Abstract
Blogs have become an increasingly popular form of online information and opinion exchanges, particularly amongst Generation Y. This study examines factors important to Generation Y in determining their trust judgment toward blogs. Study data include twenty-eight in-person interviews and 344 survey responses from Generation Y who read blogs for lifestyle tips and information. Results indicate that trust toward blogs by a blog reader is built on judgments along three dimensions: content, design and the perception of a blogger. Within each dimension, judgments are based on the evaluation of several specific criteria: Content-related criteria include authenticity, curation, and the frequency of posts; design-related criteria include aesthetics, organization, and image qualities; criteria related to the reader’s perception of a blogger include perceived expertise/reputation and motives of the blogger. This study also finds that trust directly affects a blog reader’s willingness to return to the blog and to recommend it to others. Specifically, speed of navigation and a perceived similarity between the blog writer and the blog reader have direct effects on a blog reader’s willingness to return, while information curation, aesthetics, and reputation have direct influence on the blog readers’s willingness to recommend the blog to others.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 113-122 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | International Journal of Design |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Content
- Design
- Perception toward a Blogger
- Referral
- Retention
- Trust
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Strategy and Management
- Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
- Marketing