Are you new to blogging and blogging? Then this primer is for you.
The word blog is actually a mixture of two words, web and log; which leads to blog, and finally blog. A blog is a website that is used as an online journal. It can allow you to express your feelings or thoughts on a particular topic.
Like other media, blogs tend to focus on a variety of topics. These topics can range from discussions of politics, sports, music, fashion, food, etc. and it can be very helpful in reaching out to others, letting them know your thoughts, feelings, skills, passions, and even generating profit for your business. Whatever those passions are, they are likely shared by millions of people around the world.
Since their first appearance in 1995, blogs have dramatically traveled communication, affecting public opinion and the media around the world.
The term blogging is the process of creating a blog, maintaining a blog, or adding an article to an existing blog. The person who publishes blog entries is called a blogger.
Blog posts usually consist of:
o Title: main title or a headline
o Body- main content of the post
o Comments- added by readers
o Permalink: the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of an individual article
o Publication date: date and time the entry was published
Some blog posts optionally include:
o Categories or labels: topics about the content that the blog deals with.
o Trackback: links to other sites that are connected to the entry
HOW BLOGS ARE MADE
Blogs have features that separate them from standard web pages. Blogs allow easy production of new pages, new submissions can be entered in a simple form, with the title, category and main content of the article.
These forms are called templates. The templates are programmed to be fully automated, they create a new full article page, which is then added to the home page, with the appropriate date.
Some notable web hosting companies like America Online and internet portals like Yahoo or Google as well as social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube provide blog hosting and production services.
BLOG DIFFERENCES
Blogs differ from forums or newsgroups in that only the author posted to the blog can create new discussion topics. Blog networks can serve as a forum because each blog in the network can produce topics.
BLOG TYPES
o Personal- your online diary. You can post daily thoughts or experiences letting the world know what’s going on with you.
o Career: generally focused on one’s professional ability and passion
o Cultural- discussions on sports, theater, music and other arts. These are some of the most read blogs.
o Business: start, operate, promote, finance, all business areas are written
or Science
o Religion and Spirituality
o Mlog: a mobile blog, in which the content is published on the Internet from a mobile device
o Vlog- video blogging via a webcam and posting to sites like YouTube
o Educational: Used by students to record what they learn and by mentors to record what they teach.
Blogs are like a camera lens for your life, where people can look and catch a momentary image of you.
