Here are a few facts garnished from the first couple of days (some of these “facts” were developed from a Technorati survey of bloggers. Of course, the question is how reliable is the survey):

• Bloggers are collectively creating close to one million posts every day.
• 1.5 million blogs posted in the the last seven days.
• 76,000 blogs have a Technorati Authority Rating of +50; meaning at least 50 other bloggers found their content worth linking to in the last six months. (PJNet.org would be one of those with an authority ranking of 74 as of this post, in the past, when I was more actively blogging it exceeded 100)
• A survey of bloggers determined that bloggers are: “Intensifying their efforts based on positive feedback: Blogging is having an incredibly positive impact on their lives, with bloggers receiving speaking or publishing opportunities, career advancement, and personal satisfaction.” ( See my panel discussion to learn how this worked for me and others.)
• Blogging is money making for some bloggers: Among those with advertising, the mean annual investment in their blog is $1,800, but it’s paying off. The mean annual revenue is $6,000 with $75K+ in revenue for those with 100,000 or more unique visitors per month. (Maybe the PJNet.org should consider taking advertising.)
• Here is some demographic information:

Who are the global bloggers?

44% are parents

Two-thirds are male

50% are 18-34

More affluent and educated than the general population

• 70% have college degrees
• Four in ten have an annual household income of $75K+

One in four have an annual household income of $100K+

I will provide some updates as more information is released this week.

You can see the video here and his notes and other comments here at PressThink.

Here is what she says at her new blog:

Not only will I share my teaching ideas and materials, as some great (e.g., Mindy McAdams) people have, I will also decipher research in journals related to online journalism. One common criticism I hear from some academics and professionals is that research published in journals is not written for the average reader. Just as history does, research can help explain, and even predict, how journalism will evolve.

She adds:

My goal as a researcher is to share and decipher research found in academic journals on the topic of newer media. … I will summarize and share with you the journal research articles that I have read, however I encourage you to talk to the authors of the research to find out more regarding what they have learned. And perhaps, conversations will lead to the sharing of ideas, and ultimately lead to increased accuracy of research conducted by those in academia.

Demonstrates how breaking events, mixed with solid continuous reporting can be intriguing and deeply informative.

Here is more from Shirky about the distinct between audience and community:

Most user-generated material is actually personal communication in a public forum. Because of this personal address , it makes no more sense to label this content than it would to call a phone call with your mother “family-generated content.” A good deal of user-generated content isn’t actually “content” at all, at least not in the sense of material designed for an audience. Instead, a lot of it is just part of a conversation.

Mainstream media has often missed this, because they are used to thinking of any group of people as an audience. Audience, though, is just one pattern a group can exist in; another is community. Most amateur media unfolds in a community setting, and a community isn’t just a small audience; it has a social density, a pattern of users talking to one another, that audiences lack. An audience isn’t just a big community either; it’s more anonymous, with many fewer ties between users. Now, though, the technological distinction between media made for an audience and media made for a community is evaporating; instead of having one kind of media come in through the TV and another kind come in through the phone, it all comes in over the internet….

This is new. We have never before had a single platform which could scale from conversation to broadcast and all points between, but social media gives us that — it’s like your telephone could turn into a radio, depending on how you configured it.

However, if you are one of the many serious thinkers who believe citizen journalism has merit,  you would be left with the impression that Weinstein himself is so wedded to old-school journalism that he is either a ”crackpot” or if not that, then one of its “sly marketers.”

Here is the tip off. He writes: 

If you could convince me that crowdsourcing and mojos and information centers weren’t about cost cutting or lazy journalism, I’d be all for them.

In the old-school journalism world, there would be no way for the passive audience to show how cracked his argument is, but in this new citizen journalism world there are plenty of people who can counter and expose Weinstein’s own lazy journalism and sly marketing for the past.

 However, you can see for yourself. First read Weinstein and then read this counter article in the Publishing 2.0 blog by Scott Karp. Were you better off just reading Weinstein’s professionally edited piece or did you need both to really get a sense of what citizen journalism is and where its potential lies?

There’s the Canon SD1000 for stills (the same model I already carry everywhere); a nice Panasonic 3-chip camcorder (consumer, not pro-sumer…we need to remain portable, you know); shotgun mic; an external hard drive the size of a Bible for footage; and a laptop the size of a boogie board (Dell, not MBP, but hey), all jammed into a spiffy and very comfortable backpack with our Choose or Lose Street Team ‘08 logos embroidered thereupon.

As they were filling his backpack, they were also filling his head with legal advice:

Yes, to appear in my videos — even if it’s because you stepped up to a microphone to ask John Edwards a question, in front of all those people and cameras — you need to sign my Guest Release. Otherwise, it’s the cutting room floor for you. I’m also going to need someone who is authorized to represent the Atlanta IBEW to sign my Location Agreement, saying I have permission to film there. Oh and I have to slap up Cablecast signs at the door, warning the rest of you that you’re wandering into the line of fire. Meanwhile, my MSM rivals will be pointing and laughing at me, who is now neither as credentialed as a “real” journalist, nor as free from restriction as a “citizen” journalist.

And who are those MTV citizen journalists:

The rest of the Street Team seems pretty cool — even the small handful of Republicans! Well, what do you want, it isMTV after all, so our conservative caucus definitely has the look of a token minority; but I’m sure Vermont, Rhode Island, Indiana, and I believe even Alaska (she’s hard to call) will do you right-wingers proud. The group is split right down the middle in gender, and, as an ever-so-slightly snarky article about our orientation in the Boston Globe says, we even have enough diversity to appeal to “Hispanics, African-Americans, and lesbians.”

She neglected to mention that we are also really, really, incredibly good looking, and do other stuff good, too.

By the way, Shelby will be at our SoCon08 conference on Feb. 8-9, 2008 at Kennesaw State University. We just broke the 146 registrant mark, so are on our way to 200 people at the conference. Having Shelby there will be like having your very own American Idol star sharing dinner with you. Who will you be dining with Friday night Feb. 8? Sign up now.

Yo, Shelby bring your gear. We want our MTV. I’m looking forward to meeting you.