The aim of the blog is to encourage readers to develop a "sociological imagination" and to learn to see how social institutions, interactions, and ideas affect the individual.

After a few months, Wade and Gwen Sharp (Nevada State College) by dint of being the main content producers took over the blog.

In 2010, the editors of the magazine retired but moved the website's content to The Society Pages along with Sociological Images.

As Wade and Sharp put it in their history of the blog, "with the help of the technical staff at Contexts and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Sociological Images became increasingly professional, functional, and multidimensional".

The blog covers a wide variety of sociological topics, such as gender inequality, data mapping, homelessness, lesbian politics, and the environment.

[1] According to Wade and Sharp, "involvement of the readership in this way has undoubtedly been key to the site's success; not only does it ensure a steady stream of content, but it creates a personal connection to the site and engages readers more actively in applying the sociological perspective as they look for relevant examples to submit".

Sharp points out that for readers of the blog, sociology can explain why they and their friends enjoy the same brands or how advertising perpetuates gender stereotypes.

[2] These kinds of posts are often filled with historical images "to highlight continuity or change over time", such as the ways in which different racial groups have been dehumanized through animal-like caricature.

For example, one interviewer praised The White Woman's Burden,[10] which demonstrated the consistent colonial impulse in advertising.

McCormack points to one particularly good example of this kind of post, a video of Hans Rosling explaining the relationship between wealth and life expectancy throughout the world over the past 200 years.

For example, they discuss how advertising has co-opted the language of "choice" from feminism and pro-choice campaigns in order to sell cosmetics.

[15][16] Wade and Sharp write in an article mentioning this incident that "the Abercrombie post had an unusually powerful effect, but Sociological Images routinely receives e-mails and comments from public relations departments of companies responsible for advertisements or products that are analyzed on the site".

[2][5] Wade and Sharp include sample assignments that allow instructors to integrate the blog into class work.

[2] McCormack also points out that the high-quality comments on the blog "provide a strong model for students learning to read and analyse critically".

[2] The site also includes course guides that organize posts from the blog around frequently taught sociology concepts.

[2][1] The site is partially syndicated on two high-profile blogs, namely Jezebel and Ms. Posts from Sociological Images have also been reposted at Racialicious, Adios Barbie, Love Isn't Enough, Scientopia, Owni, and Conhecimento Prudente.

[1] Readers are drawn to the site in a variety of ways, some as part of their daily reading habits and some through internet searching, such as through the phrase "Disney princess".

[5] In their review of the site, MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching), wrote that the site "strongly encourages us to develop our sociological imaginations by presenting brief discussions of timely and compelling imagery, spanning the breadth of sociological inquiry".

[23] Male privilege and entitlement posts on the site tend to receive the greatest volume of negative reactions.

[7] Moreover, while the site's posts on gender inequity are often "routinely praised" by many readers, they are also linked to by men's rights groups, attracting criticism.

Sharp mentions in an interview that she has to take significantly more time out to monitor the site after she posts on these topics to delete and respond to fat-shaming.