Being incredibly original, I still would like to start my blogging journey here from giving you a definition of a blog. After all, I hope this resource is going to be most useful for those of us who are just getting started with blogging, and usually have no idea what it really is. Below are just a few of the best definitions I've seen around:
Blog is short for weblog
A weblog is a website which is designed to be updated regularly and present information in a form of a journal, with the most recent posts showing up at the very top of the first page.
People who own and update such sites are called bloggers. A while ago, the first bloggers had to code and design their blogs on their own, and I believe it was a huge suppressing factor for the early blogging. Without being a real geek and knowing lots about how Internet worked and what HTML was, it was practically impossible to maintain an online presence.
Lately, blogs became so popular, that you can easily find many services which would host your blog for you and do all the rest setup as well. All that's still required from you is to come up with ideas for new posts and to actually write them.
Blogs are chronological
Because online journals are frequently updates, it is incresingly important to make sure all the information is easily accessible to your visitors. One of the very popular ways of providing such access is by ordering all the blog pages chronologically.
On a basic level, this will mean you will see the latest posts of yours at the top of your blog page, and the older ones – at the bottom.
But it doesn't stop here – usually you'll have a sidebar menu which would have links to blog archives – index pages for each months of your blogging.
Blog is a quick way to publish news
By default, blogs are set up in a way that they'll post your new content as soon as you click the "Publish" button. From that moment on, the fresh post is seen at the top of your blog's first page.
Blogs are incredibly popular ways of spreading news. There are numerous blogs specializing in news publishing, because blogging is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to let the world know about your thoughts on a particular subject.
Blog is an easy way to communicate
When you're blogging, your visitors are allowed to leave comments to every post you publish. Most often this will mean some useful and insightful comments shared by others in their attempts to help.
Lately, though, it's become popular to spam blog comments – so some of the most popular blogs have disabled comments completely.
Blogging is simply great for communication. Just think about it: not only you get a chance to share your ideas and thoughts, but you also automatically find people who have the same interests, and get an opportunity to discuss with them anything you like.
I guess the most important thing here is to remember this: once posted, your blog entry or comment is quite possibly never lost. It will be cached by some search engine, downloaded by your readers, and there will be no way for you to hide it completely. Even if you delete your post immediately, there will be a slight chance that someone else will still have it. So this should be a warning to you: behave when you're blogging! Just in case ;)
Blogging is a lifestyle
One more definition of a blog is this: an online diary. Series of personal opinions and details which some individuals choose to put on their website.
Blogging is very easy, and because it's fun to blog, it is dangerously addictive. Many people get so hooked up on blogging that they post 10-20 blog entries daily!
For others though, the rate is quite moderate, and it simply is about talking to your online friends – once people get to know you better, they will make up their minds and will possibly become your permanent readers. From that moment on, they will likely to comment on your musings and depending on your reaction to such comments, it could grow into quite serious relationships.
Looking for more definitions of blogging?
Go to google.com and type: define: blog. This should give you enough definitions to last you a lifetime!
Also, I highly recomment you read the Weblogs: A History and Perspective essay by Rebecca Blood.
For even more information, please read the Wikipedia entry: Blog.
And last, but certainly not the least, is a post by Darren Rowse with even more blog definitions for you.
Speak Your Mind