respondents
8. But they are active
<1 hour
12%
1-5 hours
55%
>5-10 hours
12%
>10-15 hours
10%
>10 hours
11%
Time spent blogging in one week
No differences
between length of
years blogging and
time spent for
blogging
Q: On average, how many hours a week do you spend blogging??
Base: all respondents
9. And have a strong presence in social media
6%
18%
19%
21%
23%
40%
51%
60%
76%
85%
Live journal
LinkedIn
MySpace
Twitter
Hi5
Plurk
Mailing lists
Multiply
Facebook
Friendster
Social networks
Q: Of the online community networks listed below, which one are you
registered on?
On average, bloggers are
registered with 3 to 4 social
networking sites
Most frequently used
feature: Journal/blog/notes
(46%)
Base: all respondents
10. Blogging is very personal
65%
54% 53%
44%
23%
10% 9% 8% 8%
62%
60%
52%
44%
25%
14%
9% 9%
6%
Sharing
experience/
knowledge with
others
Speak my mind Channeling
writing hobby
Personal
documentation
Sharing updates
on personal life
w friends/family
Meeting people
with same
hobby/interests
Developing
online business
Becoming full
time blogger
Earn money
from advertising
Initial reason for blogging Current reasons for blogging
Personal-related
activities
Business-related
activities
Q: When you first decided to start a blog, what were your main reasons?
And you are now writing to… (You may choose a maximum of 5 options)
Base: all respondents
11. Nearly 50% bloggers subscribed to other blogs via RSS Feed
Yes
41%
No
59%
Q: Do you subscribe to the RSS Feed of certain blogs/websites? What are
the blogs/websites?
Individual/collaboration blogs (76%)
News portals (10%)
Community blogs (5%)
Blogger networks/aggregator (4%)
Others (3%)
Corporate blogs (0.5%)
Blogs subscribed through RSS Feed
Base: respondents who subscribed to blogs via RSS Feed
Base: all respondents
12. Transformation in blogging
Insights from in-depth interviews with influential bloggers
Personal
documentation
Personal notes
Spontaneous
writing
Personal space
Sharing mechanism
with others
Personal branding
Experience-based
opinion articles
Public space
13. WHAT THEY WRITE
Indonesia Blogger Survey
“We are in a period of reform –
from a visual to reading/writing
society … one future trend will be
to see more blogs about serious
topics *more than personal+.” (Romi
Satrio Wahono)
14. Content: It's all about me
Q: Which of the statements below best describes your blog content?
Please choose a maximum of 3 answers.
6.4%
6.4%
10.0%
12.3%
14.2%
23%
39%
67%
78%
Product/program review
Entertainment
Commercial info/online business
Personal opinion on current political issues
Scientific analysis on certain issues
Personal opinion on current issues (outside
politics)
Work-related topics
Personal life story
Hobby-related topics
No differences in the
Top 3 Blog Contents
between bloggers who
are parents, married
without children, or
single
Base: all respondents
15. Topics written by bloggers
10%
13%
16%
21%
28%
31%
33%
34%
Health
Culinary
Politics
Religious/spiritual
Traveling
Entertainment
Technology
Social and human interest
Bloggers who are
married without
children have a greater
interest in politics and
science-related topics
Q: Which topic do you usually discuss on your blogs? Please choose a
maximum of 3 answers.
Base: all respondents
16. Influence of marital status in reasons for blogging
63%
58%
46%
51%
22%
9%
12%
14%
3%
40%
60%
50%
10%
50%
20% 20%
10% 10%
64%
62%
56%
43%
25%
16%
7% 7% 7%
Sharing
experience/
knowledge with
others
Speak my mind Channeling
writing hobby
Personal
documentation
Sharing updates
on personal life
w friends/family
Meeting people
with same
hobby/interests
Developing
online business
Becoming full
time blogger
Earn money
from advertising
Married w/children Married no children Single
Q: When you first decided to start a blog, what were your main reasons?
