Ten percent of consumers Read Blogs

From TechWeb: Participation in three of the technologies highest on the Internet's buzz list -- blogging, reading RSS feeds, and engaging in social networking -- is climbing, a research firm said Wednesday, but two of the three haven't cracked the 1-in-10 barrier.

Ten percent of consumers read blogs once a week or more, said Forrester Research at the opening of its annual Consumer Forum. That's double the 5 percent who browsed blogs in 2004.

Real Simple Syndication (RSS) use tripled in the same period, from 2 percent in 2004 to 6 percent this year, while use of social network sites such as Friendster.com and MySpace.com increased from 4 percent last year to 6 percent in 2005.

"Technology has given consumers an option to tune businesses out, and tune each other in," said Forrester research director Chris Charron in a statement. "On the flip side, technology has given businesses an opportunity to gain greater customer insights at a lower cost."

//Billy McCormac