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Hitwise Intelligence - Heather Hopkins - UK
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OK Go Viral Video, Celebrity and Political Gossip Drive Visits to Most Popular Blog Websites
August 24, 2006
I nearly fell off my chair laughing yesterday when I saw a viral video of band OK Go on Fugufish.org. I was trying to figure out why Fugufish was the most read individual blog in our Lifestyle - Blogs and Personal Websites category. Our tech team in Melbourne did some investigating and found that the site had risen in popularity after publishing some very popular videos (have I mentioned recently that I love my job?).
So what are the most popular blog sites overall in the UK? Before we go further into the rankings, I want to be clear that we are reporting website visits, and not blog readers such as RSS and ATOM feeds. Don't be too quick to dismiss the rankings. Many people only receive a summary in their readers and click through on the most interesting posts. Also, less sophisticated internet users, unfamiliar with RSS feeds, might visit websites for blogs in larger numbers so these rankings provide an interesting perspective on what blogs UK consumers are reading.
In the UK about 1 in every 200 internet visits goes to a blog website -- testament to their growing popularity. I have included two different ranking tables below: one for our Blogs and Personal Websites category and one for a custom category of individual blogs.
At the top the list of the most visited blogs in the category overall are those that allow consumers to create and read personal blogs, such as Windows Live Spaces and MySpace Blog. These are followed by blogs for the BBC (at #10) and the Guardian (at #11).
As for the most popular individual blogs -- these are listed below. The table below shows the top 10 blog websites, based on share of UK website visits.
I did a post earlier this week on how blogs grow that covered Girl With a One-Track Mind, Little Green Footballs and Arseblog. Iain Dale, Guido Fawkes and Conservative Home are political blogs that have been influencing the media agenda, in particular during the Prescott affair. (For more on this, you can read my post here).
Posted by Heather Hopkins at 03:55 PM
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Comments
Wow I had no idea. It's actually fascinating watching my traffic. I think about 90% of it can be attributed to a single video by Ok Go, which first got huge on Digg.com. I'm slowly gaining return visitors though.
Posted by fugufish | August 25, 2006 12:34 PM
Geepers...could LGF popularity be due to the fact that...unlike the MSM...it tells the truth?
Posted by anonie moose | August 28, 2006 04:04 PM
Heather it would be interesting to analyze the percent of people who visit blogs in the US vs. the UK. I understand that blogs are underutilized in the UK, which is curious to me.
P.S. Absolutely the best reader commentary is at an Australian blog, www.timblair.com.
Posted by Kathy from Austin | August 30, 2006 06:16 AM
Do you have any statistics or tables of UK political blogs alone Heather.
Posted by Nick Reynolds | September 28, 2006 11:16 PM
RE: THE OSCARS
I voted for "The Queen" but on to my own "JFK" production. View at: www.jfkrfkashley.blogspot.com
Posted by Renee Ashley Baker | April 3, 2007 06:44 PM
Hey Heather, 'very interesting report. I'm a pretty avid watcher of USA political blogs and I think the trend is similar there too of the top blogs covering similar topies to the mainstream media with an edgier slant.
I know a number of reporters and politicians who avidly read the local political blogs (in Seattle, WA) to see what's going on.
On a seperate note, I'm glad to see Windows Live Spaces at the top. For some Spaces tips and news, check out the team blog at http://thespacecraft.spaces.live.com.
Posted by Rob Dolin | August 24, 2006 05:49 AM