Source: Gay Financial Network, BusinessWire (press release)
For gays who have traditionally been on the cutting edge of tech -- we have long-been cited as early adopters of technology observes market researchers like Forrester -- the reading of blogs on a regular basis has become de rigueur, a necessary component for being in the know.

When asked, just over half (51 percent) of the gay and lesbian respondents reported reading some type of blog, compared to 36 percent of heterosexual adults. A similar question on blog readership also was asked in November 2006, and at that time 32 percent of gay and lesbian adults then reported reading blogs.

The figures come from a new nationwide survey of 2,733 U.S. adults, (ages 18 and over), of whom more than 13 percent, or 362, self identified as gay or lesbian (which includes an oversample of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults).

Once perceived as the domain of angsty teenagers, nerdy college kids and unabashed freaks and geeks revealing the self-absorbed details of their arguably self-absorbed lives (with pictures!), gay bloggers have found an audience -- and advertisers.

From the tart-tongued aggressiveness of gossip-monger Perez Hilton to more mainstream, thought-provoking postings like PamsHouseBlend, AmericaBlog, or Towleroad, the numbers, as they say, speak for themselves. 

By last summer, for instance, Andy Towle's Towleroad audience topped 450,000 unique hit per month, for approximately 2.5 million page views.  Towle's readership is a marketer's dream: 95% male, 77% 18-45 years, 65%, 25-44 years, 52% earn $75,000 and 40% earn more than $100,000.

And it's PG rated, though you'll find a liberal dose of shirtless boys mixed in the site "with homosexual tendencies," Towle's amusing tag line. Easy, of course, to get lots of page views with pictures of naked people, as some sites do. On the other hand, Perezhilton.com gets an estimated 2.8 million visitors per month without so-called adult content, though gossip sites have traditionally done well, straight or gay, and probably always will.

Regarding the varied interests of blogs, the survey found 28 percent of gay and lesbian adults reported reading news and current issue blogs, compared to 19 percent of heterosexuals. More than a quarter (26%) of gay and lesbian adults also read entertainment and pop culture blogs, compared to 11 percent of heterosexuals. Given the heightened interest in this year’s electoral contests, a significant number, nearly one-quarter (23%), of gay and lesbian adults also read political blogs. In comparison, only 14 percent of heterosexual adults reported reading political blogs.

Gay and lesbian adults also feel more positive towards advertisements found on blogs. Nearly one in five (19%) reported that they felt positive towards advertisements, compared to 8 percent of heterosexual adults. And in a similar study conducted two years ago, roughly the same proportion (21%) of gays and lesbians reported feeling positively towards blog ads.

“Studies consistently show that gays and lesbians are leaders in online usage, are very keen to find relevant and timely information, and feel more strongly about staying on top of latest trends,” said Wes Combs, President of Witeck-Combs Communications.

“Blogs are fast shaping the media landscape, and it is one medium that marketers and advertisers can’t afford to ignore, especially when it comes to reaching gay and lesbian influencers, voters and consumers.”

We're not just reading blogs, apparently -- we're actively participating in them, demonstrating an age-old desire to be heard and communicate: some 27 percent of gay and lesbian adults report posting a comment on a blog in the last month, compared to 13 percent of heterosexuals, notes the Harris Interactive survey.

What's more, more and more of us are writing our own blogs: one out of five (21%) gay men and lesbians told Harris they had written a personal blog in the last month, (compared to 7 percent of heterosexuals).  Is it just that we have more to say? Possess shorter fuses to ignite? Feel more deeply than our straight friends? Harris doesn't report on that; that's for us to conclude, apparently.

But marketers are taking notice that gay and lesbian adults feel more positive towards advertisements found on blogs. Nearly one in five (19%) reported that they felt positive towards advertisements -- that's twice the number of heterosexual adults.

"Blogs are fast shaping the media landscape, and it is one medium that marketers and advertisers can’t afford to ignore, especially when it comes to reaching gay and lesbian influencers, voters and consumers."

In other words, if we wanted to extrapolate from Combs's findings: built it -- and build it well -- and they will come. 

One writer to the Bilerico Project, weighed in on the subject, commented: "As a gay consumer, I pay more attention to who is advertising on PamsHouseBlend, Americablog and The Advocate; who is sponsoring AIDS runs/bikes, who is donating to AmFar, who is highly rated as an employee by HRC, etc. And I pay attention to boycotts of advertisers supporting hate speech..."

The survey was conducted online between March 11 and 19, 2008, by Harris Interactive, a global market research and consulting firm, in conjunction with Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc., a strategic public relations and marketing communications firm with special expertise in the GLBT market.

Full article: We Like Our Blogs ... And It Shows | Gay Financial Network
Gay and Lesbian Adults Are Reading and Responding to More Blogs Than Heterosexuals | BusinessWire