What Is A Blog?

A blog, which is actually a short form of 'Web Log', is an online journal or diary that contains news, personal views and thoughts etc., usually on a specific topic, maintained by an owner (blogger). The act of updating the content of the blog is called blogging.

Blog may contain text, images, graphics, pictures, audio, video, links to other blogs etc., although most blogs are text based.

Today, blogs are very popular among all sections of the society as politicians; media persons; students etc. started utilizing them as tools to reach their target audience to convey their messages and exchange their views. Many politicians like MP Tom Watson of UK have started blogging to build rapport with the constituents.

Earlier blogs were simple websites where information was updated manually. Modern blogs are automated, facilitating production and maintenance of postings and articles are arranged chronologically.

A blog comprises of a title (heading), body (the main content), permalink (link for the complete article), and date of posting (date and time of publishing the article).

Additionally, it may also include comments (feedback from readers), trackback (back links) etc.

A blog essentially refers to an online web journal or diary, and is derived from the word 'weblog.' They are most usually personal, describing daily events and feelings, but can also be political reports, sports commentaries or any number of different forms and expressions. The first blog, more conventionally a webpage with a diary, began in 1994, while the term 'weblog' came into popular usage in 1997, and was shortened in colloquial speech to simply 'blog' in around 1999. In this decade the popularity of blogs has skyrocketed to become of the most dominant features of the modern internet, with millions worldwide. This has been assisted by the continual development of more accessible, easy to use and customize blogging sites, including Blogger.com and LiveJournal. Blogging tools are also often hosted by a larger domain such as Google. At present, LiveJournal and MySpace are perhaps the internet's most well known and used forms of the blog, although the latter example has taken the format and expanded it to include inbuilt photographs, videos and other personal content, including social networking.

A blog is a website, usually set up by the user, where entries are made in a journal style. The entries are displayed on the web site in chronological order with the newest entry on top. There are blog sites that are already set up where the user can comment on entries made by other people and there are blog sites designed to help the user set up and manage their own blog. Blogs usually contain information and conversation about a particular topic such as foods, travel, sports, or hobbies. There is a blog for every possible topic on the web today. Also, many families and companies use blogging as a base form of communication. Through the blogging process, people can share information, thoughts, and ideas. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media.