Blogs - What Are They and How Do They Work?

As blogs become more relevant and popular online, you may be asking yourself, "How do blogs work?" Blogs are basically simplified websites that just about anyone can create and publish.

What Is a Blog?

The term "blog" is short for "weblog," which refers to an online journal. Blogs began as personal mini sites that people used to record their opinions, stories, and other writings as well as photos and videos.

As the web has grown and changed, blogs have gained more recognition and merit. Nowadays, blogs can be for businesses, news, networking, and other professional means. There are still plenty of personal blogs out there, but overall blogs are being taken much more seriously.

Blogs versus Websites

Websites are generally made up of many pages linked together through a home page. They are divided into logical sections, and visitors can navigate through the site in a systematic manner.

Blogs, on the other hand, are based on frequent and timely updates. Visitors often don't move through the blog past the main page, since subsequent pages become outdated quickly.

How Do Blogs Work?

Blogs consist of a series of posts made by one or more bloggers. The posts appear in reverse chronological order, with the most recent post at the top of the main page. All posts are archived, and are usually sorted into categories. Readers can browse these categories or page back through the blog to read older entries.

Blogs can focus on a single topic or contain a wide range of themes and ideas. Some of the most common blogs focus on things like:

• Small businesses and their products
• Various aspects of parenting
• Food and cooking
• Celebrity sightings and gossip
• Professional sports and specific teams
• Product reviews
• Career advice

The easiest way to get started and to create your blog, go to Blogger It is also a great idea to use wordpress to sign up and create your blog and keep it going on a regular basis.This will put you rightin the midst of social networking with web 2.0 technology.

Writing in simple understandable language would be sufficient to begin with. You can put your website link in your blog if you have one. The more you interact with your audience the better it is for you to understand one another and provide better dialogue and material as you go forward.

Blogging for Fun

Most blogs are started by people who want to share their ideas and thoughts. They post updates about themselves, their jobs, their families, and any hobbies or interests they might have. These blogs usually have limited readership, since most people aren't interested in the day-to-day lives of strangers.

Niche blogs that focus on one specific topic have a wider range, and these can become very popular. Like-minded people with similar interests become regular readers, and sometimes small communities are formed this way.

Blogging for Profit

On the other hand, many blogs start up with the hope of making money. Advertisements are placed on the sidebars and posts, and bloggers are paid per page view or per click. While there are many successful bloggers out there making a hefty profit through blogging, the vast majority make mere pennies.

Some businesses also start blogs to promote their products. These companies generally try to make things lighthearted and fun, holding contests or getting potential customers involved.

The 10 Best Free Blog Sites

http://www.blog.com/

http://www.blogger.com/

http://www.wordpress.com/

http://www.edublogs.com/

http://www.tumblr.com

http://sites.google.com

http://www.weebly.com

http://www.webs.com

https://svbtle.com/

http://hubpages.com/