Opinion makers
Tbilisi has a nascent blogging community. Most popular blogs (among those measured by Top.ge web metrics) are for niche topics, such as personal care, fashion, sports, gardening and such. Blogs are popular among socially active youth. Facebook group Georgian Bloggers lists some 60 bloggers in the community (September 22, 2013), with more bloggers identified in comments.
Blogs are the medium of choice for activists. LGBT rights group Identoba has an active blog.
Those interested in public affairs and politics can visit 24/7 blogmedia.ge, a joint platform for bloggers launched by 24 hours and Azrebi.ge.
In all, there are 504 blogs registered on Georgian Internet audience-measurement site Top.ge. Top-viewed blogs get between 2,000 to 10,000 unique hits a day on average. Popular blogging platforms are Wordpress.com and Blogspot.com.
Since Facebook is the most popular network, bloggers share content mostly through Facebook. The Institute for Development and Freedom of Information notes that “citizen activeness in forums and blogs is very low.” Freedom on the Net 2017 notes that “even though the Georgian blogosphere has grown impressively, there are few bloggers who create content that has an impact on the political agenda, or who spark widespread discussion online.”
Blogs that are devoted to public affairs are typically incorporated into news websites, such as blogs on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radiotavisupleba.ge website, Tabula.ge and GPB’s 1tv.ge. Tamada Tales is an excellent blog by George Lomsadze for Eurasianet.org.
Internet forums have gone down in popularity. Forum.ge is the biggest discussion forum.