WebProNews

A recent Reuters report reminds the tech world that adding tech-lingo to the general lexicon takes a little longer than realized. In London it turns out, the vast majority don't know their blogs from a hole in the ground.

A London advertising agency conducted a survey of cab drivers, pub owners, and hair dressers-often considered to be the "barometers of popular trends," and found that 90% of those surveys hadn't the foggiest clue what podcasting was, and 70% were unaware of blogs.

Not only were the respondents unaware of blogs, these British barometers confused the term "blogging" with a more pejorative craze called "dogging." Dogging entails having sex in semi-public places while people watch. Notices about these dog matches are sent via the Internet or mobile phones.

"Our research not only shows that there is no buzz about blogging and podcasting outside of our media industry bubble, but also that people have no understanding of what the words mean," said Sarah Carter, planning director for DDB, who conducted the survey. "It's a real wake-up call."

Um, hate to say I told you so.

This isn't to say that blog awareness isn't rising and that business should ignore them. A recent study by Forrester Research reported that 10% of consumers read blogs at least once a week, up from 5% a year ago.

The moral of this story is aimed at technophiles who live in an Internet world and attribute Web trends to the general population. It may be a craze on the Web, but Joe Sixpack at the corner pub still has no idea what everybody's blogging on about.