A new report suggests that you ignore bloggers at your own peril. Bloggers, despite making up a tiny proporation of all Internet users, have a disproportionate measure of influence because they are actively engaged.

More than half of the internet users on the continent are passive and do not contribute to the web at all, while a further 23% only respond when prompted. But the remainder who do engage with the net - through messageboards, websites and blogs - are helping change the national conversation, say researchers.

How can policy or issue-focused organizations use blogs? (And scare their Communications Director?)

• Setup a single blog and get key staff, particularly those working on specific issues, to write articles for a blog. They could write these as emails that the blog editor later puts online. As your blog grows, you can spin off more focused blogs


• Find bloggers who share your interests and goals and do everything you can to support them. Make yourself available as a resource for interviews and provide publications or other materials that the bloggers can use. Promote their blog on your own site.


• Comment on blogs related to the issues you work on, participate in these online conversations. Use them to link back to relevant resources on your own site.