The State Of Blogging in the Hispanic and Minority Communities: a Report from the Front Lines

Guest blog from Mark Story from FH Hispania’s digital team.

The State Of Blogging in the Hispanic and Minority Communities: a Report from the Front Lines

José Antonio Vargas, a writer for the Washington Post, recently attended the Yearly Kos convention, by far the largest and most influential gathering of bloggers, although it clearly skews to the political Left. He noted:

“Walking around McCormick Place during the weekend, it became clear that only a handful of the 1,500 conventioneers — bloggers, policy experts, party activists — are African American, Latino or Asian. Of about 100 scheduled panels and workshops, less than a half-dozen dealt directly with women or minority issues.”

Not good.

While some statistics differ slightly, the Pew Hispanic Center reports that 56 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. use the Internet, and a whopping 67 percent of 18- to 27-year-olds — the group most likely to visit social-networking and blogs – are online.

So what’s the problem? Hispanic bloggers are online. There are clearly sufficient numbers. So who is pitching them? Who is advertising with them, something that will help monetize and advance Hispanic blogging?

My friend and fellow blogger, David Wescott of “It’s Not a Lecture” attended the BlogHer conference – which just happened to be taking place at the same time as the Yearly Kos. He was on a panel called “The State of the Momosphere” and was asked the following question by a participant:

“My question, then, was directed at those two marketing professionals and I asked when they would tap into the mothers of color and bring us into the fold because they are leaving us out of the loop. When will the diversity come into play?”

David does not cop out. From the perspective of someone who pitches bloggers frequently with a large public affairs firm, he sums it up by saying “The short answer: we just stink at this.”

Double not good.

My own short answer is this: we do have a long way to go. Advertisers, communications professionals and big-time bloggers need to wake up to the fact that Hispanics are online in significant numbers – and given the segmented nature of the Internet, can be just as valuable for outreach, pitching and advertising.

Share | August 23rd, 2007 1 Comment »
Tags: Digital