A-LIST FILIPINO

POLITICAL BLOGGERS
AND THEIR READERS:
WHO THEY ARE, WHY THEY ACCESS BLOGS,
& HOW THEY PERCEIVE, & PARTICIPATE IN,
POLITICS*
Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos
SIRCA Grantee
26 February 2011, National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG),
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
* This work was carried out with the aid of a SIRCA (Strengthening ICTD Research Capacity in Asia) grant from
the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada, and administrative support from
the Singapore Internet Research Centre (SiRC), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The project was
managed under the Centre for Research and Communication in Manila, Philippines.
 Internet, Blogging, and Politics
PUBLIC SPHERE INTERNET has changed the nature of
political communication and the landscape
ELECTRONIC
of political participation
REPUBLIC

User-friendly Personalized
Low-cost Social

BLOGS promising democratic tool for providing information,

facilitating political communication, and influencing nature and level of
political participation.

But, only anecdotal evidence on Filipino bloggers, how they affect

their readers, and how both engage in political activities.
 Curious Connections
• Blogs are founded on bloggers’ motivation and
personal contexts: predisposition, resources, self-
interests, and environment
• Political participation – based on actor’s intention to
influence distribution of social goods and social
values and government action
• Actors’ motivations and resources are important
factors in understanding:
(i) blogs as a form of political participation
(ii) how blogs are used to promote participation
(iii) potential of blogs in enhancing participation
 What we wanted to find out
• A-list Filipino political bloggers
 Who they are
 Why they write political blogs
 Whether and how they participate in politics
 Whether and how they encourage readers to participate,
online and offline

• Political blog readers

 Who they are
 Why they read political blogs
 What their attitude is toward politics
 Whether and how they participate in politics, online and
offline
 How we did it
• Online Survey
 30 A-list Filipino political bloggers (June to Oct 2009)
(McKenna & Pole, 2004 and Ekdale et al. ,2007)
 64 political blog readers (Feb to May 2009)
(McKenna & Pole, 2004 and Gorospe-Jamon, 1998)

• Elite interviews
 Political bloggers  Academics
 Journalists  Communications experts

• Focus group discussions (FGDs)

 Metro Manila (20 Feb 2010)
 Cebu City (22 May 2010)
 Davao City (29 May 2010)
 Some notes on Sampling
• No consensus on how to define a political blog
 Searchability in Google and Yahoo! using key search terms:
“Philippine” “political” “politics” “blog”
 Extract individual blogs from blog directories, ranking sites

• Selection criteria
 word “politics” in blog description or tags;
 author is a private individual, Filipino citizen, 18 years old or up;
 blog at least 1 year, with recent posts (from March to May 2009)
about politics, average of 2 posts per month
 contact detail available (or active comment feature)

• A-list Filipino bloggers are established and popular

 Independent ranking undertaken using http://popuri.us and
http://pagerankall.com
 WHO are A-List Filipino Political Bloggers?

Male, 25-34 y/o, Metro Manila-based; college-

educated, employed, high-income; veteran
internet users; broadband at home & work

Blogging for 2-4 years, 1-2 hrs/day, 3-5 days/week;

All blogs allow comments, almost all have links to
other political blogs; Read 10+ other blogs

Feel that blogging is “a form of political participation”

that has led to “an exchange of ideas among
individuals even in the real world.”
 WHY did they START to blog?
KEEP TRACK OF
THOUGHTS
top 2 box rating
(Very much + much)
INFORM PEOPLE ON
63 MOST RELEVANT INFO
53 53 INFORM PEOPLE ON
47MOST47 RECENT INFO

40
37 HELP
37

SOCIETY
27

FORMULATE
17 17
NEW IDEAS
10 10
7

Keep track Inform Inform Help society Formulate Influence Let off Alternative Serve as Influence Help Critique Critique Earn money
of thoughts people on people on new ideas public steam perspective political media org/cause political media
relevant info recent info opinion watchdog opponents
Boxed scores are significantly higher at 95% CI
 WHY do they CONTINUE to blog?
KEEP TRACK OF
THOUGHTS
top 2 box rating
FORMULATE
(Very much + much)

