The Netpop study surveyed 1,253 U.S. broadband users in January about their social online usage, and found that the number of people posting to a blog or online forum was down 25% from 2009.
But usage of microblogging services like Twitter was up a whopping 400% -- the only segment to see such a steep rise.
The overall numbers are still higher for blogging -- about 12% of users post to a blog or forum, versus 10% who microblog. But the growth of microblogging is definitely here.
So what's the difference? There's a very fine line between a blog and a microblog, and that doesn't even take into account Facebook status updates, which could be considered a form of microblogging themselves.
People are still posting their every little thought online. But there's more competition than ever for attention, and it's much easier to post -- and to read -- quick blurbs with a link or two than a long rambling post. In all likelihood, bloggers are now tweeting about their blog posts as well, and letting readers decide whether to follow the link or not.
Netpop chart shows microblogging growing
Image: Netpop