What is a Blog?
While most of you already know what a blog is, I thought it would be fun to examine what is a blog? Or put another way, what makes a blog a blog?
When I sat down to write out my 2008 blogging goals for Newest on the Net, it hit me that one of my primary goals is to help new bloggers. Therefore, it is important to start at the beginning.
What is a blog?
Blog is short for weblog. I think that the following factors highlight what makes a blog a blog.
- Articles arranged in chronological order with the most recent articles listed first
- Always changing content with the post of new articles
- The ability for readers to comment on articles and on other peoples’ comments
There might be a lot of other characteristics, but to me this is what sets a blog apart from other media.
Some people say that blogs are personal in nature. At one point this might have been true, but now it is just a type of medium that publishers use to communicate. Traditionally, blogs have always implied written communication, but that is changing now too. More and more bloggers are incorporating audio and video into their blogs.
Here are have other bloggers defined a blog:
Daren Rowse from Problogger defines a blog as,
a blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.
Michael Arrington from TechCrunch states,
I believe the term “blog” means more than an online journal. I believe a blog is a conversation. People go to blogs to read AND write, not just consume. We’ve allowed comments here on TechCrunch since it started.
In other words, Michael agrees that comments are a defining characteristic of blogs.
Meg from Dipping Into the Blogpond states,
Essentially, the word “blog” is short for “web log”. Entries (also called “posts”) are displayed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent entry being displayed first (at the top of the page).
How would you describe, what is a blog?
Ruchir | December 24th, 2007 at 11:45 am #
When blogging first started, blogs tended to be just online personal journals but in recent years, blogs have tended to drift towards having informative articles written on them…
Fred | December 24th, 2007 at 12:16 pm #
I agree Ruchir. Many still view blogs as online diaries. It will take a long time for this perception to change with the non-techno crowd.
Abhishek | December 26th, 2007 at 3:42 am #
Many still think blogs are for guys who have nothing better to do with their time ! It takes time for perception to change !
Blog Cash Hunt: Basic Blogging Facts | The WWW Observer - Make Money Online, SEO and Beyond | January 4th, 2008 at 3:39 am #
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travesti | April 3rd, 2008 at 4:04 pm #
Being a website designer myself this does look like an exciting way forward for website design.. very nice blog thanks
What is a Blog? [ Newest on the Net ] | June 8th, 2008 at 12:15 am #
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