Ten years ago, blogs were simply online diaries, where netizens posted their daily ramblings, holiday photos or songs and poetry of love lost. Today, blogs are quoted in most of the world’s leading newspapers, blogs are regarded as one of the first-stops for product research for objective reviews, and bloggers command as much clout as Hollywood celebrities at red-carpet events.

The rise of the blogs, according to Nuffnang, a blogging network that connects blogs with advertisers, marketers and brands, shows this medium is becoming a powerful and essential platform for brands’ marketing campaigns.

David Krupp, Nuffnang’s country manager for Australia said that while blogging is still relatively new in Australia, many bloggers who began their blog for self satisfaction are quickly evolving in the hope of becoming experts in their fields, or to be publicly recognised.

A recent survey by Nuffnang about online blogging found that 89% of respondents were swayed by a blogger’s review of a product or service and in turn felt the desire to try the product/ service for themselves.

Interestingly, while 64% of bloggers are aged between 18 to 34 and have only been blogging for less than 3 years, 78% of respondents felt that blogs were a better source of information than traditional and mainstream media.

90% of respondents have also pass on blog information to family and friends.

Other results include:

• 81 per cent are noticing banner advertisements displayed next to the blogs they read
• 92 per cent have used a search engine to find out more about a brand after reading about it on a blog post
• 65 per cent have entered a competition through a blog in the past 12 months;

“As the industry matures, we’ll see blogging become a mainstream medium as we’ve seen in other [international] markets,” predicted Krupp.