On Environment Blog Index
September 26, 2007
Enviro bloggers unmasked

A marketing company has analyzed more than 40 million blog posts from the past summer to see who is writing about the environment and what it is they’re saying. Here’s what they found out:

Seven out of 10 environmental posts came from males, and about 70 percent of them were negative in nature.

Of course they also came up with some things we didn’t already know.

For example, baby boomers and members of Gen Y (teenagers and twenty-somethings) are pretty much carrying the conversation about environmental issues in the blogosphere, with Gen Xers chiming in only once in a while. What are people in their 30s doing online? Is that who's writing about Paris Hilton?

And there’s this uplifting tidbit: More than half of the people posting about the environment back up their posts by citing factual resources such as scientific studies. On the other hand, Al Gore, his documentary and his Live Earth concerts drove much of the conversation on environmental blog posts through the summer.

Probably the most troubling piece of the report is the reference to baby boomers as being at the old-age end of the demographic spectrum, at least as far as the blogosphere is concerned. And I was still coming to grips with middle age.

The report was put together by Umbria Inc., which says it is a market intelligence company that specializes in consumer-generated media. It says nearly 10,000 blog posts mentioning environmental issues each week is a sign of a growing green-marketing opportunity in the business world.

Here’s more about the study from Umbria.

Posted by at 06:12 PM

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John covers environmental issues for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. A reporter for 20 years, he always hoped to find some use for his undergraduate degree in International Environmental Studies. He also has a master's degree in journalism, though back then they taught writing on a thing called a typewriter. He's married and has two children.

About this blog

Down To Earth is a place to keep tabs on the environment beat at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. Staff Writer John Richardson will post updates on past news stories, share tidbits and behind-the-story stories, answer questions and get feedback and ideas from you.



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