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Why are A‐list bloggers continuously popular?

Hsiu‐Chia Ko (Department of Information Management, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China)

Online Information Review

ISSN: 1468-4527

Article publication date: 15 June 2012

1979

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore why A‐list bloggers are continuously popular and what benefits they may obtain from becoming A‐list bloggers.

Design/methodology/approach

This work compared the varying popularity ranking list at two stages of Wretch, the biggest blog platform in Taiwan, and selected 44 continuously popular A‐list bloggers as research subjects. The research used online ethnographic methods, social network analysis, and text analysis to analyse collected data, including personal blog homepages, profile pages, blogrolls, blog posts, and audience responses to 44 continuously popular A‐list bloggers.

Findings

The results reveal that, on average, A‐list bloggers publish several articles weekly. Each article draws many responses and quotations; however only a few audience members continuously respond to these articles. The social network analysis and the online ethnographic analysis results indicate that a large audience regularly visits A‐list blogs, and their quotations and diffusion of information promote A‐list bloggers' reputations and build social capital, which consequently provides opportunities to convert popularity into a profit source. Finally the text analysis results show that A‐list bloggers often share positive life experiences in their blogs and receive positive feedback from their audience, which may increase their psychological well‐being and life satisfaction, and motivate them to continue writing. The positive emotions of A‐list bloggers may affect their audience and create emotional resonance with them.

Originality/value

This is the first study to explore the success of continuously popular A‐list bloggers to increase the understanding of the blogging phenomenon.

Keywords

Citation

Ko, H. (2012), "Why are A‐list bloggers continuously popular?", Online Information Review, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 401-419. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521211241422

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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