Why Do People Publish Weblogs?An Online Survey Of Weblog Authors In Japan

Abstract

This research was conducted to examine the psychological profiles of people who publish their weblogs on the Internet. Weblogs can be defined as on-line sites, not owned by major corporations, which are frequently updated by one or more people. Weblogs provide an opportunity to develop communication with other Internet users. We categorize weblogs into two types, according to their style and content. The weblog form, in which the authors have a powerful desire to share their knowledge and provide information, is termed the informative weblog. The other weblog form, in which the authors have powerful need for self-disclosure and the resulting interactions, is termed the diary-like weblog. In this study, we conducted an online survey of 1,142 weblog authors to examine the current weblog situation in Japan. We obtained two hypotheses from the results, as to why weblog authors are motivated to continue weblogging.