A blog is a cross between a website and a discussion group like MySpace. A website holds static
information whereas discussion groups are like talking to someone on a telephone. A blog marries the two together.
Blog entries are like entries you would make in a diary or journal. You can post a thought, interest or information that might be useful to others and they can leave you a comment about it, if they choose. Blog entries are archived for historical review.
Blogs can be created by an individual or by a group (group blog) to discuss a common interest (e.g. political, community, corporations, etc.) Blogs are great for business because they give the business a personal feel. Blogs can be tied to an existing website or created as an independent site.
Some of the advantages of using a blog are:
1. It is easy to add fresh content; you don’t need to hire a web designer.
2. The most current information is added at the top (reverse chronological order) so the visitor
can read the latest information first.
3. ‘Posts’ (messages) are sorted by date, category or archive, which helps your visitor search for a particular message.
4. ‘Posts’ (messages) can be posted on the main page or as individual pages, which can be
archived monthly, weekly or daily, your choice. Archiving keeps your blog clean and makes it
easier for your visitors to find a post you have created.
5. Visitors can post comments to your blog.
6. You can tell people a little bit about yourself by posting your profile.
7. You can post pictures to your blog.
8. You can include links to other websites.
9. You can use RSS feeds. (RSS feeds are a way to automatically get information from other
websites posted to your blog. This is a great way to add content without writing everything
yourself.)
History of Blogging
- The term “weblog” was first introduced by Jorn Barger in December 1997.
- Peter Merholz coined “blog”, a shorter version, in April or May of 1999. It can be used as either a noun or a verb.
- Around 1999 Paul Kedrosky’s company GrokSoup and Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan’s
- company Pyra Labs (founder of Blogger) created software to promote the new phenomenon of blogging.
- In February 2003, GoogleTM purchased Pyra Labs product Blogger.
- As of March 2003, the Oxford English Dictionary included the terms weblog, blog as well as other related words.
