What is Blogging and How Do Get Started?
July 29, 2008
A blog is a lot like an online journal, but it can be written by a number of people, or by just one person. Each post is written on a website in chronological order, but usually displayed in reverse order. The term ‘blogging’ or ‘blog’ can also be used as a verb to imply an action - in other words, that of posting a comment on a blog.
The term ‘blog’ is derived from Jorn Barger’s term ‘weblog’ and is said to have sprung into being when Peter Merholz separated it into the two words ‘we blog’ on his site as a joke.
When people communicate using a blog, they are likely discussing a specific subject of interest for them. So, if anyone wishes to learn what’s the best red widget to buy for his boat, others will write in with their comment on how that particular widget worked - or didn’t work. Blogs are ideal for uncovering what other folk’s experiences have been with whatever you can think of.
If some person is knowledgeable on some topic with plenty of experience that other people can benefit from, then he may start up a blog about it and offer advice. They may also offer links to other websites that promote items applicable to the area of expertise. Also he may offer links to other blogs or other articles about the same topic.
Blogs utilize both images and text, even so, some blogs emphasize art (artblog), videos (vlog), photographs (photoblog) and audio, that is, podcasting or MP3. Blogs can be short or long, but those that are very short are referred to as micro-blogging. Blogs are usually updated several times a day and the technology utilized today allows people who understand very little about it to become confident bloggers with just a brief learning curve.
In the early days of blogging, bloggers referred to themselves diarists, journalers, or even escribitionists. An article or comment placed on a blog is called a post, a blog post or an entry. Old blogs on a topic are sometimes referred to as ‘archives’ and may be maintained on a different page or pages that can be accessed via a hyperlink. There are occassionally a variety of links - like the index at the end of a book and they are located on the right or left of the blogging page.
The nice thing about blogging is that persons who have the same interests can all join together and talk about, getting familiar with each other (so to speak) at the same time.
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