2010 - Public Relations Society of America
2010 - Public Relations Society of America
2010 - Public Relations Society of America
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frequency <strong>of</strong> blog uses, both forms <strong>of</strong> motivation, the nonindependence <strong>of</strong> bloggers, and the use<br />
<strong>of</strong> balanced language. The hierarchical regressions shows that although females ostensibly were<br />
more likely to share information <strong>of</strong>fline, the effect <strong>of</strong> sex was negated by time spent reading<br />
blogs, which in turn was negated by frequency <strong>of</strong> blog use. In the final step, blogger affiliation<br />
also had no effect, while the best (only significant) predictors <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fline information sharing (R 2=<br />
.388) appeared to be the two forms <strong>of</strong> user motivation (knowledge seeking: β = .415, p = .000;<br />
social/entertainment: β = .169, p < .040). Thus, users might be motivated to share information<br />
for different reasons.<br />
In conclusion, this study suggests that blogs can be powerful communications tools that<br />
help organizations advance their causes by providing valuable third-party endorsements<br />
(Hallahan, 1999a, b) <strong>of</strong> products and service, both by bloggers and by the individuals who share<br />
the information they read with others. Yet, blogs are not advertising, and it appears blogs have<br />
the potential be most effective when they appear to be an independent, authoritative source <strong>of</strong><br />
information and that perception is confirmed by the use <strong>of</strong> balanced language that enhances the<br />
credibility <strong>of</strong> the source and makes product announcements and reviews more authentic.<br />
When incorporating third-party blog endorsements in a PR program, practitioners must<br />
keep bear in mind that blog reading is a user-driven activity, and that readers are eager to derive<br />
either knowledge- or social/entertainment-based gratifications. Readers also care about the<br />
affiliation <strong>of</strong> bloggers and scrutinize the information that bloggers disclose about themselves.<br />
Finally, they use cues such as the use <strong>of</strong> balanced versus all-positive language to distinguish<br />
between ingenuine advertisements versus authentic recommendations.<br />
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