And you are now writing to… (You may choose a maximum of 5 options)
Base: all respondents
Personal-related
activities
Business-related
activities
17. Do children matter for bloggers?
Bloggers who are married without
children
• Use blogs to generate income and
share updates on personal life with
friends/family
• Are more likely to write about
traveling and science-related topics
Bloggers who are parents
• Use blogs for personal
documentation
• Are more likely to talk about social
and human interest issues
Bloggers’ preference and postings differ between those with and without children
18. Most female bloggers like posting light information such as
entertainment and traveling
44%
35%
27% 26%
19% 19%
10%9%
31%
41%
31%
9%
28%
26%
Technology Social and human
interest
Entertainment Traveling Politics Spiritual Personal stories
Male (n=125) Female (n=61)
Base: all respondents
Q: Which topic do you usually discuss on your blogs? Please choose a
maximum of 3 answers.
19. Mars vs. Venus
Malebloggers
• Blogging mostly to share
knowledge/experience
• More into technology-related
postings
• Also interested in
entertainment-related topics
• Registered in 2-3 SNS
• Prefer to check email and
access content-sharing
websites in limited online
session
• More likely to monitor their
blogs’ traffic
Femalebloggers
• Blogging mostly to channel
their writing hobby
• Like posting light information
(entertainment and personal
stories)
• Mostly search for traveling
and culinary-related topics
• Registered in 2-3 SNS
• Prefer to check email and
access SNS in limited online
session
• Pay less attention to their
blogs’ traffic
20. What bloggers say about bloggers, social media
& corporate blogs
Insights from in-depth interviews with influential bloggers
“Citizen journalism is not yet trusted,
because we don’t have any standard for
posting information online.”
(Wicaksono)
“We are not used to having independent
thoughts and expressing our opinions...
bloggers in smaller cities are less
confident and reluctant to speak up.”
(Enda Nasution)
“Corporate blogs will experience stumbling blocks,
as most corporations do not cultivate an open
culture and freedom of speech, or are open for
external inputs.” (Ady Permadi)
“Corporations are starting to be aware of the influence of the
social media. If they are ready to use the social media, then
they have to be prepared for the consequences and will have
to monitor the media.” (Pitra Satvika)
21. HOW OFTEN
Indonesia Blogger Survey
“Blogging changes over time. In the
early days, we were happy when our
postings were read. Now, we are
more enthusiastic about writing.
When we find something unique, we
share. ” (Bayu Amus)
22. Intensity increased in first year, then stabilized
< 1 year
(n=21)
1 year (n=41) 2 years
(n=43)
3 years
(n=27)
4 years
(n=28)
5 years and
more (n=16)
33%
58% 54%
31% 36%
22%
38%
25% 30%
27% 14%
22%
29%
18% 16%
42%
50% 56%
More Less Same
Intensity and frequency of blogging compared to years of blogging
23. Reasons for change in intensity & frequency
Q: Compared to when you were just started writing your blog, in what
ways have the intensity and frequency changed?
Reasons for more
• Need to share experiences
• Wider network
• More spare time
• Easier internet connection
• Greater interest in blogging
• Need to develop online business
Reasons for less
• Workload
• Lack of ideas
• Limited internet connection
• Bored
• Occupied with other online
activities / social media
42%
29%
24. Most bloggers actively update their blogs in the first 2 years
Q: How often do you update your blog per month (if you have more than 1
blog, please answer with the most frequent time)?
Base: all respondents
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
< 1 year 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years and more
Often
52%
Rarely
56%
Often
44%
Often
42%
Rarely
46%
Often
55%
55% of all bloggers
often update their
blogs
25. Updating blogs is opportunity-driven
21%
43%
43%
47%
58%
Blogging is part of
routine activities
Respond to current
events
Share interesting
information
Share latest
information
Maintain blog
activity
Reasons for updating blog
Q: How often do you update your blog per month (if you have more than 1
blog, please answer with the most frequent time)? What are your main
reasons for updating your blog or adding a new entry to your blog?
