
study by the Pew Internet & American
Life Project reports that blog readership
increased 58 percent in 2004, or 27 percent
of Web surfers. Its popularity increased
largely due to the presidential election,
but blogging has emerged as a powerful communication
tool for all manner of subjects. The term
blog refers to a “Web site that contains
an online personal journal with reflections,
comments and often hyperlinks,” and
last year was the most frequently requested
definition at Merriam-Webster’s online
dictionary site. Pew reports that 7 percent
of the 120 million U.S. adults who use the
Web say they have created a blog —
that’s 8 million bloggers.