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Gays & Lesbians More Likely to Read Blogs, Tweet, Use SocNets

More than half (55%) of gay and lesbian respondents in a recent survey by Harris Interactive report that they read some type of blog - compared with only 38% of heterosexuals - and also are more likely to use popular social networking sites and microblogging tool Twitter.

The survey, which was conducted in connection with Witeck-Combs Communications, found that the percentage of blog-reading GLBTs represents a small increase vs. March 2008 results  - when 51% of gay and lesbian respondents reported reading some type of blog, and November 2006 -  when the percentage was 32%.

Additional blog-reading differences between gays/lesbians and heterosexuals:

• 34% of online gay and lesbian adults say they read news and current issue blogs, compared with 22% of heterosexuals.
• 25% of gay and lesbian adults read entertainment and pop culture blogs, compared with 15% of heterosexuals.
• 28% of gay and lesbian adults read political blogs, compared with 14% of heterosexual adults. This represents an increase over March 2008, when 23% of GLBT read political blogs.
• 14% of gay and lesbian respondents say they read travel blogs, compared with 8% of heterosexuals

Social Networking, Twitter also Popular

Apart from getting information online from blogs, the survey found that GLBT adults also connect online using social networking sites in larger numbers than their heterosexual counterparts:

• 55% of gay and lesbian adults say they are members of Facebook, compared with 46% of heterosexual adults.

• 43% of GLBT respondents report being members of MySpace, compared with 30% of heterosexual respondents.
• 23% of gay and lesbian respondents say they are members of business social networking site LinkedIn, while 13% of heterosexual adults say the same.
• 20% of gay and lesbian adults report being a member of Twitter, compared with 12% of heterosexuals.

“In several years capturing trends, we see again that gays and lesbians are not only looking to stay well informed but also to expand their key social, professional and personal connections online,” said said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications. “As companies work to make the most of their advertising budget, blogs and social networking sites are an even more powerful cross-section of opportunities today when reaching out to this market.”

Separate research from Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs also found that gay and lesbian consumers are more likely than heterosexuals to follow the latest styles and trends.

About the survey: The new nationwide survey of 3,000 US adults, (ages18+) of whom 404 self identify as gay or lesbian (which includes an oversample of lesbian and gay adults), was conducted online May 11-18, 2009