Base: all respondents
Bloggers with
lower intensity
rarely update
their blogs
(59%)
Bloggers with
higher intensity
actively update
their blogs
•Often 59%
•Very often 21%
26. SUCCESS METRICS
Indonesia Blogger Survey
“To me, blogging is done with
passion and from the inside…so
its success is not a concern.”
(Wicaksono)
27. Not
monitor
46%
Monitor
54%
Monitoring of own blog
Q: Do you intentionally monitor the traffic and page views of your blog?
(please mention your reasons)
Entrepreneurs (80%) and
professionals (85%) have
higher interest in monitoring
their blog’s traffic
Base: all respondents
“It’s not important
to monitor my
blogs.” (68%)
Curious about number of
visitors (44%)
Curious about visitor
preferences (29%)
Curious about visitor profiles
(13%)
Curious about influence of
blog on visitors (7%)
Reasons for monitoring:
“Don’t know
how to do it.”
(12%)
Male (63%)
Female (37%)
28. Success measures are quantitative
Q: Please rank 3 things from the list below that you consider to be the top
factors for measuring the success of your blog.
Factors to measure blogs
• Numbers of unique visitors 66%
• Numbers of comments 56%
• Numbers of RSS subscribers 18%
39% think it’s not
important to
measure their
blogs’ success
Base: all respondents
29. SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Indonesia Blogger Survey
“Traditional media remain the
more trusted sources of
information because, unlike blogs,
they are formal institutions.”
(Romi Satrio Wahono)
30. Trusted sources of information
11%
19%
25%
25%
30%
31%
32%
49%
57%
60%
77%
Tabloids
Radio
Social networking sites
Mailing lists
Magazines
Corporate websites
Community forums
Blogs
TV
News portals
Newspapers
Base: all respondents
Q: When searching for information, which type of media do you think are
the most reliable for providing accurate information?
Traditional media
•Have reliable sources and research
•Provide more accurate info
•Institutionalized
Blogs
•From “a person like me”
•Has detailed behind-the-scene info
•More varied and creative in topics
•Free of “interests”
“News portals are more trusted
than blogs because bloggers lack
the resources to undertake
proper research for their
postings.“ (Endah Sulwesi)
31. Topics searched & trusted blogs
7%
9%
9.70%
15%
18%
21%
31%
34%
37%
43%
Personal
Sports
Health
Politics
Culinary
Religion/spiritual
Entertainment
Traveling
Social and human interest
Technology
Base: all respondents
Q: Which topic do you usually search from other blogs? For each topic that
you chose for, please specify the most reliable blogs (provide most
accurate/useful information)
Most bloggers tend to
search blogs that discuss
the same topics as theirs
“We live in the world where everything is needed
in real time. When you look for rumors, go to
Kaskus. If you want more credible information, go
to the online version of traditional media, then try
the blogs for more detailed info.”
(Romi Satrio Wahono)
32. Influence of blogs on readers
Q: In the following statements, you are required to provide a score for
each statement based on your opinion about the level of influence of your
blog (Top 4 Box)
18%
28%
29%
30%
37%
Articles in my blog attract readers to subscribe
Articles in my blog motivate readers to take action
Readers forward my articles to other people
Other bloggers link to or quote my articles
Articles in my blog might be able to influence readers
to have the same opinion
“No easy way to determine
the credibility of news in
blogs, unless we know the
blogger.” (Enda Nasution)
33. What bloggers say about the influence of blogs
& their role as endorsers
Insights from in-depth interviews with influential bloggers
“It’s okay for companies to pay bloggers as
endorsers, as long as the bloggers are honest
and inform readers that the postings are
sponsored.” (Wicaksono)
“What most bloggers cannot do: be
objective, undertake proper research and
investment to develop stories, and obtain
legal support.” (Enda Nasution)
“Traditional media are highly influenced by
advertisers, so blogs or online forums are more
believable.” (Pitra Satvika)
“As an academic and researcher, I have to be neutral
and impartial – if I endorse certain parties, this will be a
conflict of interests.” (Romy Satrio Wahono)
