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[ BLOG HISTORY ]

Even though they've have been around in one form or another for decades, blogs have only really become popular and 'known' in the last couple of years, and most recently since search engine giant Google acquired Pyra Labs, the company who pioneered the original Blogger software which allows anyone to update a web page from their browser, via email and even over the phone, all without ever having to touch html code or perform any kind of manual FTP upload. Google solicited the help of web design specialists Adaptive Path and Stopdesign to rebrand the Blogger.com site, re-launching it in 2003 to really bring the phenomenon (and service) into the public eye.

[ BLOG USEAGE ]

"I've never seen one before, but it just sounds like a cut-down message board to me. What's so cool about that?"

Well, in some ways you'd be right: a blog does allow you to post comments online for everyone to see, which in turn allows follow-up posts or comments to be made by your visitors, however, there's a few notable differences which make blogs a lot more accessible and personal (a little too personal sometimes!):

1) Whereas message boards tend to be dedicated to broad themes or interests, such as music or film for instance (both of which obviously incorporate many different genres and styles), blogs tend to be a lot more focused, centering around one very specific topic or individual, and in most cases, the blog's creator.

2) Blogs, like message boards, tend to be very reactive mediums, with multiple users replying to an individual's comments, however, unlike message boards - which consist of hundreds or even thousands of 'members' contributing new threads - usually only a blog's creator can add new entries.

3) Unlike message boards, everyone but a blog's creator can usually remain pretty much anonymous, because, after all, it's all about the person running it and not necessarily the community following it. As a result, to post follow-up comments to the creator's posts, you do not (normally) have to fill out a lengthy registration form, provide a valid email address or give out any personal details whatsoever; more often than not you'll be able to post anonymously, which is obviously open to a little abuse, but it does encourage open discussion and free speech.

[ BLOG EXAMPLES ]

So by now you will have probably gathered that a personal blog is basically an individual's online journal; a place where famous and not-so-famous people can go to share their thoughts and musings with the internet community, while a commercial blog is usually an information source run by multiple 'bloggers', all posting news items to keep its readership informed.

Personal blogs:

With such wide and eager audiences at their disposal, you may not be surprised to learn that a number of celebrities have started their own blogs as well, some of which you can find below (including the infamous Washington Intern's journal which got her fired!):

- Moby (singer/songwriter)
- William Gibson (sci-fi novelist)
- Michael Moore (author and documentary maker)
- Neil Gaiman (creator of The Sandman comic)
- Anita Roddick (founder of The Body Shop)
- Jamie Oliver (celebrity chef)
- Jessica Cutler (Washington intern)

Commercial blogs:

As previously mentioned, commercial blogs tend to be focused more around news, with a 'team' of bloggers all contributing and reporting items for its visitors to read. Such examples include:

- Slashdot.org (respected 'nerd' focused news site)
- Wired.com (well known US-based news site)
- Snopes.com (popular urban legends source)
- CosmicRust.com (international toy news site)

[ BLOG SERVICES ]

So, you understand what a blog is now and have checked out some of the examples I've included; you're pretty excited by it all and suddenly see its potential: "Wow, I could set one of these up to keep my friends and family updated back in (insert your country of origin here), so they know what's happening in my life! Maybe they'll stop guilt-tripping me then because I can never be bothered to sit down and bang out a long email which takes hours to write; I can just direct them to my blog now instead!"

Or something along those lines, anyway :)

As you can see, there are a million different things you can use a blog for, whether it's keeping an online journal so friends and family know what's going on with your life back home, to posting news about your favourite people/places/events for others to read, to becoming an online 'Bridget Jones' or 'Jessica Cutler', and best of all, you can do any of these without any technical know-how or expertise whatsoever; as long as you are able to use a computer and can follow simple instructions, anyone can do it... and they are, every day.

If you're interested in learning more about blogs and maybe even setting up your own, then check out the services below, all of which are excellent in their own way, however, out of the four, I would recommend (and personally use) Blogger if you're at a beginner or intermediate level.

Blogger offers a wealth of free features - some of which are chargeable in other systems - and is ridiculously easy to use. If you do not have a web site or any web space of your own, you can choose to sign up for a free 'BlogSpot' account (free hosting service for Blogger users), allowing you to host your blog on a BlogSpot server. By selecting this option, you are able to choose the subdomain upon which your blog appears/resides, so, for instance, say John decides to create a blog for discussion on Onion Dicing, he might define his blog address as http://oniondicing.blogspot.com.

If, however, you have your own webspace/website, then you can simply enter your FTP details during sign-up, which are then stored in your blog: your server name, username and password will be saved, allowing you to not only post new blog entries automatically without having to fire up your FTP program each time, but you can also obviously publish straight to your website, giving you full control over your data.

Blogger also gives you full access to your blog template, allowing you edit or replace the current one to create a fully customised page which matches your site's layout and branding perfectly. If you host your blog on your own webspace, you can even remove any default Blogger logos or icons which may be embedded in the original template, which is a rare and surprising 'feature' considering that the service is free.

Not only that, but Blogger also allows you to add other contributors and 'team members' to your blog by way of invitation, so other trusted individuals can log in to your blog and post new entries as well, however you are still able to limit their access levels so they cannot edit your template code, view your FTP details or tamper with any of your other settings.

Anyway, I know you're all keen to try these services out and start your own blogs asap, so I won't hold you up any longer: off you go, have fun and be sure to email your blog addresses to me once they're set up so I have something to read in my lunch break :)

Blogger | Live Journal | Xanga | Pitas

- Story by: Stephen Jesson