One of the key questions we get when we present our services to potential clients is, “how many people really blog, though?” and, “Do people – ‘real’ people – really pay attention to blogs?”

At Exvisu we don’t make quantitative claims about the extent to which the blogosphere is representative – in our work, this varies on a case-by-case basis, and a big part of our job is to ensure that the analysis we do relies on a substantial dataset that we construct.

The other argument on this point relates to the sheer size of the blogosphere. For years, people have tried to assert that there are X number of blogs. Another approach – one that we prefer – is to talk about what proportion of people blog themselves and read blogs. The numbers are pretty impressive.

In Quebec, the most reliable information comes from NETendance CEFRIO and Léger Marketing, whose survey data suggests that 8.3% of Quebeckers publish a blog (March 2007) and that over 25% of Quebeckers read blogs (July 2007).

Earlier today Sebastien Provencher from Praized Media published a post summarizing new results from e-Marketer.com about the US blogosphere on The Praized Blog. In terms of bloggers, the numbers tell an even more impressive tale. In 2008 they estimate that 13% of Americans are bloggers and over half the population (54%) reads blogs. By any standard, figures like these are impressive.