Individuals are increasingly using the Internet as a means of self-expression and interpersonal communication as opposed to a place for solely gathering information (Postmes, Spears, & Lea, 2002). This increase has led to more personalization and a decreased sense of anonymity for those using the Internet for interpersonal means (see Bargh & McKenna, 2004; McKenna & Bargh, 2000 for a review). One form of online self-expression following this changing trend is blogging. Most blogging platforms allow users with little technological savvy to create blogs with ease by providing templates to individuals so that they can begin posting almost immediately. Additionally, most blogging platforms afford individuals the opportunity to upload pictures of themselves and their families to their blog page (i.e., increasing personalization) and provide authors control over the size of their readership.
Much of the research that has examined blogging as a form of online self-expression has taken place in the United States and suggests that a high percentage of the world’s bloggers reside in the United States (Herring et al., 2005). While the growth of blogging is slower outside the United States (Trammell, Tarkowski, Hofmokl, & Sapp, 2006), Japanese is the most commonly used language for writing blogs, with English a close second (Sifry, 2007). Moreover, research examining blogging trends across countries suggests similar patterns of behavior to that reported of the United States (Pedersen & Macafee, 2007).