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Everybody is talking about blogs: but what are they? Weblogs, or blogs, are simply a particular type of Web site, with emphasis on simple. Where a traditional business Web site usually requires considerable programming skill to build, maintain and update, you can be up and running with a blog in a matter of minutes without even knowing how to spell HTML. You can think of a blog as an on-line journal. Entries, known as posts, typically display in chronological order, with the newest post at the top of the page. Other common elements of a blog are:
A comments area, which displays visitor comments relating to a post;
An archive of previous posts, displayed either chronologically or by subject category;
"About me" information; and
A "blogroll" displaying links to the author's favorite blogs. That's it. Simplicity is why blogs have caught on in a big way. Technorati™, a popular blog-tracking Web site, now follows almost 50 million of them. Most experts calculate that new blogs are being created at the rate of one per second. Along with simplicity comes a related benefit — low or no start-up cost. Most bloggers use a Web-hosted platform; two of the most popular are Blogger™ and Movable Type™. Since the hosting companies have pre-configured the programming, all the blogger needs to do is select a template, adjust a few settings, and start posting. Like magic, a Web page appears, looking as clean and professional as anything on the Web. Bloggers can easily move beyond a bare-bones blog by modifying their template any number of ways. Popular modifications include:
Text and/or banner ads relating to the blog's theme;
Affiliate advertising that displays, for example, links to recommended books;
Photos, screen captures and graphics;
RSS feeds so visitors can subscribe and be notified whenever a new post is made; and
Links. Serious bloggers usually pepper their posts with hyperlinks to external blogs, to provide more information to the reader and forge relationships with other bloggers. Of course, all this simplicity and economy mean something because blogs themselves have enormous value. Individuals blog to explore a subject of interest, to communicate with family and friends, or just to blow off steam. Companies blog for a many reasons, such as building dialog with customers, establishing themselves as thought leaders, enhancing search engine optimization and promoting new products or established brands. So, even if you prefer to think of the computer as the "confuser," don't let that stop you from launching a blog. Programming technology has finally advanced far enough to be simple; soon posting to a blog will be as common as dialing a cell phone. Aaron Wittersheim is president of Whoast Inc., a suburban Chicago search marketing firm. For more information, visit http://www.whoast.com
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