Blogosphere takes off in India

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New Delhi, May 24: Blogging is catching on in India, though numbers are still modest. There would be around 100,000 India-centric blogs, compared to 4 million in China and 3.35 million in Japan.

Sify head (sales & alliances) K Sundararaman cites Blog Herald to put the number of blogs at 34.5 million across the world. Another report (lancetracey.com) indicates there are 50 million blogs worldwide.

Even as fake blogs or flogs are increasing in number, including a recent one on tennis sensation Sania Mirza, celebrities tend to popularise blogging. Blogs of actor R Madhavan, playback singer Chinmayi and tech entrepreneur Rajesh Jain are a case in point.

Many celebrities in India use blogs to communicate with friends and family, but these can be viewed by a select few, says MSN India head of marketing and strategic business initiatives, Rajnish. “There’s a huge opportunity for Indians to come up with quality stuff on India and Indians,” he points out.

Among the sites that offer blogging include Sify, Rediff, Indiatimes, Blogspot, Movable Type, Live Journal and TypePad. Most India-specific blogs tend to focus on personal experiences, says Mr Sundararaman. But, regional and niche blogs—on technology and movies—are growing. Niche blogs offer immense opportunity to advertisers to reach a target audience. Popular blogs are learnt to have entered sponsorship deals too.