In this new day and age we so often here the term “blogging” As a beginning blogger myself I decided to look into what all the hype was about and what were some good resources that I could use to help me break into the world wide web of blogging. I found the following information very helpful.
In Wikipedia it gives the following description of a “blog”:
· A blog (an abridgment 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.
· Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.[1] With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging#Popularity
The next step in the blog process is deciphering what type of blog you are going to post to, here is some great information also from Wikipedia that gives a breakdown of the different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written.
The personal blog, an on-going diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following. A type of personal blog is referred to as “microblogging,” which is extremely detailed blogging as it seeks to capture a moment in time. Sites, such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family and is much faster than e-mailing or writing. This form of social media lends to an online generation already too busy to keep in touch. [2]
A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs.
A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog.[3] Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called tumblelogs.
An Artlog is a form of art sharing and publishing in the format of a blog, but differentiated by the predominant use of and focus on Art work rather than text.
A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a Phlog
Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA could be called a moblog.[4] One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person’s personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance. Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.
Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs, house blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs,quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs) or dreamlogs. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a Splog.
is a type of blog that answers questions. Questions can be submitted in the form of a submittal form, or through email or other means such as telephone or VOIP. Qlogs can be used to display shownotes from podcasts [5] or the means of conveying information through the internet. Many question logs use syndication such as RSS as a means of conveying answers to questions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging#Types
There are so many different types of blogs and also posting forums that after I did a little research discovered that blogging is a great way to express yourself, share special moments, and not so special moments in your life, stay in contact with people, and most importantly an excellent source of marketing for any company.
Blogging is something that we shouldn’t be afraid of, but embrace and have fun with. There are so many different resources online that after you do a little research there isn’t any reason why you can’t go from a beginning blogger to a pro in no time.
I hope this information is helpful and happy blogging.
Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging#Popularity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging#Types
August 5th, 2008
So sure, you won’t be number one on Google’s SERP’s (Search Engine Result Pages). But is ranking your blog all that that matters? Did you notice there are 2 “that’s”. Bet you didn’t, so why should Google. I kindly submit…they shouldn’t. Tkae tihs exmalpe. Mentlaly yuor biran can intrepert the wrods yuo are readnig. So whit taht in mnid, why shuold Goolge be so hrash on alll of us dleqiunts? Cna’t we cpoywirte whituot bieng pnuished. I thnik we shuold wirte lkie tihs mroe otfen. And if yuo are dylsxeic tihs can olny hlep. No ofefnse itneded. Jsut a bad jkoe. So… to all yuo cpoywrtiers out tehre, go ahaed adn msipell. Mnay studeis hvae shwon that wrods are recgonized as a whloe uint and not i-n-d-i-v-d-i-u-a-l-l-y. Aslo, taht teh shpae of wrods is of mroe infleucne tthan the lteters. In 1868 (Misspelled-really 1886) D.r James Cattell a pscyohlogist was teh frist to itnroduce tish modle of wrod recgonitoin. He wsa a poineer and one of teh fuonders of psycholinguistics (spelled correctly… wouldn’t be fair). Tdoay tihs form off regcognitoin is claled Word Supreiority Efefct. So as we move along in our attempts to inform and entertain the blog world, let’s remember to look at things from different points of view instead of our 01101101 01111001 01101111 01110000 01101001 01000011 view.
July 22nd, 2008
Legislation currently before Congress known as the “fairness doctrine”, or “Fairness in Broadcasting Act of 1993”, and sponsored in the Senate (S.333) by Ernest Hollings and in the House (H.R. 1985) by Bill Hefner would codify the (FCC) regulation requiring broadcasters to “afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance.” With the proliferation of informational resources and technology, it is hard to see why the federal government must police the airwaves to ensure that differing points of view are heard. It could be questioned; does this legislation belong in a country dedicated to freedom of the press and freedom of speech?
Supports of the “fairness doctrine”, a doctrine that gives government control, such as Senator John Kerry, also speaks out about a similar issue that of, ”Net Neutrality.” It now seems as if Senator Kerry is in support of a personal right to make choices. (more…)
July 15th, 2008
Search Engine Optimization should be part of the design and development process from the very start to finish. Before opening Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, before gathering images and corporate information you should ask yourself the following questions:
- What do I want to accomplish with this web site?
- What is the target demographic (age, gender etc.)? ( MSN’s Demographic Prediction Tool can help you come up with the answer to this question )
- What kind of informational architecture (web site organization, navigation, labeling, and searching system ) should this web site have? This is very important step in the design and development process of a search engine friendly web site. (more…)
May 14th, 2008
CSS is a powerful yet simple markup language designed to separate content from style. CSS applies style attributes to HTML and XHTML such as color, font, alignment and size. CSS is commonly used in the SEO world and it’s because of its versatility. CSS has enumerable benefits to SEO specialists.
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April 7th, 2008
There are many different kinds of SEO companies and given that everyone has different needs you need to find a company that works for you. Many people find themselves deceived by so called “SEO” firms; never obtaining the front page ranking they were promised. This often leaves them with a bad taste for any and all things SEO. In Utah where there are numerous SEO firms many individuals find themselves suckered into these promised rankings. But aside from the few bad apples SEO is an effective and valuable science.
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January 15th, 2008
Almost every SEO has encountered Press Releases at some point in his or her career. Many modern internet marketers do not fully appreciate the history behind the new release because today it is used for en entirely separate purpose. There was a time when a news release was meant to propagate news, however thanks to the internet the world is inundated with press release submission and press release syndication sites. Since there are so many pointless Press Releases out there most of them never get read and even fewer of them get picked up by the mainstream media. So if people aren’t using press releases of press what are they using them for?
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November 26th, 2007
Tools help us accomplish our goals in a more efficient way. SEO tools are vital to the speed and success of any SEO professional and it’s because they’re so important we must understand and exchange tools to advance SEO as a whole. Let’s face it without the right tools doing the job of an SEO would be almost impossible. To make life easier for the average SEO and to further the art of search engine marketing we have compiled a list of the top 5 SEO add-ons for Firefox.
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October 3rd, 2007
Social media websites are the latest rage in the internet world. Users can get together and create any number of things, good music lists, a great collection of news stories or keep in touch with friends. With all the buzz about these new and exciting opportunities on social websites, certain figures are beginning to standout as the “media elite” of the next generation. There are definite figures that standout from others. So to keep things straight about who’s who in silicon valley we assembled a list of the top 5 social media stars.
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September 11th, 2007
Social media optimization is all the rage in the SEO world. Social networking and media sites are a very useful tool for the average SEO specialist. Social websites allow you to build back links, create and encourage your website popularity and bring in tons of new traffic. In fact if performed well one could probably make their website based upon link bait alone. Some of the more notable websites like Digg, News vine and Reddit have been used since their inception. And with tons of new social sites popping up, there is not shortage of un-gamed websites. Digg amongst other website has become difficult to manipulate. While the website as a whole is manipulated by the Digg mafia, regular users would have to spend limitless amounts of time in order to land a first page story on Digg. In many ways the traffic is not worth the effort.
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August 22nd, 2007
