Some participants from one of the ACFC10 sessions on blogging
One of the bloggers I’ve become familiar with in the last several months (his name is Michael and he writes http://minnesotafarmer.wordpress.com) left an interesting comment on my blog the other day. Yes, yet another time in which someone’s input inspired me to do a little looking and see what else could be learned on a topic. Michael’s comment said in part “I was wondering about the age of those who blog on ag. At 57 I would bet I’m one of the older ones.”
I thought to myself…. bloggers do seem to be typically from the younger set but a lot of stats would say our farmer population is aging. So where are were on averages? So I thought I better find something that I could use as a guideline and after a bit of Googling, came up with this:
Bloggers are younger and better educated but earn less than the general U.S. adult (18+) population – and they are more likely to be single, male, and actively engaged in new media, according to a study by BIGresearch……
They also tend to be younger, with an average age of 37.6, compared with 44.8 for the US adult population
I can’t help but think of the room during the AgChat Foundation Conference and all the faces we had there. There was a wide range of folks I was able to talk to. Some like Michael are telling their stories for kids and grandkids. Others simply feel they need to set the record straight. Still others are just passionate about both agriculture AND communications so it was an automatic fit.
I have to say, on the age, I’m not willing to guess the high end but I do know that the younger people in the room were DEFINITELY in an age group where I would be mom age (if it weren’t for me being tragically hip LOL).
So I’d love to know a big about ag bloggers and here’s a poll or two to consider weighing in on.
[polldaddy poll=3769689] [polldaddy poll=3769676]
Can’t wait to see the final results.
Interesting poll and looking forward to seeing the results. I’m 43 and have been blogging for 9 months and forsee blogging for many years to come:)
Interesting results so far!
I do feel like one of the dinosaurs but love to share our dairy story and the connection we have with all consumers.
LOL! A dinosaur? With your enthusiasm I’m thinking you are crazy with that reference! Keep up the great work!
I’m thinking we are also more female in number than male, at least from what I have seen. NO offense guys, that’s just what I see.
JP I will pass this one along to my Ag bloggy pals. NO PROBLEM!
Thanks Lana. I think you may be right on the ladies bringin it & think that may be okay.
Iam a city girl turned farm girl, too!! I now plan on following your blog!
Nice meeting you Lauren!
I agree with Lana, I know many more female bloggers than men, but that could be that I am interested in following more Mom/women/cooking blogs
Good point! I do follow some of the guys who blog but occasionally find they don’t post as frequently.
I agree most ag bloggers that I follow or stumble across are women. Women seem to naturally gravitate to advocating for agriculture, particularly city girls turned farm wives can be quite vocal telling the story of agriculture. Many of them post blog nearly daily and I’m doing good to post once a week.
Keep up the good work of a post a week. I’ve found being able to post from the mobile phone via email helps me do a bit more cause I can pop up a short post from wherever. A photo and a few comments is sometimes enough to keep up the conversation.
My city born wife is also a great agvocate, but she does it in her elementary classroom. She really hates the pictures of farmers in 5 buckle boots and bib overalls. She sees modern life on the farm and want people to know that we are not hicks out here. Since she has so little time for blogging, the job falls to me to tell our story. Since we sold the last of our pigs I feel like I’m semi retired. Helping tell the real story of agriculture has become a passion.
Keep up the great work Michael & thanks for the inspiration for this post. Seems to have interested quite a few folks.
I would really enjoy getting more active in blogging but have definitely lost steam in the last couple of months. Hopefully I can find the motivation to renew my efforts. However, I absolutely love to read other farm blogs and hope to keep finding more.