Hypertext

In our continuing examination of the most influential blogs in the blogosphere, we’re looking at not just which blogs are cited most often, but why. When it comes to the gossip and culture blogs, the answer is fairly straightforward: juicy content and compelling multimedia.

KEY FINDINGS

Gossip blogs are relatively well-represented among the Power 50, making up 11% of the 50 sites. These types of blogs were actually cited more often than business blogs (11% of all citations vs. 2% for business blogs). The top five gossip blogs included: Gawker, Perez Hilton, Valleywag, Stereogum and Jezebel.

ANALYSIS

Traditional media generally reference culture blogs as primary sources for original news content, such as interviews or transcripts. In comparison, technology and lifestyle/entertainment blogs are more often cited for their opinions, providing commentary and expert insight into breaking news or industry trends. Typically, an interesting photo, video or exclusive interview would appear on a blog, which was written about by traditional media. We found that authors of culture blogs were rarely interviewed or quoted as experts in the field (although citing Gawker’s Top Ten Worst Media Moments of 2008 could be considered an exception).

CONCLUSION

For communications people, there are a couple of primary takeaways. Gossip blogs are clearly a great place to seed content about celebrity and entertainment related clients, especially if you have access to interesting video clips and images. But you’d better have the goods. Finding creative ways to intersect your content with timely trends already in the public eye is also a tried and true approach.

Gossip blogs can generate massive spikes in awareness or interest, but they can also be a short term and often unpredictable solution. Since gossip bloggers rely on popular culture to dictate their content, it’s very hard to predict whether your client will get the “right” kind of attention. For example, many companies shy away from gossip blogs because they’re concerned by the types of comments that gossip posts can elicit. Under the right circumstances though, the opportunity to leverage this channel as a means of driving residual mainstream media attention remains strong, as our study suggests.

This post is a part of a series on the Power 50, a study of the most influential blogs as cited by the top 100 mainstream media.

Possibly related posts that might also interest you:

1. The Power 50: Most Influential Blogs
2. Most Influential Blogs Series: Arianna Has Come a Long Way…
3. Most Influential Blog Series: The Full Report
4. From Humor to ‘How-To’ – Lifestyle Blogs Prove Influential in Mainstream Media
5. Six ways to find social media talent (and figuring out who you’re looking for in the first place)