Web Blogs, Defined, Explained and Understood

What are Blogs?

Having heard the term previously but not having paid much attention most are just to afraid to show their ignorance and ask the question, what is a blog? Lets face it; the term blog does not conjure pleasant images.

Blogs are web logs that are updated regularly, usually on a daily basis. They contain information related to a specific topic. In some cases blogs are used as daily diaries about people's personal lives, political views, or even as social commentaries. The truth of the matter is that blogs can be shaped into whatever you, the author, want them to be.

Where Did Blogs Come From?

The roots of blogging can be traced back to the mid 1990's. Who the very first blogger actually was is unclear, as the art of blogging did not really take hold until 1999. The original "weblogs" were link-driven sites with personal commentaries. The very first blogs were human guided Internet web tours. While initially thought of as diaries or online journals, blogs have evolved into the latest fresh web content.

The Future of Blogs

A buzz word in techie circles, "blogging" is the wave of the future. Whether its a fad, or proves to be a new way to communicate with existing and potential customers it deserves at the very least a cursory look.

Why is Blogging Helpful to Businesses or Individuals?

Just as animated .gifs were once cool, blogging is the trendy thing to do. That does not mean that it is not beneficial to businesses. Webmasters struggling to keep fresh, attractive content on their websites to lure visitors back, have found blogs the answer. Content is a necessity for online businesses, both for purposes of being found by search engines but also because it gives visitors a reason to come back.

Now that we have established that blogs are not only trendy but also beneficial to businesses, its important to understand how they can be used to your advantage. We currently manage and update two blogs on a daily basis. The first is our new business blog at:

http://www.notepage.net/blog.htm

This professional business blog allows us the opportunity to tell potential, or existing customers industry news, updates, or generally how mobile or paging software can be used in specific situations to alleviate problems. The bottom line is we control the content. Its updated daily, which increases the chances that search engines will spider on a regular basis and it helps with page rank because it's been submitted to all the blogging directories. Initially started on a whim we've found it beneficial to report tips, tricks or make visitors aware of new regulations related to the mobile or paging industry.

The second blog we manage is at:

http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html

This blog is less formal and contains marketing tips, or promotional advice for software developers or online marketers. We found that we had overflow from our monthly newsletter. Generating a daily blog would require very little effort and would assist us in creating fresh content which our readers told us was of significant interest.

Blogs & Your Business

The bottom line is you need to determine how a blog will benefit your business, determine a schedule and adhere to it. Let your readers know what to expect and when to expect it. Blogs provide great supplemental content and direct attention to areas of your business that you want to showcase; you direct the content but let your readers guide you.

Creating a Blog

There are numerous online tools that can be used to create a blog. We found that because of security concerns, it would just be best to use a standard html program. In our case we used Dreamweaver and create daily posts. Its really not much more complicated than typing an email. The content is then sent via FTP to a web server. If you want to test the waters there are online web-based tool that helps you publish to the web instantly. The most popular web based tool is likely Blogger http://www.blogger.com.

Other Advantages to Blogs

While you may initially create a blog for your existing customers, you may find that you can attract new customers by illustrating your expertise in a specific field. There are numerous websites that act as "blog search engines", be sure to submit your sites to these websites to increase your exposure. This will also help with your page rank and possibly increase the likelihood you will receive decent ranking with Google. You can also create an RSS feed in order to syndicate blog content and gain additional exposure.

About The Author

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.small-business-software.net

---

RSS for Newbies; A Quick Tutorial

"RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It is a new... Read More

A Blog Isnt Just For Christmas

I was watching the news on TV last night and... Read More

Real Estate Marketing with RSS

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an increasingly popular marketing method... Read More

How to Make Money With Your Blog?

Make money blogging is fun: you enjoy blogging and getting... Read More

The Blog Revolution: How To Use Blogs to Generate Solid Web Profits

Blogs were originally only meant to be 'Web Logs', or... Read More

To Blog or Not to Blog: Are Blogs Becoming More Popular than Forums, Newsletters and E-zines?

Blogging is hot, and seems to be becoming hotter each... Read More

10 Benefits of Being a Blogger

I have been a blogger since September 2004 but only... Read More

The RSS Promise for Internet Users

The RSS promise for end-users is simple:--> a unified one-stop-shop... Read More

RSS Feeds and How to Use Them

RSS feeds are the most important technology to arrive on... Read More

How to Write A Blog... And Survive

Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah The... Read More

Small / Medium Business Blog Process Outsourcing as a Website Traffic Building Service

You are a small or a medium business owner. You... Read More

How and Why to RSS

RSS feeds and blogs (and blog and pinging) are part... Read More

6 Ways That Blogging Can Save You Money

Even though I've had several personal blogs for years, I've... Read More

Update Your Websites Content Automatically 24/7 Using RSS(Real Simple Syndication) and RSS Feeds

RSS(Real Simple Syndication) is the newest form of content syndication... Read More

Business: Deliver Information Safely

Businesses that are not using feeds today, as part of... Read More

Article Marketing For Bloggers - 4 Tips To Build Traffic For Your Blog

Bloggers blog. That's what they do. A blog is short... Read More

The Language of Blogs

I read over a lot of blogs each week, casually... Read More

What is an RSS Aggregator or RSS Reader?

I keep hearing about RSS, XML and RSS feeds. I... Read More

The 7-Step RSS Marketing Plan

If you're wondering how to get started with RSS marketing,... Read More

Top 10 Reasons to Start Blogging

"What's blogging?" you ask."Where have you been?" I reply...just kidding,... Read More

How to Increase Buyers Traffic Through Writing Articles and RSS Content Syndication

Benefits of Writing Articles:1. Every Webmaster would like to publish... Read More

Is Blogging For You? Take This Quick Quiz

What The Hell Is A Blog Anyway?The word 'blog' is... Read More

Blogging on Ecademy Will Boost Your Web Site

For many people blogging is the way in which they... Read More

How To Add Random RSS Content To Your Site

Most savvy internet marketers will know how important it is... Read More

How To Create A Blog

Blogs are more permanent than posts to an online discussion... Read More

Should My Home Business Have a Blog?

It's fair to say that blogging has taken the Internet... Read More

For Wordpress users version 1.5 new feature ?Pages?

After many requests from wordpress users, the latest version of... Read More

Blogs: Why, Where and How

So you have heard about the blogs or you are... Read More

If an RSS feed is the Yahoo Backdoor, is a Blog Googles?

Though the answer is in a book I wrote this... Read More

Steps To Creating and Promoting RSS Feeds

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication as it is commonly known,... Read More

Gathered Statistical Data Announces that Blogs will Dominate the Internet in Less than a Few Years

... if not months to come.At a distinctive and stable... Read More

Should Affiliates Really Use Blogging and Pinging To Get Indexed?

There seems to be a huge craze lately with everyone... Read More

Why You?re Not Blogging - And Why You Should Start Today

Those of you who aren't ready to wade into the... Read More