Blog Defined

Unless you've avoided television and Internet completely for the last couple of years, you've probably heard one or more of the following terms.

blog
blogger
blogging
weblog

If you're anything like most people, you probably have no idea what the word blog actually means. You probably figure that since you are hearing the word more and more often, everyone expects you to already know what it means. For this reason you might have been afraid to ask.

While the word blog itself has a mysterious sound to it, its really a shorted form for the term weblog. It might help if we separated it and said web log. A log is simply an ongoing record of something. So if I were to keep a log of my diet, I would simply write in this book each day how much I weighed and how much excercise I did and how many calories I ate. A web log is simply some sort of log that is on the web.

It might be easier to think of it as an online diary or an online journal.

Typically, a blog has a single author. The blog itself can cover any variety of topics. It is common for users to write specifically on a single topic or industry that they know well. It is not uncommon to find politically motivated or news oriented blogs. Others are just periodic ramblings on day to day life and events.

The author of a blog is generally referred to as a blogger. The blogger will write a new entry periodically in their blog. Typically, blogs list these entries in reverse order with the newest entry appearing at the top. If the blogger has chosen to write on a variety of topics, he or she may elect to define categories. While the first page you view in a blog typically lists articles from newest to oldest regardless of what category they are in, there will be links that allow the viewer to get a list of articles that are within a selected topic.

It is important to note that the term blog no longer refers only to the blog itself but is also used as a verb. "To blog" became common usage to refer to the actual process of writing a journal entry or making changes to one's blog. As such, blogging and blogged are commonly used to refer to the present action and past action of editing one's blog.

A blog is not limited merely to written journal entries. Frequently blogs contain pictures and links to other websites and other blogs. Many blogs invite their viewers to leave questions and comments about a particular entry and frequently these comments are publicly displayed beneath the entry they refer to.

Bloggers also commonly include a list of other blogs that they like to read or that were created by their friends. This list is called a blogroll.

Pretty much anyone who has access to the internet has the ability to create their own blog. There are essentially two ways a person can go about obtaining a blog:

1. The first and most difficult way is to do it yourself. Typically this involves thinking of an internet address (domain name) that is not already taken by someone else. Then you have to find a company who will host your domain and its website. Once you have found a place to host your website, you have to find blog software to setup your own blog. The software will allow you to create a username and password and will provide you with a place to log in so that you can write entries for your blog.

2. The much easier and quicker way is to sign up for a free blog at any one of hundreds of blog hosts that are available online. Instead of having to purchase your own domain name, the blog host will give you an address that the username you selected in it. Once you have signed up for a free blog, you log in and begin creating entries for your blog. The only requirements for this option is to have access to the Internet and an e-mail address. If you don't already have an e-mail address, there are several places on the Internet where you can get one for free.

Once you've created your own blog, you are ready to impress your friends and family and begin sending them the address to your blog. You may want to print a copy of this article and give it to them so they'll know just what it is you mean when you tell them that you now have your own blog.

About The Author-- Anthony Scott has been helping users make sense of the Internet since 1996. Anthony Scott founded the free blog host OutBlogger.com - Sign up for your free blog today.

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