Blog – What Is It, Its History, Types And More
Table of Contents
What is Blog
A blog is a website that enables the creation and dissemination of content, in most cases,
on a specific topic and in which knowledge and opinions shared regularly.
Blogs are also called virtual blogs or virtual diaries, depending on the objective they served when their use began to become popular.
One of its most outstanding specialties is the creation of articles displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent appears first).
The word blog derives from a weblog, a term created by the American writer Jorn Barguer in 1997 to shorten the phrase logging the web (to record or annotate on the web).
Later, in 1999, blogger Peter Merholz converted the word weblog into the phrase weblog, and since then, the blog used as a noun and a verb (blogging).
That same year the Blogger platform emerges, which allowed the creation of online blogs, which later led to the frequent use of terms related to this activity, such as blog, blogger (blogger), blogosphere, and blogging (the act of updating a blog periodically).
The technical advantage of a blog over a web page is that it can be used by any user, without the need for them to have some degree of knowledge in programming or web design.
Also, creating or maintaining an online blog is generally very low, and even free, compared to what it costs to have your website.
On the other hand, blogs also allow you to create a community, understood as a group of people (users of other blogs and readers) united by common interests, which generally have to do with the topic regularly written on the website.
These communities created from the interactions between their participants. For
example, comments on blog entries, forums, recommendations from other blogs, events
outside the online world, among others.
Although there are practically no limitations regarding the topics covered in blogs, the
The most popular ones have to do with cooking, health, travel, politics, and digital marketing.
Blog History
The history of blogging begins in the 1990s and is preceded by internet forums, in which users could generate comment threads.
The first blogs emerge as a need for users to keep a personal diary online, allowing anyone with an internet connection to read it.
It was Justin Hall, a college student from the United States, who became one of the pioneers of this format, posting details about his life on his links.net blog in 1994.
With the Blogger platform’s appearance, in 1999, the possibility that anyone could create their blog without technical knowledge catapulted not only virtual blogs but also a new way of generating digital content.
Today there are several types of blogging services, allowing digital readers to access a wide variety of topics, opinions, and knowledge shared by bloggers from anywhere in the world.
From 2004 to 2016, the German International Broadcasting Service (Deutsche Welle)
awarded the work of bloggers dedicate to disseminating information relate to human
rights, freedom of expression, politics, and digital security with the Best Of Online Activism (BOBS) award.
This accounts for the relevance that blogs have, not only in the online world but in public opinion.
Characteristics of a Blog
A blog has several functionalities that facilitate its use by bloggers, among which the
the following stand out:
- A blog not only allows you to add texts but also images and photographs, which improves to expands and enriches the content and make it more attractive to readers.
- Links to other blogs or websites can add, allowing readers to expand on the information.
- It allows the embedding of multimedia resources (videos, audios, gifs).
- It can broadcast, either through subscription to content or because it can share through social networks. That increases the chances that the blog will reach more readers.
- The published content can be personal, corporate, commercial, etc. Even the objective can be as varied as the topic: inform, entertain, educate, share knowledge, sell, among others.
Although there are no limitations in this regard, what expect in a blog is that you publish
content regularly (daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, etc.).
Blog Types
Blogs can be about multiple topics, so a classification in that sense would be almost
endless. However, depending on the official channel or resource, it can have
multiple names.
These are the most common:
- Vlog: video content
- Fotolog: content in photographs
- Linklog: includes links.
- Sketchblog: is a portfolio of sketches.
- Tumblelogs: short content that combines multiple media (photo, video, gif, etc.)
Uses of the Blog Today
In the digital marketing world, blogs are often a resource use by companies to create and drive content marketing strategies. The objective is to create valuable content, useful for real or potential consumers, but without directly promoting a product.
For example, a brand of baby products may have a blog on its official website. Where it shares advice on motherhood, childcare, or pediatric advice.
Blogs are also use by those who want to known as specialists in a specific topic. So they often publish valuable content and frequently. Not only to demonstrate their expertise in the subject but to achieve a subscriber base, generate partnerships. Inform about upcoming events and boost your search engine rankings.
Also Read: Information System – What Is It, It Characteristics And Types
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