Universal McCann does a study on netizens and bloggers

Excerpts from "Internet no longer niche media" (29 November 2006) B11, StarBiz Section of The Star:

With 10 million active users in Malaysia, the Internet can no longer be considered a niche media, said Universal McCann managing director Gaurav Bhasin.

"The scope and influence of the net now offers fresh opportunities for advertisers," he said in a statement. "There's an exciting dynamism in advertising, with bloggers, gamers, social networkers, and podcasters charting a new reality for brand building."

A recent research study conducted by Universal McCann, based on a sample size of 4670 respondents, revealed that 40% of Malaysian netizens (regular Internet users) spent more than three hours daily on the Net.

Specifically on blogs -

The survey also revealed that 35% of Malaysian netizens are active bloggers with about one-quarter responding of writing about brands and services experienced.

"These bloggers can actually influence the fate of brands, and the growing number of passive bloggers who visit and read blogs of people they personally know is not small enough that they can be ignored," he said.

The Universal McCann study showed that 14% of bloggers trusted brand reviews they read and were positively inclined to try a brand with a positive review.

Also, Vijandren Ramadass posted more elaborately on LowYat.net on 22 November 2006, with these graphs (click to enlarge) for your convenient perusal:

On what blogs are:


On blogs:


On time spent on blogs:


Another strong implication highlighted was "The rise of 'blogethics'"

In the Malaysia blogosphere, UM uncovered Blogethics – ethical standards that apply to bloggers and their audiences.

1. Blogging is about Freedom of Expression: It has been called many names Consumer Generated Content (CGC), User Generated Content (UGC), citizen journalism but at its core, blogging for Netizens is all about the freedom to express oneself. This is agreed upon by almost 97% of the Malaysian Netizens.

2. Bloggers share a responsibility to their readers: Bloggers are expected by their peers to be responsible for what they write about. This aspect of the new Blogethics is so important that close to 72% of the Netizens bloggers and audiences alike agreewith it.

I have not found the full report online. I should probably contact Universal McCann.