Use of and satisfaction with blogging software: empirical findings for the German-speaking blogosphere

Abstract

Blog software is an important structural aspect of blogging practices, since the various functionalities built into the code frame, but not determine, actual use. It is also subject to ongoing change, either through innovations in the software itself, or through the (re-)combination of different tools. This working paper reports findings on the use of and the satisfaction with blogging software for the german-speaking blogosphere. By comparing users of stand-alone software and blogging software as well as comparing Wordpress users to users of different stand-alone systems, the study brings differences in the respective user bases to light, for example in regard to gender and age. The findings also show how changes in the technical base lead to different levels of satisfaction, with lack of functionalities being a major reason for changing the software. The paper concludes with a short outlook on possible future research that takes software as a defining characteristic of blogging practices into account but avoids fallacies of technological or social determinism.