NAVER

NAVER Blog Records All-time High of New Entries in 2021

- NAVER Blog is Korea’s leading User-Generated Content platform, used by 58% of Koreans, with Millennial and Gen Z users making up 70% of its user base

- NAVER Blog Report shows insights into popular trends and issues amongst Koreans, on topics ranging from entertainment such as ‘Squid Game’ and ‘BTS’, to money management and food

- My Blog Report automatically analyzes blog content and shares personalized insights based on individual blog activity for the year 

 

2021-12-09

 

NAVER Corporation (KRX: 035420) announced today that it had recorded an unprecedented rate of user growth in its 2021 Blog Report. The 2021 Blog Report consists of NAVER Blog Report, which analyzes big data accumulated on blogs each year, and My Blog Report, which offers insights based on users’ personal blogging data. NAVER Blog is NAVER's own User-Generated Content (UGC) service where users regularly share their thoughts, experiences and daily lives, and communicate with other Blog ‘neighbors’ (followers who are also bloggers on the platform). Since 2003, 2.42 billion blog entries have been posted, which translates to an average of eight posts per second.

 

■ More Than 300 million New Entries Posted in 2021; GenMZ Accounts for 70% of All Users

The 2021 Blog Report highlights various insights on NAVER blogs. According to the report, this year's NAVER Blog usage rate showed the steepest upward curve compared to any other year. Over 300 million new blog entries were posted in 2021, which is an increase of more than 50% YoY and the highest number recorded in a single year since NAVER’s blog service was launched. If each entry was printed on A4 paper and stacked, the pile would be 3.6 times taller than Mount Everest.

 

 

The number of new blog users has also increased significantly. About 2 million new blogs were created this year, with the total number of NAVER blogs now standing at 30 million, which is equivalent to 58% of the Korean population of 51.82 million people (as of 2021). The increase in the number of Millennial and Gen Z users was also remarkable, with 70% of all users identified as those in their 20s and 30s, and 44% of all users in their teens and 20s, reflecting the high growth potential of NAVER Blog.

 

NAVER’s various efforts to upgrade the blog creation ecosystem this year has had a direct impact on the revitalization of blog usage among Millennials and Gen Z. For example, in May, NAVER successfully encouraged the participation of many existing and new users by promoting the #TodayDiary Challenge, where bloggers wrote about their day on their blogs. The challenge was to record moments from their daily lives like a diary entry, and it turned out to be a huge success by resonating with Millennials and Generation Z who enjoy recording and sharing their activities in various digital formats.

 

■ Blog Report Provides Insights on User Interests by Age and Gender

According to the report, the most popular keywords for each month were ‘US presidential election results’, ‘Sweet Home’, ‘Dogecoin’, ‘Starbucks summer e-frequency’ (a loyalty rewards program), and ‘Squid Game’. The most mentioned topics this year were ‘famous restaurant’, ‘daily life’, and ‘economy’, while the most mentioned celebrity was BTS. The high rank of ‘economy’ as a topic was very unusual, reflecting the high interest in money management and investment among those in their 20s and 30s.

 

NAVER also revealed various insights on user interests according to age, highlighting frequently mentioned keywords among posts generated by bloggers in their teens to those in their 40s. ‘School life’, ‘idol’, and ‘game’ were popular topics among teenagers while ‘food’, ‘college life’, and ‘workout’ were popular among those in their 20s. ‘Workplace’, ‘childcare’, and ‘money management’ were the most common topics among those in their 30s and 40s.

 

The topics of interest differed according to gender. For example, on the topic of ‘workout’, teenage girls were interested in ‘weight loss’ and ‘pilates’, while teenage boys were interested in ‘rowing’ and ‘squats’. Women in their 30s and 40s showed high interest in ‘pregnancy’, ‘childbirth’, and ‘childcare’, while men showed high interest in ‘stocks’, ‘cryptocurrency’, and ‘real estate'.

 

 

NAVER also provides a personalized summary of individual blog activity over the past year for bloggers through My Blog Report. In the report, users can look up popular keywords that were effective in driving traffic to their blogs and encouraging more engagement from ‘neighbors’. Starting this year, NAVER introduced its blog ‘style’ feature along with the My Blog Report by analyzing the user’s blogging activities. According to the number of posts, time spent per week and other factors throughout the year, NAVER categorizes bloggers into seven styles including bellini (newbie), kkujunller (diligent blogger), and god blogger (veteran blogger).

 

"NAVER Blog is now being used by more than half of the Korean population, becoming a key feature in the daily lives of many people. 20 years after we launched the blog service, we are still seeing steady growth. It is promising that many users are Millennials and Generation Z, and the number of blog entries are reaching new records every year,” said Ms. Kim Bo-yeon, NAVER Blog leader. “We plan to strengthen our blogger compensation program and introduce new ways for users to utilize the service such as supporting Blog Market (an e-commerce feature that enables bloggers to sell products directly on their blog) and more.”

 

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