Blogging 101
Note: If you’re a regular reader, this post might be old hat for you. It’s one of several tutorials arising from a session I did recently on social meda.
What are Blogs?
Blogs began as online journals or diaries. The definition from WordPress.org says it well:
“Blog” is an abbreviated version of “weblog,” which is a term used to describe web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog is a frequently updated, personal website featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles on other Web sites.
Personal blogs run the gammut: life tips, photo-of-the-day, travel-blogs, polititcal commentary, celebrity gossip…
How is a blog different from a website?
A blog can be a part of a website, or can be an entire website. The main difference between blog content and other website content is:
- blogs are chronological - content is added and displayed in date-order, whereas a lot of websites don’t change over time.
- blogs usually accept comments from visitors. In this way blogs can foster a feeling of a community that traditional sites don’t often have.
The definition of blogging is expanding with more and more people adopting it. As well as small independent blogs there’s also:
- corporate blogs – these tend to be a little less formal than the rest of the business’s website and discuss recent work, news updates, etc. (e.g. Bluelime Media, Capulet)
- blogs within media sites – not very different from other content a newspaper or magazine would publish, but perhaps a bit more editorial in nature and encouraging reader discussion. (e.g. time.com/time/blogs)
- group blogs with multiple authors (Boing Boing, Freelance Switch)
Why would you want a blog?
For a business or non-profit organization, a blog can be a key ingredient in your web marketing strategy. If you need to have a website anyway, then there are obvious benefits to being able to update your content on a regular basis.
For individuals, it can simply be a fun way to express yourself. If you’re going on a long trip you might enjoy blogging about it as an alternative to e-mail for updating your family and friends. You can easily include pictures in your blog posts, too.
How do you get one?
Free blogs can be set up at a number of sites, including:
- WordPress.com – My recommendation. The free blogs are semi-customizable and you can upgrade for more options. The technically inclined can set up fully customizable WordPress software on your own webserver… but if that’s you, you probably already know that
- Blogger.com – Also popular, owned by Google.
- LiveJournal.com – Seems to be a favourite of writers.
- Tumblr.com -Very simple with few features. But sometimes that’s fun, as in this Tumblog of things my friend’s toddler says. If you just want to play around with blogging this might be a good place to start.
Next up: promoting your blog
Other posts in this series:
- Blogging 201: 5 Simple Blog Promotion Ideas
- Introduction to Social Media
- Introduction to Facebook
- Ways to Leverage your Facebook Network
Posted: January 18th, 2008 under Computers & Tech, Marketing, Web Tips.
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