Since 2002, Technorati has indexed more than 133 million blogs according to their 2008 State of the Blogosphere report. With that many blogs on the internet you would think that blog owners are all very busy people, but this is not always the case.

Only 7.4 percent of these blogs have been updated within the past 120 days, a staggering number which means that about 95 percent of all blogs end up abandoned. Think about it, only 5 of every 100 blogs will achieve any real longevity and remain active for a substantial amount of time.

There are numerous reasons for the abandoned blogs, not the least of which is the initial uphill climb. Generally speaking, people are impatient. Many want to see some results fairly quickly from their chosen endeavor, but blogging is the wrong line of pursuit for those in this category.

Successful blogging requires nothing short of a serious time commitment, that’s just how it is. Without this commitment, it’s likely a matter of time before the blog goes off to the orphanage.

Abandoned blogs now number in the hundreds of millions, an unbelievable amount of bandwidth sitting idle, wasting space.

As you travel the internet you come across quite a few blogs that have not been recently updated. Some have gone for many months or longer without an update. The owner has given up on the blog. How many times have you come across an out of date or abandoned site recently?

Eventually something will have to be done about this non-functioning electronic real estate as it sits parked on servers occupying valuable space.

So how does one avoid becoming a part of the ever growing ranks of abandoned blogs?

Here are a few tips;

• Choose the right subject – From the very beginning, blog about a subject that you are passionate about. Otherwise, blogging becomes a burden and more of a task for you. If it’s not fun it’s unlikely that you will do the things required to feel passionate about what you are doing.

• Be consistent – To gain any measure of success and recognition you will need to post regularly. If you begin posting 5 times weekly, maintain that pace, as your readers will come to expect it.

• Be patient - Blogging will not bring you overnight success. Like any successful business it will take time to grow and prosper. You must exercise patience and follow a developed plan.

• Be Passionate - This is where you’ll develop your writing style and why it is important to choose a blog subject or niche that you are really happy to talk about. Your readers will feel that come through in your writing.

• Keep those expectations in check - Besides you and your family, there won’t be many readers of your blog in the early months. Do not become discouraged and do not expect high volumes of traffic during this period of time. Know this; most blogs have only one faithful reader early on. You!

• Follow a plan – Develop a blogging development plan or download one here and follow it from start to finish. This will greatly enhance your chances for success.

• Make a time commitment – It is extremely important to make time, on a regular basis, to write content and update your blog. View this as job time, as it is your job to generate valuable content to post to your blog. Set aside a block of uninterrupted time, you’ll need it to get your posts together.

• Market your blog - In order to gain traffic and a following, you’ll have to market your blog, letting people know that you exist. Join a few social networks like Facebook and Twitter and establish some relationships. This is where a lot of your traffic will come from. Visit other blogs and leave comments that add to the conversation.

• Approach blogging like a business - This is critical. Develop a serious approach if you want to be taken seriously. Growth will be the result of your dedication and hard work. Like most businesses, there will be a period of building a brand.

These are just a few of the many critical elements that will steer you clear of a poor strategy. Make no mistake, to avoid burnout from blogging into nowhere, and eventually abandoning your blog, you will have to be disciplined, consistent and patient.

The majority of blog launches end when the owner becomes disinterested because returns on time invested are less than expected. But what have you done to reach your expectations?

Get a plan.

Of the millions of blogs in cyberspace, it’s the small percentage of active blogs that receive the majority of page views. The active blogs are the backbone of the blogging industry and if you build your blog over a prolonged period of time, good things will happen.

Abandoned blogs are all over the internet, but yours doesn’t have to become one of them.