63
NEW IDEAS
57
53
INFORM PEOPLE ON
MOST
50 RELEVANT INFO
47
43 43 43
40
SERVE AS POLITICAL
WATCHDOG
27 27

HELP SOCIETY 17

10

Keep track Formulate Inform Serve as Help society Alternative Influence Inform Let off Help Influence Critique Critique Earn money
of thoughts new ideas people on political perspective public people on steam org/cause media political media
relevant info watchdog opinion recent info opponents
Boxed scores are significantly higher at 95% CI
 How blogs promote participation?
Activity Frequency Percentage
Announce an event Expressive
18 participation
60%
Encourage readers to contact an elected official 9 30%
Other 6 20%
Free advertising for a candidate 4 13%
Don't know 2 7%
Raise money 1
Political 3%
campaign
Paid advertising for a candidate 0 0%
Not applicable 5 17%
 Encourage readers to participate OFF-line
Activity Frequency Percentage
Vote or register to vote 17 57%
Conventional & legitimate
Attend a peaceful demonstration 17 57%
Sign a petition 14 47%
Join a protest rally Unconventional
14 but legitimate
47%
Join a political group/movement 7 23%
Campaign for a candidate 4 13%
Other 3 10%
 Engage in charity
 Participate in elections
 Be critical and analytical
Practice civil disobedience 2
Unconventional 7%
& illegal
 Encourage readers to participate ON-line
Activity Frequency Percentage
Visit other blogs 26 87%
Visit other websites Neutral, conflict-free
22 networking
73%
Write/send comments to your blog 19 63%
Join an online cause Political stand,15
support mobilization
50%
Sign an online petition 10 33%
Write/send comments to other blogs 10 33%
Join a blogswarm 8 27%
Other 2 7%
Donate money 1 3%
Don't know/ refuse 1 3%
Not applicable 1 3%
 Blogger Political Activities BEFORE and AFTER
Prior to creating After creating
Activity blog blog
Voted 87% 73%
Attended a rally, protest or march 67% 60%
Sent e-mail or letters to elected officials 43% 40%
Attended a political fund raiser 20% 17%
Worked on a campaign 37% 40%
AFTERablogging,
Attended although
local community respondents feel “much
meeting 57% more” informed 47%
about political issues, but only “somewhat” sure
Others 17%
about their 13%
influence on politics or political discourse.
N/A 3% 3%

• No significant difference before and after blogging (at 95% CI)

• Blogging did not significantly change participation in these
political activities
• Some activities are time-specific, such as “voting”
 Blogger & their Readers: Similar Profile
Blogger Blog Reader
Answer with highest
Profile (%) (%)
frequency
N = 30 N = 64
Gender Male 80 59
Female 20 41 51% ↑

Age 25 to 34 years old 53 48

Location Metro Manila 40%↑ 67 48
Other Regions 23 41 44% ↑
Abroad 10 9
Refused - 2
Educational attainment College 57 69
Employment Currently employed 87 88
Socio-economic status Upper Income (P50,001 up) 40 42
Internet use (in years) 7+ years 70 66
Internet use (mode) Broadband subscription at 87 84
home
Membership in a No affiliation 67 88
political organisation
 WHY Readers Visit Political Blogs
Reasons Frequency Percentage
Keep updated; Gain awareness and more
information 22 34%
Know/read views of others 16 25%
Validate my opinion vis-à-vis others' views 8 13%
Gain more info and learn 4 6%
Know about issues not picked up my mainstream
media 4 6%
Passive; coincidental 2 3%
Politically-inclined 2 3%
Educate the masses; exchange thoughts 1 2%
Entertainment; opinion 1 2%
Written/recommended by a friend 1 2%
Weigh critical views/analyses 3 5%
64 100%
 HOW Blogs benefit readers
Benefits Frequency Percentage
Be informed 18 28%
Raise social/political awareness 9 14%
Validate opinion vis-a-vis others' views 9 14%
Know other people's views 9 14%
Help shape and inform one's opinion 5 8%
Broaden views/perspective 5 8%
Keep updated 4 6%
Know about issues not picked up by mainstream
media 4 6%

• Main reason for, and benefit of, reading political blogs

are associated with INFORMATION.
 Reader Political Activities BEFORE and AFTER
Prior to
accessing After accessing
Activity political blogs political blogs
Voted 72* 50
Attended a rally, protest or march 50 38
Sent e-mail or letters to elected officials 22 28
Attended a political fund raiser 8 5
Worked on a campaign 27 28
Attended a local community meeting 33 31
Others 3 16**
None / NA 9
Write political blogs/post of their own 5
Attended President Aquino's funeral 2
* Incidence significantly higher before blog reading (at 95% CI)
** Incidence significantly higher after blog reading (at 95% CI)

• Voting is time-specific; Majority of “Others” did not provide an answer.

