Important of blogs

The word “blog” is a contraction of “web log”.  It is an informational web page that consists of discrete units called “posts.” The term “log” comes from the history of nautical navigation and originally referred to a record of chronological events kept by a ship’s crew Blog posts are often shorter and less formal than other types of writing. Blogs can be personal, artistic, academic, or professional. It is a unique form of online publishing that creates opportunities for producing knowledge, sharing research, building social networks, developing professionally, or documenting personal growth.

The history of blogs are as follows:

Early years:

It is generally recognized that the first blog was Links net created by Justin Hall, while he was a Swarthmore College student in 1994. Of course, at that time they weren’t called blogs, and he just referred to it as his personal homepage.

The term “weblog” was coined in 1997. The term was created to reflect the process of “logging the web” as he browsed.

“Weblog” was shortened to “blog” in 1999 by programmer Peter Merholz. Five years later that Merriam-Webster declares the word their word of the year.

The original blogs were updated manually, often linked from a central home page or archive. This was not very efficient, but unless you were a programmer who could create your own custom blogging platform, there weren’t any other options to begin with.

During these early years, a few different “blogging” platforms cropped up. LiveJournel is probably the most recognizable of the early sites.

And then, in 1999, the platform that would later become Blogger was started by Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan. Blogger is largely responsible for bringing blogging to the mainstream.

 The growth period:

The early 2000s were a period of growth for blogs. In 1999, according to a list compiled by Jesse James Garrett, there were 23 blogs on the internet. By the middle of 2006, there were 50 million blogs according to Technorati‘sBlogosphere report. Political blogs were some of the most popular early blogs. Some political candidates started using blogs during this time period, including Howard Dean and Wesley Clark. One important event in the rise of blogging was when bloggers focused on the comments .The mainstream media didn’t pick up on the comments and their potential implications until after bloggers broke the story. Topic blogs were also becoming more popular during this time. They often delved much deeper into current news and pop culture than mainstream media sources, in addition to commenting directly on what traditional media was reporting.

The rise of Microblogs and Tumblogs:

A lot of people only think of Twitter when they think of microblogging, but there are other microblog platforms that allow for a more traditional type of blogging experience, while also allowing for the social networking features of Twitter.

Tumblr was the first major site to offer this kind of service, starting in 2007. They allow for a variety of different post types, unlike traditional blogging services, which have a one-size-fits-all post. It also makes it easier for users to reblog the content of others, or to like individual blog post

Posterous is another, similar service. Launched in 2008.Posterous allows bloggers to set up a simple blog via email, and then submit content either via their online editor or by email.

Posterous is sometimes considered more of a lifestreaming app than a blogging platform

If one makes a blog one should keep in mind that composition of that blog is also equally important. The blog must be interesting and thought provoking. Every post matters for holding the reader’s attention. Blogger must consider some points while composing the blogs they are as follows.

·         Make a point: one must have a clear argument or point to present.

·          Be concise: one must use precise language and coherent syntax to make posts easy to read.

·          Post often: Blogs should be updated regularly to hold readers’ interest. Actively generate new and interesting content on a daily or weekly schedule.

·          Consider inviting guest bloggers to appeal to diverse readers, broaden blog’s scope.

·          Proofread: Careless mistakes and errors can distract readers and make one appear less credible as a writer.

·          Create visual interest: Blogs must have visually interesting. One should use ample of photos, videos regarding the topic and material so it will help sustaining the readers interest.

Using multimedia:

                         Multimedia plays an important role in presenting your view point. It uses different audios, videos and other special effects to look your blog eye catchy. It helps in grabbing more and more attention of the readers and will lead one to the height of his/her career’s peak.

·         One must use appropriate content, size and quality. Blogs must have clear visibility to the reader. It should contain appropriate content according to your topic.

·         One must attribute the sources. One must always be thankful and give credit to the person while using some other person’s creativity. Always show gratitude towards the person whose creation you are using in your work.

Using hyperlinks:

Hyperlinks are an important part of blogging and can really increase your credibility. They create a sense of conversation, act like citations in more informal circumstances, and demonstrate that you are engaged with other people’s work.

Tips for maintaining a successful blog:

·         One should make the titles eye catchy so that the readers will sustain the interest to read the content in detail.

·         If possible give links to some similar blogs so it will help you increase the traffic.

·         Handle comments with care.