Posts
Blogging: what is it about?
A blog is generally a web page that contains short, discrete pieces of information called posts. These posts are arranged in reverse chronological order (most recent are the earliest) and each is uniquely identified by an anchor tag that is marked with a permanent link that can be referenced by others who wish to link to it.
A blog is a means of communication and there are many different types of messages transmitted by blogs. Some are just pointers to other websites, while others run long trials, some are personal diaries, others are tech-savvy, and some are edited by one person, others by teams.
There are hundreds of thousands of blogs on the Internet, and new blogs are created every day. Can anyone and more importantly blog? Yes, there are bloggers of all kinds, equipped with all levels of technical skills. Bloggers approach their sites with as much variety and passion as the general public on the Net approaches the Web.
The most widely used blogging tool is Blogger. It requires the least amount of commitment in time or resources, allowing you to go from wanting a blog to having one in approximately five minutes at no cost. The Blogger software is the property of Pyra Labs (www.pyra.com). Blogger is often credited with the reason for the blog explosion that occurred in recent years. It is a web-based tool, which does not require the installation of software on your personal computer or server if you have a website. Access the tool through the Blogger website (http://blogger.com) and the blog pages are published on your website or on the BlogSpot community blog server (http://blogspot.com) from Pyra. For more detailed information on this, see Essential O'Reilly Blogging.
Reread anything before posting. Electronic text can easily expose unwanted meaning and will also make what you say much more focused. If nothing else, it should help you spot misspellings! Blogging is a way to share your opinions and thoughts with the rest of the world. If you post cool stuff, share links with other bloggers and post comments on other blogs. Linking is the path to the Web that is the key to successful blogging.
To keep your blogs really fresh, invite a group of your friends / colleagues and give them access to the blogs. That way, you will have blogger information from various reporters and you won't end up committing suicide, trying to keep your blog populated with good information. If you use Blogger, upgrade to Blogger Pro. You can have your team blog by email, create and distribute your blog as an RSS feed, and more! Adding the ability to post comments on your blog extends interactivity and usability to the blog itself. Blogging is about community and information, and commenting is a real way of evaluating your viewer's blogging efforts. Blogging is one of the fastest ways to update your site. Syndicating other people's blogs on your own site is another. There is a wealth of information out there, just take advantage!
