Edelman: Asians Read Blogs More Than Americans

Edelman just released its fourth whitepaper on blogging (PDF). The study confirms something I’ve suspected for almost a year now: Asians read blogs more than Americans do. Steve Rubel notes:

One of the biggest takeaways is that blog readership is far higher in Asia than it is in the US. Some 74% of Japanese read blogs, followed by 43% in South Korea and 39% in China. In the US, it’s about 27% and its even less in Europe.

Another key point: the mainstream media is getting more and more stories from blogs. The Derivative Myth has not only been debunked, it’s been reversed.

The study also shows influencers read blogs. That means if you’re reading this, you’re probably an influencer. Go you.

P.S.: Thanks to Philippine Edelman affiliate Eon for helping ArtFarm Asia’s Mina Caliguia. Eon’s Robert de Quelen coordinated swift action in response to Mina’s blog comment, via BlackBerry from Paris over the Holidays. Now that’s responding to the blogosphere.

Google-Friendster Deal Revealed

The unwashed masses of the Philippines use Yahoo and five million of them use Friendster. This deal will introduce said unwashed masses to Google.

Fresh from a deal with MySpace to power the site’s search and ads, Google is set to score another big partnership.

Friendster CEO Kent Lindstrom revealed today that the social network is going to partner with Google – the search giant will power Friendster’s search and text ads, just as it does on MySpace. The deal is to last two years and financials weren’t disclosed. But since Friendster reports less than 1 million monthly unique visitors, the agreement won’t be on the same scale as the $900 million Google-MySpace deal.

The hookup is another letdown for Yahoo, which currently powers Friendster search.

Hm, five million Filipinos use Friendster, yet Friendster reports less than one million monthly uniques? No wonder all the hottest Filipina babes are migrating to MySpace.