What is Blogging

About Blogs and Blogging

To comprehend blogging, you must first understand how blogs work. A blend of the original term Web logs or weblogs, blogs are usually commentaries or news about something happening in the world or the writers' personal or professional lives. The writer, who is also called a blogger, uses text, images and Internet links to get his or her point across. Readers who comment on the entry can do the same. Blogs play a large part of social networking as they allow writers and readers from all over the world to connect on a subjects in a way they were never able to before. Blogs cover many subjects, including:

• Family life
• Politics
• Business
• Writing
• Cooking
• Sports
• Current events
• Beauty
• Fashion
• Religion
• Crafts
• Sexuality
• Teens
• Child-rearing

Many of these blogs are amateur, meaning the person who is blogging isn't doing it for the money, but rather for the fame or to simply get his or her point of view across. However, some people do blog professionally. They get paid by a company to actually maintain a blog, while others receive a revenue from the advertising placed on their sites. As of January 2008, there were more than 12 million amateur and professional blogs active on the Internet. Besides textual blogs, other styles of blogs include:

• Video
• Music
• Audio (podcasts)
• Art
• Sketches
• Photos

Blog Formats

While the idea behind blogging is all the same, the formats in which they are presented may be different. Many Web sites offer free blogging software to create and maintain your blog. They also offer you free use of their site where you can place certain kinds of advertisements on your pages so you can earn some income. Those free sites include:

• Blogger.com
• Wordpress.com
• LiveJournal.com
• FreeBlogSite.com
• BlogEasy.com
• ChristianBlogSites.com

What is Blogging Doing for Social Networking?

Blogging has opened doors for individuals worldwide to meet others with similar interests and views. It has also given many businesses opportunities to expand their social networks as a way of promoting or selling their goods, products and services. On a personal level, blogging allows individuals to share their thoughts and lives with others. People who would never think of writing a journal, let alone on the Internet, are spending hours each week updating their blogs with new posts, research and pictures.

Blogging for Fun

Anyone can start a blog. You don't need anything special to get started except a reliable, up-to-date computer and, if need be, a digital camera or scanner. You also need to have a topic in mind. If you enjoy talking about something specific, such as your kids, celebrities or sports, then you put down on paper -- so to speak -- so everyone can read and comment on your thoughts. Some bloggers also blog as a way to keep up with long-distance family and friends. It's quicker and easier to write an update with pictures than to send letters through the U.S. mail.

Some amateur blogs include:

• On Her Way
• The World According to Ray and Chay
• The Crafty Room Mom
• Davises Daily
• Keep Believing
• A Weight Lifted

Blogging for Money

Who doesn't want to make a little money blogging, right? For some, a fun little blog can turn into a huge money-maker if you hit on a subject that will bring many, many readers to your site. For others, blogging is their profession and they spend many hours each day updating blogs for businesses or other professionals. These writers either get paid by a company to do this or receive some money from advertisers whose ads are posted on those sites. Some professional blogs include:

• Because I Said So
• Tasting Menu
• Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery
• Build a Better Blog
• Anonymous Lawyer
• Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities Weblog

Final Note

Even if you aren't interested in making money blogging, you can still have fun with it. Just remember that even information found on blogs is copyrighted material and cannot be copied and used as your own, just as using others' published work cannot be used as copy in your own blog.