Learn Blogging

The Definition of Blogging

The definition of blogging is something that is very
much in flux, as the new technologies that appear every
day redefine what a blog is, what a blog can be, and
what a blog should do. For many years, blogs were
defined as text-based websites that kept records of days,
similar to a captain's log on a sailing ship. However,
this started to change as the group of people who kept
blogs became more diverse. The more bloggers began
to explore the limits of the medium and of the
technology that made it possible, the more the
boundaries of what could be called a "blog" expanded.

Today, there are an abundance of photo blogs, and there
are even video blogs as well. Mobile blogging devices
may well change the definition of blogging entirely by
making it possible for bloggers to create new kinds of
posts. Another element of the blogosphere that is
starting to redefine blogging is the corporate blog. As
more companies hire writers to keep blogs with the sole
purpose of creating positive buzz about their brand,
bloggers across the globe are arguing about whether
these manufactured blogs are really worthy of the name.
Between all of these different forces that are constantly
expanding and reshaping the blogosphere, it is difficult
to imagine that the definition of what is and is not a
blog will ever remain fixed for very long.








Blogging 101

Blogging 101 is mostly about the blogging
vocabulary. To understand blogs, you need to know
the terms blog, platform, domain, and web host.
Once you have mastered these key elements of
blogging, you can enter any conversation about
blogging with confidence. After you know what
exactly a blog is, you will be on your way to
passing the final exam of blogging 101.

Blog is short for weblog, which simply means a
series of online posts presented in reverse
chronological order. That's all! Most blogs are text,
but there are also photo blogs and video blogs. The
rest of blogging 101 has to do with the technical
side of things. If you are setting up a blog, you will
need a platform, a web host, and a domain. A
blogging platform is a computer software program
that allows you to write posts and to update your
blog. Your platform is also what you use to design
the look of your blog, from color scheme to font
size. The web host is sort of like the virtual file
cabinet where your blog is stored. Your computer
communicates with the host when you upload or
edit a post. The domain is the online address of
your blog, and usually ends in ‘dot com'. Now that
you know what a blog is, what a platform is, and
what domains and hosts are, congratulate yourself!
You have passed blogging 101.








Personal Blogging, Documentary, and History

When it comes to personal blogging, documentary is
the default genre. There are plenty of blogs that serve
other functions, but many blogs are primarily catalogues
of the life experiences of their author. Although there
are quite a few blogs that focus on collecting poetry and
other forms of creative writing, the vast majority of
personal blogs are in some sense documentaries.

For many years, the act of making a documentary was
meant to be an objective act of reporting the sights and
sounds that the filmmaker, writer, or photographer
encountered. However, in contemporary times there has
been a movement towards embracing the subjectivity
inherent in the documentary form. This means that
modern documentaries often reflect the distinctive
voice and sensibility of their creator, and the fact that
todays documentaries often revolve around personality
blurs the lines between documentary and memoir. Blogs
rest somewhere between these two genres, muddying
the distinctions even further. Personal blogging,
documentary, and memoir are now irrevocably
intertwined, for better or for worse.

Although few bloggers think of themselves as making
documentaries in any formal sense, every time
somebody sits down in front of a computer and types up
a record of their day, they are documenting their own
historical moment. The things that we take for granted
about our daily lives, like the way that we use specific
modes of transportation, or the kinds of products that
we buy, often seem quite fascinating to people who live
in circumstances different from ours, and it is this kind
of fascination that is at the heart of many documentary
projects. When people think about blogging,
documentary is not very likely to be the first adjective
that crosses their minds, but a few decades down the
road it is very likely that todays blogs will be seen
primarily as very subjective documentaries of our era.
The people of tomorrow will almost certainly look to
the blogs of today for insight into our historical
moment.

When it comes to blogging, documentary may not be
the aim of most people who spend their time posting
their thoughts and ideas on the internet. In some ways,
the documentary aspect of blogging is more of a side
effect than a primary goal. However, the fact that so
many people are interested in publishing these public
online diaries shows that personal blogs are about more
than just rumination. The fact that bloggers are so
stimulated by and interested in sharing their ideas with
each other reinforces the idea that personal blogs are, in
some ways, documentaries meant for public
consumption. Documentaries appeal to people who are
curious about other ways of life, and many people who
regularly read others personal blogs are looking for this
same kind of new perspective.





Blogging News Stories as They Happen

Blogging news stories as they unfold is one of the most
exciting and controversial applications of technology
that bloggers have discovered. One thing that makes the
blogosphere so active is the fact that it is possible to
update a blog instantaneously, so the news on blogs
tends to be more current than the news in the paper, or
on television. Unlike news delivered by these other
media, news that appears on blogs does not have to
travel through a series of editors and administrators
before it reaches the public eye. This has some
advantages, and some distinct disadvantages.

One of the most notable cases of news hitting a blog
before appearing in other media took place in July 2005
when terrorism struck London. As passengers were
evacuated from a subway car near an explosion, one
man took several photographs of the scene with his
cellular phone, and within an hour these images were
posted online. First-person accounts of the catastrophe
began appearing on blogs soon after these photos
appeared, and people all over the world learned about
the events in London by reading the words and seeing
the photos posted by bloggers.

The fact that these stories and images were being spread
directly by individuals operating without the added
filter of a reporter helped to make the crisis feel very
immediate to people across the globe. When it comes to
blogging, news often appears in a very personal context.
This has the potential to be the beginning of an exciting
new era of reporting, one that takes "New Journalism"
to it's logical next step by putting the power to shape
how the news is written and read directly into the hands
of the public.

Many bloggers and cultural commentators who are
champions of the weblog movement feel that this
growing trend of individuals who getting their news
from blogs is a good thing, because it makes the flow of
information more democratic. By decentralizing the
control of news, blogs allow more voices to enter the
field of debate about important current events.
However, many people are adamantly opposed to the
use of blogs as news outlets, and there are plenty of
good arguments on this side of the debate. Unlike
newspapers or television stations, few blogs have fact-
checkers, and there is little attention paid to journalistic
accountability on many blogs. This can lead to the rapid
spread of misinformation, and more than one falsehood
has taken the blogosphere by storm. The questions
about whether blogging news as it happens is ethical or
not are very complicated, but no matter where you stand
on the topic of current events blogs you are almost sure
to agree that this movement has the potential to
revolutionize how modern people get their news.







How to Learn Blogging Software

A lot of blogging software is specifically designed to be
simple to use, but even the least intimidating blogging
program can feel very overwhelming to somebody who
has not spent a lot of time learning the ins and outs of
different kinds of software. Particularly for newer
bloggers, learning how to use the interface of blogging
software is the most difficult part of blogging. If you are
somebody who feels comfortable expressing themselves
in another medium, it may prove to be well worth your
time and effort to learn blogging software, but that
doesn't mean that the task will be easy.

The main thing that will help you find success as you
learn how to use a new kind of blogging software is to
try and take things slowly. Many people get so excited
about learning to blog that they try to rush into the thick
of it and start exploring the most complicated features
of a program right away. This can lead to getting
confused and feeling frustrated, and all too many
potential bloggers burn out during this stage of the
process. If you take your time learning the basics of
your blog software program before you move on to
more advanced techniques, you will be more likely to
retain what you have learned, and to keep feeling
positive about your ability to understand the world of
blogging.