Mary Harboe
03.03.08
Blogs, Blogging , Blogger
It's hard to escape current mainstream media without hearing the term "blog", which is the shortened form of "web log". You've probably read about politicians creating blogs to further their public reach or have happened upon a personal blog on social networking sites like MySpace or Xanga. Blogs are quickly becoming as ubiquitous as cell phones because just recently the ability to post a blog on a web page has been greatly simplified for the average layman computer user. No matter what your computer experience level is, anyone that's comfortable with basic web browser functions and keyboarding can do it.
What is a Blog
A blog is a special type of Web page, a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are defined by their format: a series of entries posted to a single page in reverse-chronological order, meaning the most recent posting appears at the top of the page. A weblog may consist of the recorded ideas of an individual (a sort of diary) or be a complex collaboration open to anyone. Blogs run the gamut of topics. One may be a running commentary on current events in a specific arena. It may be a series of personal musings. Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.
While some blogging software permits readers to post their own comments, this feature has to be turned on by the blogger, and a significant number of prominent bloggers have not enabled the comment feature. What the best individual blogs tend to have in common is voice -- they are clearly written by human beings with genuine human passion
They represent the personality of the author or reflect the purpose of the Web site that hosts the blog and contain links to other sites the author favors, especially those that support a point being made on a post.
As a format and content approach for a Web site, the weblog seems popular because the viewer knows that something changes every day, there is a personal point-of-view and, on some sites, there is an opportunity to collaborate or respond with the Web site and its participants. In lieu of standard text, blogs can contain a video diary, more commonly referred to as "vlogs" and there exists blogs that consist of nothing but images
and are called "photoblogs".
Comments are one of the things that make blogs unique and special. Anybody who reads a blog may, if the blog owner allows it, publish comments under a blog entry to agree, to disagree, to sympathize, or to share their own thoughts. Each blog entry also will have its own
Permalink (a unique Web address) and sometimes a Trackback (an automatic entry that appears in your blog to tell you that somebody has written about your entry, and linked to it),
A Trackback is a link that appears in a blog's Comments section to tell you that somebody has not only read your entry, but has then gone on to create his or her own Blog entry talking about you and your entry. For example, we may read a Blog entry and think that it is absolutely marvelous, so we post into our own Blog to say "have a look at [Trackback link].
Trackbacks, like Comments, make a blog more interactive and more 'alive' than a traditional Web page has even been able to achieve.
How do I start a blog?
Simply choose a blog provider, create an account, and start writing. After you have chosen a blog provider, creating a blog entry is very easy. It is not like designing a Web page where you have to find software to create your site, design a layout, create the pages and then upload them. The most popular blogging sites do not even need special software—all you need is a Web browser.
Blog entries are created using a submission form. Decide on a title, select a category, type in your content, decide whether to allow Comments and Trackbacks, and then publish your work with the click of a button.
The original and best blogger providers are still free.
One of the original blog communities is www.blogger.com.
blogger.com very easy site to use to start a blog. sign in with your google account take a tour , each step very clealy explained, has templates to make it even easier.
Blogger itself places no restrictions on the form of content being posted. Its web interface, accessible from any browser, consists of an empty form box into which the blogger can type...anything: a passing thought, an extended essay, or a childhood recollection. With a click, Blogger will post it on the writer's website, archive it in the proper place, and present the writer with another empty box, just waiting to be filled.
Other blog Sites are:
Blog.co.uk: http://www.blog.co.uk This is a very easy to use Blog Site for people wishing to set up their first site.
MSN Spaces: http://home.services.spaces.live.com/
LiveJournal: http://www.livejournal.com/
travelpod.com: http://www.travelpod.com Great site to post a blog while on a journey. Lets you upload hundreds of photos
For more information about blogging
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/blogging.mspx
How Will People Find My Blog?
Your blog's content, how it is written, and where the content is placed will have a direct effect on the world's ability to find your blog.
Blogs are most often discovered through standard search engines or dedicated blog search facilities. The important thing to remember is that search engines read content from the top of your page's source code downwards, therefore, the title of your blog can be very important. Search engines also depend heavily on key words; therefore, it is important that the title of your blog entry, and its early content, mention key words that are relevant to the content of your page—key words that will capture the interest of people conducting Web searches.
To search for blogs by topics
Google Home Page > More > Blogs . Find Blogs on your favorite topics
or http://blogsearch.google.com/
RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
Many blog sites provide an RSS (syndication) facility. Make sure you turn this on.. RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines. An RSS document (which is called a "feed" or "web feed" ) contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that can be piped into special programs or filtered displays.