Gov’t Lies about Microsoft Survey on Blogs – Deceptive Repackaging to Mislead Rakyat

I love what some quick research can do :)

Malaysiakini reports the government quoting a Microsoft report as saying only 2% of Malaysian netizens read political blogs.

Then how come when I look up that same report, it says that 20% of Malaysian respondents listed political blogs as being of interest?

‘Accidentally’ lost a zero there, DS Lim? The same way a zero was missing from 4,000?

Not only that. Our good minister also left out some rather interesting findings from the survey they quoted oh so authoritatively.

Malaysiakini:

A survey conducted by Microsoft has shown that most bloggers in the country operate blogs for entertainment and to communicate with family members.

The survey, titled ‘A Windows Live Report‘ in August last year, discovered that 63 percent of respondents blog for entertainment and 49 percent blog to communicate with family and friends.

Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik, in a parliamentary written reply, said the survey showed that only three percent of bloggers are into citizen journalism.

“The survey also concluded that political blogs are the least preferred, where only two percent of respondents visit these blogs. On the other hand, 81 percent said they prefer to frequent blogs operated by family and friends,” he said.

Ah, so we’re irrelevant then, of course?

Then why is it when I read the survey on which these conclusions are supposedly based, I find it to give completely different results than those espoused by our good Minister?

Yet another attempt to bullshit us? Remember, rakyat pantang ditipu!

A simple Google search reveals a news article on “Blogging Asia: A Windows Live Report.“

I will reproduce the highlights, but if you think I’m trying to pull some bullshit of my own, please feel free to click on the link, peruse the article in its entirety and refute anything I say here :)

Here it is!:

Blogging Phenomenon Sweeps Asia

According to New Research from Windows Live Spaces

HONG KONG, Nov. 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ –

Key Research Findings

– Nearly half of those online in Asia have a blog
– 74% find blogs by friends and family to be most interesting
– Young people and women dominate (except India where it isvoverwhelmingly a male domain and Korea where blogging is a part of everyday life for all)
— 50% believe blog content to be as trustworthy as traditional media
– 41% spend more than three hours a week blogging
– More than 40% have less than 10 visitors per week (nat: haha, ok, but I think most of us are ready to share our stats with DS Lim if it comes down to that :)

Asia’s blogosphere is surging forward with nearly half, 46%, of those online actively blogging, according to research released today by Microsoft’s MSN and Windows Live Online Services Business. The research showed that blogging is a social phenomenon with Asians primarily blogging as a means to maintain and build their social connections and to express themselves.

Blogging as a corporate or business tool still appears to be nascent in most markets, with little interest from consumers in blogs from business or political leaders. The exceptions are online powerhouse Korea where blogging has permeated all aspects of life and India where a culture of self improvement is seeing business related blogs become very popular.

Blogging Asia: A Windows Live Report, released today, details the research findings which are based on an online survey of more than 25,000 MSN portal visitors across seven markets.

Social Connections and Self Expression Drive Asia’s Bloggers

According to the report, the region’s bloggers are primarily driven by the need to express themselves and share their lives with family and friends. The highest number of respondents (53%) indicated that they chose to start a blog to share a diary or photo album with loved ones.

The report also showed that Asia’s blogosphere is fueled by youth with almost half of all bloggers (56%) under 25, while 35% are 25 to 34 years old, and 9% are 35 years old and over. When broken down by gender, 55% of bloggers in Asia were found to be female and 45% male.

“User created content and community based online services are really propelling the Internet in Asia right now,” said Alex Stewart, Director of Microsoft’s Online Services Business, Asia Pacific. “With the introduction of easy to use services such as Windows Live Spaces, blogging has moved into the mainstream and become a popular way for people to stay in touch with family and friends. Today, instead of sending out mass emails or holiday letters, people are using their blogs to express themselves”.

Whose Blogs do we want to read?

Most blogs will have a small audience; in fact over 40% of blogs have fewer than ten visitors each week. However in Korea, where blogging is more established 11% have more than 50 and 12% more than 250 visitors per week.

Netizens in Asia are most interested in those blogs written by friends and family (74%) while blogs by work colleagues were the second most popular blog but were a distant second with only a quarter of respondents showing interest. In Korea and India however respondents are most interested in blogs covering a specific topic of interest.

Politicians fared poorly across the region with only 14% interested in reading their blogs except in Malaysia where they were quite popular with 20% listing this type of blog as being of interest. Sporting personalities also failed to impress in general with only 8% expressing interest — suggesting we are more interested in their talents on the field or the pitch than their views or perspectives on life.

India stood out with half of all respondents showing a strong interest in business blogs, ranking them as the most interesting, versus the rest of the region where just over a quarter were interested in blogs written by business leaders. Korea also showed high interest in this area.

The New Fourth Estate?

The survey also shows that blogs are a relatively trusted source of information with half of respondents believing that blog content is as trustworthy as traditional media. A quarter of respondents also believed blogs to be the quickest way to learn about news and current affairs.

Implications for Advertisers

Blogging is a dynamic and exciting online service that is beginning to drive audiences in the millions across Asia. Each blog may not attract a huge number of visitors but there are millions of people blogging and they are beginning to spend more and more time online. The survey showed that 41% spend 3 hours or more each week blogging. Blogging offers brands new and interactive ways to engage with their audience.

“Innovative advertisers in the region such as Lenovo in Singapore and ANZ in Australia are already tapping into the blogging phenomenon and targeting campaigns to users of Windows Live Spaces. We expect as blogging becomes an even bigger part of the social fabric of communities across Asia that more and more big brand advertisers will begin to use this dynamic advertising medium,” said Stewart.

About the Study

Blogging Asia: A Windows Live Report was conducted online on the MSN portal and across seven markets in Asia — Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Over 25,000 people took part in the survey which took place in August and September. The results were analyzed by Harris Interactive, the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com .

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I don’t know where he got the other figures (or if they were made up), but I’ll keep looking.

Don’t try and bastardize the truth, twist and spin the data, or just plain lie DS Lim.

And if you insist on doing so, please try not to do it in a way so easy to refute.

Hidup bloggers! :)