Archive for the 'Blog Basics' Category
by Jeff Casmer
When it comes to personal blogging, documentary is the default genre. There are plenty of blogs that serve other functions, but many blogs are primarily catalogues of the life experiences of their author. Although there are quite a few blogs that focus on collecting poetry and other forms of creative writing, the vast majority of personal blogs are in some sense documentaries.
For many years, the act of making a documentary was meant to be an objective act of reporting the sights and sounds that the filmmaker, writer, or photographer encountered. However, in contemporary times there has been a movement towards embracing the subjectivity inherent in the documentary form. This means that modern documentaries often reflect the distinctive voice and sensibility of their creator, and the fact that todays documentaries often revolve around personality blurs the lines between documentary and memoir. Blogs rest somewhere between these two genres, muddying the distinctions even further. Personal blogging, documentary, and memoir are now irrevocably intertwined, for better or for worse.
by Muna wa Wanjiru
“Blogging” has exploded onto the national scene in the past few years, and has gotten to be so pervasive that the next presidential election is said to be partially in the hands of the well-known political bloggers. A blog (short for web log) is a website which is usually constructed as a set of entries set up in chronological or reverse-chronological order, with the most recent post at the top and older posts near the bottom. As the blog builds more and more content, older posts are usually archived by week, month, or year.
by Tim Whiston
Any business model can benefit from adding a web log to their domain.
There is certainly nothing new about the concept of blogging, and yet many business owners and Internet entrepreneurs don’t seem to grasp the power of this simple strategy. This is evidenced by the fact that many business websites do not include a blog.
If you run a business site, but do not currently have a blog, there is a great chance that you are leaving money on the table. Regardless of what kind of business you are in, a dynamic and interactive web log will improve customer response and add profits to your bottom line.
Consider this:
by Codrut Turcanu
Most people don’t understand what the term “blog” means, much less any of the many other terms that are used when discussing the subject of blogging. To help clear up any confusion and misunderstanding, the following list of blog terms was compiled.
Blog Term #1: Blog
Most people don’t understand what a blog is, which is why it is at the top of the list. The term “blog” is short for Web log. Blogs are essentially online journals kept by individuals; though not in the traditional since, where they divulge their innermost thoughts and secrets. Blogs are used as a place for people to discuss their interests and offer advice to others who read them. Some people have even become skilled enough at blogging to make money doing it for a living.
Blog Term #2: Pinging
by Jeff Casmer
Blogging 101 is mostly about the blogging vocabulary. To understand blogs, you need to know the terms blog, platform, domain, and web host. Once you have mastered these key elements of blogging, you can enter any conversation about blogging with confidence. After you know what exactly a blog is, you will be on your way to passing the final exam of blogging 101. Blog is short for weblog, which simply means a series of online posts presented in reverse chronological order. That’s all! Most blogs are text, but there are also photo blogs and video blogs. The rest of blogging 101 has to do with the technical side of things. If you are setting up a blog, you will need a platform, a web host, and a domain. A blogging platform is a computer software program that allows you to write posts and to update your blog. Your platform is also what you use to design the look of your blog, from color scheme to font size. The web host is sort of like the virtual file cabinet where your blog is stored. Your computer communicates with the host when you upload or edit a post. The domain is the online address of your blog, and usually ends in ‘dot com’. Now that you know what a blog is, what a platform is, and what domains and hosts are, congratulate yourself! You have passed blogging 101.