Exploring An Individual's Intention to Use Blogs: The Roles of Social, Motivational and Individual Factors

Blogs are a new type of media for social interaction; they have become very popular, and have shown their influence throughout our society. However, little is known about what motivates an individual to participate in blogging activities. This study aims to explore how an individual's intention is influenced by social, motivational and individual factors. A survey, involving 283 subjects, was conducted to examine the proposed model. The results revealed that personal innovativeness in the domain of information technology (PIIT), perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment have direct impacts on a persons' intent to use blogs. On the other hand, factors such as subjective norms and blog self-efficacy influence an individual's motivational factors; these factors, in turn, influence an individual's behavioral intention in regard to blog usage. The findings of this study not only contribute to a theoretical building of those factors that effect blog usage, but also provide implications to practitioners for understanding and promoting blog usage.

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