Asian, American, and Asian American blogging

The following is a guest blog entry from Joseph Suh, founder of MyChurch.org. I’ve gotten to know him virtually over email and IM conversations, and commend him for having done his homework to engage the space of social network, web 2.0, Christian use of the Internet, and more. Congratulations to MyChurch.org for accruing over 1 million page view per month and over 2,000 churches in just a few months of operations!

A recent Edelman study [browse the full report, A Corporate Guide to the Global Blogosphere or download PDF; my initial reactions here] partnered with Technorati to study blog adoption and consumption in different parts of the globe. The most striking statistic for me (as an Asian American) was the distinct disparity in blog readership between Asia and the US. 74% of Japan, 43% of South Korea, and 39% of China read blogs. Compared to just 27% of the US, I’m surprised this isn’t raising more eyebrows.

Japan and Korea are undoubtedly ahead of the US in terms of broadband penetration. But is internet ubiquity the main reason? Do we expect the States to catch up when more American households are wired for high-speed?

Is the difference simply reflecting the media infrastructure, and how mass communication has evolved in Asia versus the US?

Chinese journalists, for example, are “often frustrated by the bureaucratic editorial processes of local mainstream media.” Thus they find freedom in blogging, and their audiences in turn place a high-degree of trust in internet media. In the States, we got our news from Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and Peter Jennings in the 90’s. Then cable news made inroads. Then bloggers started to affect headlines.

As our media consumption gets fragmented and decentralized, we slowly and cautiously look to the edges and the long tail. The paradigm shift is understandably taking longer in the States. Watershed events like Rathergate are catalysts for change, but we still largely trust the mainstream networks first and foremost. American journalists, unlike Chinese, don’t largely blog. They are the old media. And it will be a trickle rather than a flow.

Is there also a cultural difference that explains why blogging is more mainstream in Asia?

Less than 5% of Japanese bloggers surveyed primarily blog to establish credibility and authority in a field, as opposed to 34% of Americans. IOW, their blogs are more like diaries – personal, reflective, anonymous. There are less comments and trackbacks on Japanese blogs. There is less self-promotion than American blogs. When blogs are meant to be personal as opposed to popular, the barriers of entry are low. They are content with Xanga, and not TypePad. The pressure to pen something brilliant is non-existent. More bloggers blog.

Because of these inherent differences – IT, media, and culture, I believe Asian blogging will continue to outpace American blogging. As far as Asian Americans, I believe we blog like Americans. Our reputations are online, and our reputations are on the line.