A blog is a type of website based on an online journal ("blog" is a contraction of "web log"). Like a journal, a blog is made of individual entries or posts. A post can be essay-length, sentence-length, a few words and a link, or just a picture. Because of this one-entry at a time structure, blogs are excellent tools for sharing news or updates. Posts in a blog appear in reverse-chronological order, with the newest update appearing at the top.
Unlike a print or email newsletter, blogs have interactive features that create community amoung bloggers. Tools like trackbacks, permalinks and blogrolls make it easy for bloggers to share their writing, link to other blogers' posts and provide "If you like this blog, you'll also like..." information.
Blogs can be created by individuals, groups or corporations.
History of the "Weblog"
Blogs evolved from early online journals with the advent of hosted blogging websites
Blogs entered the mainstream media scene in the early 2000s as news blogs began to cover the conflict in Iraq
During the 2004 presidential election campaign, bloggers came to the forefront, as individuals blogged live from the national conventions, pundits used blogs to challenge mainstream media, and candidates Howard Dean and Wesley Clark used their blogs to reach out to "digital natives"
Now, many traditional news services (newspapers, news networks, and radio) employ blogs as a way to reach out to new customers.
26.4 million Americans consider themselves bloggers
94.1 million Americans read blogs -- 50% of internet users
The majority of bloggers do NOT live near the largest metropolitan areas.
59% of bloggers have been blogging for more than 2 years.
Characteristics of a blog
Traditional Blogs
a blog is basically a website which is updated regularly with new entries-- think of it as an online journal/diary or newsletter
blogs are generally made up of posts (entries); these new entries appear at the top of the webpage allowing the reader to see new information as it appears on the blog
blogs will also have an archive, allowing you to read older blog entries
blogs often feature blogrolls (a list of recommended blogs for further reading), permalinks (a stable URL allowing you to link directly to an individual post) and trackbacks (a way the blogger learns when a post has been linked to)
blogs frequently contain links to outside webpages or to other blogs and may contain images, video, or audio
Micro-blogs
micro-blogs are smaller, generally simpler blogs, used for posting quick, 1-2 line posts or "updates"
micro-blogs are usually added to via e-mail, text-messaging or instant messaging
8. When you're done, click "Share Post". That's it! You're a blogger!
Advanced steps
Click on Account-- from here you can customize your blog and share it with others
Extras-- Add a bookmarklet to your browser's bookmark bar to make sharing items on Tumblr even easier
Theme-- Give your blog a title and a brief description. Change the way your blog looks one of Tumblr's themes and then customize it further with colors of your own choosing.
Settings-- Change the URL of your blog whenever you wish and add a photo. Update your password and email information here, too. Advanced options will help you get your blog noticed.
Feeds-- import the content of other blogs into your own (see the section on RSS Feeds for more information on this topic)
Blogs
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