 Readers’ Political CYNICISM
• Cynicism – tendency to have a negative view of, or
negative feelings toward, politically significant objects,
such as political institutions and processes
Cynicism Percentage (N = 63)*
Low 1.6%
Moderate 38.1%
High 60.3%
Total 100%

• Highest level of cynicism associated with:

– “Competence of candidates winning the elections”
– “Many politicians are under the control of vested interests”
– “Most politicians are out to gain something for themselves”
 Readers’ Political EFFICACY
• Efficacy – feelings of competency and beliefs that one's
actions are consequential, which determines a person’s
incentive to participate in politics
Efficacy Percentage (N = 64)
Low 12.5%
Moderate 48.4%
High 39.1%
Total 100%

• Highest level of efficacy associated with:

– “Having a say about what the government does”
– “Ways to have a say other than voting”
– “Understanding what is going on in politics, government”
 Some Observations
• Survey results were triangulated with data from elite
interviews and focus group discussions
 Interviews (May 2009 to April 2010)
 FGDs:
Manila FGD - 20 Feb 2010
Cebu FGD - 22 May 2010
Davao FGD - 29 May 2010

• Some critical issues were highlighted in interviews and

discussions
 On the “Politics” of Political Blogging
• Male dominance among bloggers
 Aggressiveness and violence in online debates
 Stressful especially for women
 “Men won’t accept defeat”

• Bloggers of the same opinion stick together

 Polarization—blogs tend to invite, nurture a following from
like-minded individuals who agree with blogger’s views

• Small audience, but some more influential than others:

 When blogger is already reputable, offline
 When blog becomes viral
 When blog gets picked up by mainstream media
 When blog gets attention of influential and “gatekeepers”
 On Political Blogs and Social Change
• Blogging aids in creating public consciousness
– Highest popularity in PCIJ blog: “Hello Garci” and “F4”

• Convergence or complementation of different media

– Necessary to effectively shape public opinion!
– Complemented by face-to-face mobilization

• Blogging is only one form of participation

– Social change instituted outside blogosphere
• Blogging on the decline
– Facebook & Twitter increasingly used for political
information and mobilization!
– SNS increases exposure of blogs
On Political Blogging and Journalism
 On Political Blogging and Journalism
• Low-cost, non-hierarchical, decentralized
– Blogs criticized against journalistic standards: accuracy and
accountability
• Traditional vs. Citizen Journalism: A Caution
– In traditional journalism, stories go thru editor, publisher
has legal accountability
– In blogs, blogger functions as writer, editor, and publisher!
– Foregone editorial filter makes blogger solely responsible
for what she or he writes
• Journalist Blogging (J-blogging)
– Journalists as source of political information thru blogs
– Blogs transforming journalism or j-blogs normalized?
 What did we find out? (1)
• A-list Filipino political bloggers & their readers are:
– Majority are young males
– Have the resources (money, time, literacy, broadband)
– Located in country’s political capital
• Filipinos start to blog to keep track of thoughts and
inform others; continue to formulate new ideas
– In sync w/ readers’ reasons and perceived benefits
– Self-serving motivations dominate for both
• Credibility is currency in the blogosphere
– A-list bloggers show antagonism toward paid hacks
– Readers look to credible bloggers, with established
reputation offline or in mainstream media
 What did we find out? (2)
• Most engage in expressive, conventional, &
legitimate forms of participation
– Critical yet non-hostile actors in political blogosphere

• No significant difference in participation for both

bloggers and readers before and after accessing blogs
– No indication that blogs encourage more participation.
• Blogs are a medium for providing/acquiring
information, raise awareness and enrich knowledge
– increased knowledge of “real politics” may have contributed
to readers’ high level of cynicism
– may have downplayed value of resources, as most readers
feel only moderately efficacious and uncertain of influence
 What did we find out? (3)
• Political blogs have yet to create tangible macro-
impact on political participation
– Most contribution limited to information-sharing, for now
– No influence on political activities in “politics as usual”
– More value-added during urgent political issues or “crisis”
– Gain traction when it goes viral, picked up by mainstream
media, and/or attract attention of gatekeepers.

• Despite limited impact, blogs formulate new ideas

– Could lead to more vibrant discussions, online/offline
– Support democracy by allowing expression and encouraging
participation despite the odds in Philippine politics.
 Sidelined Issues
• Disengagement from online political discussion
– Due to bickering and personal attacks among bloggers and
readers

• Wrong info or smear campaigns can spread like

wildfire thru blogs
– Accuracy sacrificed for quick access to controversial
information

• Censor blogs? Bloggers’ Code of ethics?

– High-profile case of bloggers sued in court by private
individuals and government official
 Future Research
• Catalytic effect of SNS, like Facebook, and micro-
blogging site, Twitter in mobilizing netizens
• How blogs, micro-blogs, and SNS help shape and
influence political attitude vs. traditional media
• Content analysis of blogs and comments thread
• New governance approach using new media for
political communication
– Pnoy replying directly to a netizen’s note on Facebook
 Thank you.
Mary Grace P. Mirandilla-Santos
mg(dot)mirandilla(at)gmail(dot)com
http://gracemirandilla.tumblr.com
http://twitter.com/gracemirandilla
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gracemirandilla