What is a Blog?

Before I start slamming the blogosphere, I figured I would start with the basics of blogging. Believe it or not, an answer to a simple question, “what is a blog?” can be hard to find on an “A-list” blog. They’re usually too busy telling you about what they ate for lunch, or trying to sell you some bullshit affiliate product.

Definition of a Blog:

According to wikipedia.com:

“A blog (a contraction of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.”

Traditional blogs started out as personal diaries, and still to this day, that’s what most people (who aren’t on the internet much) understand a blog to be. The fact is, the term “blog” can mean a whole lot these days. Here are a few examples of a variety of blogs:

• simple tips to make life easier
• personal journey and guide to fitness
• men’s online magazine
• reviews of tech toys
• ramblings
• guide to blogging
• parody blogs of popular bloggers

The list goes on. So…

What is a blog?

The simplest way to put it; a blog is a website, that has content updated on an ongoing basis. This content can be in the form of articles, photos, artwork, drawings, etc. The latest trend, is to post videos instead of writing the content, commonly referred to as a vlog or video blog.

Content is usually posted in reverse chronological order (visitor sees newest updates first). Blogs tend to attract regular readers, who are interested in not only viewing the latest updates, but also being able to comment, and interact with the author, to share their thoughts and opinions.

This creates a discussion, between the author and the readers, and the readers themselves. Interaction is one of the reasons why blogs have become mainstream over the last few years. Ever read an article in a magazine, and wanted to discuss it further?

Most blogs also offer a way for readers to subscribe via RSS, allowing them to stay up-to-date with the latest content.

Still confused and don’t understand what a blog is? Here’s a video to help you: what is a blog?

What is a weblog? What is blogging? What is a blogger? What is the blogosphere?

As mentioned in the definition of a blog above, a weblog is just another name for a blog. Same idea, different terminology. Hopefully, you’re starting to catch on by now…hopefully.

But just in case; I’ll continue to explain the obvious. Blogging is to maintain or add material to a blog. In other words, instead of saying “I’m writing an article for my blog” you’d say “I’m blogging.”

The author of a blog would be considered a blogger.  However, a blog that has multiple authors, usually refers to their writers as editors or contributors. It’s really all the same. It just comes down to what you want people to view your site as, a blog, or an online magazine. To some, magazine sounds more legit, and they’re probably right. Again, a lot of people still view blogs as personal journals, nothing more.

A sphere can be defined as a particular social world, therefore the blogosphere is the collective community of all the blogs on the internet.

Congratulations, you’ve completed…

What is a blog? (101). Next up, learning the alphabet. A B C D E F G…