The South African blogosphere is stirring and reports indicate that over 600 000 South African Internet users have visited blogs by their fellow South Africans in just one month.
Arthur Goldstuck provided relevant South African statistics on the number of bloggers in South Africa for the month of August 2007 in a recent post on the Mail & Guardian Online’s Thought Leader.
He says he believes that by August next year, “blogs will not only be a mainstream component of most online media in South Africa, but they will also be a dominant component”.
“In terms of social media and networking spaces, the shift in numbers has increased greatly. Facebook, which has had a three-fold increase in the past three months, is the symptom of the tipping point”
Goldstuck also said the number of South African bloggers in relation to the number of web users in the country is still low, but it is, in fact, an astonishing achievement.
Statistics showed that there were 25 037 blogs in South Africa at the end of August but only 11% were active.
According to Vincent Maher, the M&G Online’s strategist, the number of unique blog visitors during August, 621 204, would place blogs overall among South Africa’s five most popular websites.
This number, said Maher, lends credibility to the way the internet and its use is moving forward: it promotes collaboration between and sharing among users.
Goldstuck believes that “By the end of the year we should see the number of [South African] internet users increase to 3,85-million, and broadband subscriptions will increase by 828 000. This will bring greater media attention until such time blogging will find its natural niche,” he said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
