The Functionality of Blogs

Blogs are frequently featured in the news nowadays. For instance, a journalist may learn about a story through a blog, or a blog may offer a unique perspective on a particular news event. You’ll also spot blogs in many magazines.

However, it's possible that you've never encountered a blog (also referred to as a weblog) or explored the vast blogosphere. So, what exactly are blogs? With millions of them today, where did they all originate from?

What makes blogs so remarkable is their inherent simplicity.

Imagine a typical "Website." It typically has a homepage with links to various sub-pages offering more details. Mytour follows this structure, with thousands of informative pages organized under a single homepage. A small business website would adopt a similar setup -- it may include a homepage with five or ten additional pages. Most conventional websites follow this layout. If the website is small, it's akin to an online brochure; if large, it’s more like a digital encyclopedia.

A conventional website features a homepage that links to other pages within the site. CNN.com serves as an example of this type, offering thousands of articles categorized into broad sections. The homepage provides easy access to these categories and the latest stories.

A blog, on the other hand, is much simpler:

In this article, you’ll get a chance to dive into the world of blogging. You will also learn how to create and publish your own blog for the world to see.

Blogging Fundamentals

A typical blog generally consists of a homepage with a collection of entries. Each entry is a short text passage, often including links to external sites, news stories, or other content. As new entries are added, they appear at the top of the page, pushing older entries downward. Additionally, blogs usually feature a right sidebar that contains fixed links to other sites and stories, which the author may update periodically, such as weekly or monthly.

Essentially, a blog is much like an online journal or diary. The author is free to share thoughts and ideas on any topic. Many blogs are filled with interesting links the author has discovered. They may also feature stories or bits of information that are of personal interest to the writer.

Although blogs are often spontaneous and free-form, many maintain a specific focus. For instance, a tech enthusiast might cover the Consumer Electronics Show and post entries about the latest gadgets. Someone passionate about a particular disease might share every news article and research paper they encounter. A blogger focused on economic issues might post links to articles on the economy, offering their own commentary in the process.

Some individuals use their blogs as digital scrapbooks or online memory banks. Whenever they come across a link or piece of information they wish to remember, it gets posted on their blog. Even if no one else ever views the content, the blog remains useful to the author, serving as a searchable, electronic repository accessible from anywhere with a web browser.

In short, a blog can be anything its creator chooses it to be. However, what all blogs share is the reverse-chronological order of their entries.

The Blogosphere

One aspect of blogs that makes them so captivating is the interlinking. Millions of individuals maintain active blogs, and bloggers frequently explore each other’s work. When a blogger discovers something interesting in another blog, they often link to it and offer their own thoughts on it.

This extensive interlinking has given rise to the phenomenon known as the blogosphere. The blogosphere is made up of all the interconnected blogs. Once you visit a blog within the blogosphere, it often provides links to many other blogs. If you enjoy exploring, you can wander through the blogosphere for years.

Many readers enter the blogosphere and discover a handful of bloggers they genuinely enjoy. For instance, you might follow one blog for the latest tech updates and another for current news. In a way, the blogger acts like a DJ on a radio show, curating stories, links, and snippets in much the same way a DJ selects songs. Fans of the blogger’s content return frequently, reading their posts every day or so. Even celebrities have embraced blogging as a way to connect with their followers.

Learn how to start your very own blog next.

Building Your Blog

Starting your own blog is easier than ever thanks to web-based platforms that streamline the process. Services like Blogger, Xanga, TypePad, and LiveJournal allow you to create basic blogs for free, with additional features available for a fee. There’s also software like Movable Type that provides even more customization options if you prefer to create and self-publish your blog.

I built Marshall Brain's Blog using Blogger. It only took about five minutes and was completely free. You simply enter your name, e-mail address, and a few other details. Then, you pick a design template from a selection of standard options. With just a few clicks, your blog is up and running.

Now you can begin adding new posts to your blog. Simply type your content and click the "post" button to publish it. You can make changes to the post anytime by clicking the "edit" button. When you’re satisfied with the entry, click the "publish" button to make it visible to everyone on your blog.

One of the most interesting websites I’ve discovered recently is ExploreMarsNow.com. I quickly wrote a brief post about it on my blog in just about 10 seconds. The post reads like this:

That’s all there is to it. A blog post can be as short and simple as this or as detailed as a full-length article. The choice is yours.

With Blogger, you have two choices for hosting your blog:

The simplicity of blogging is one of the reasons it has become so popular. If text is not enough for you, many blogging platforms also allow you to post photos, videos, and audio files. You can even make posts directly from your cell phone.

If you're eager to explore more about blogs and blogging, check out the links on the following page.