The term ‘blogging’ or ‘blog’ is treated like a glorified mannequin. You probably have a coworker who blogs, seen a few advertisements about starting your own blog, or has heard your employer speak about using bloggers to enhance their marketing campaign.
You can’t escape it. Those terms are everywhere. In fact, you’re reading my personal blog where I share tips and tricks to help people like you create and maintain their own blogs.
What is blogging? What is a blog and how does it work? What is a blog used for? Let’s the address the elephant in the room.
What Is Blogging?
The term blogging has changed with time, but the fundamentals remain intact. ‘Blogging’ denotes action. It refers to the act of journalizing on the web or Internet.
- Think about blogging as making entries in your personal journal, with the exception that it’s opened for the world to scrutinize. If you’re still with me, I’ll explain further in the subheading to follow.
What Is a Blog and How Does It Work?
Sure, I tackled the entire subject backwards, but we aren’t all that organized, right?
A blog is a combination of two words – web and log. In this case, web would refer to a ‘website’ or a group of pages connected over the Internet. ‘Log’ can be viewed in two ways.
- ‘Log’ assumes a noun form which refers to a journal or record of events.
- ‘Log’ assumes a verb form which means entering in a journal or keeping a record of events.
At its core, a blog is an online journal in which people record their daily affairs or events.
A blog and a journal is synonymous. A journal would likely host your records chronically and so does a blog. Each entry is usually dated (if you so desire) and is placed after the other.
While a blog bears many similarities with a journal, it takes a lot more time to set up. If you wanted to keep a physical journal, you’d obtain a well-decorated book and make it your own. To start a blog takes a bit more effort and will cost more resources and time to launch.
How much you spend on a blog is a matter of choice. You can opt for a free blog or a paid one. They are both useful, at least for the intended purpose.
Most people don’t really blog about their daily activities, at least not anymore. Blogs now mainly identify with topics or subjects. Some people blog about their beekeeping journey or their love of essential oils.
A blog has pages, posts, categories, and tags. To make your first blog entry, you’d create a ‘post’. To share a bit about who you are so that your readers feel closer to you, you’d create a ‘page’.
To group a list of related posts on your blog, you’d create a category. For example: All my blog entries about creating and maintaining a blog can be found under a category labeled ‘blogging’. Tags allow you to use associative words with a post.
