Friday, November 16, 2007

DISCUSSION: About Blogging

What is a blog? (from the user generated encyclopedia, wikipedia):
A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
I prefer to simply call it a website with articles, normally with the ability for the reader to leave a comment, normally like a diary (datestamped, reverse order). A blog normally has links to other blogs or media).

What types are there?
Most people think that blogs are text - like this one, which is article based. However YouTube could be considered a video blog, and Flickr a photoblog. Twitter is microblogging (140 characters or less) and moblogging is blogging (writing articles) from a mobile or cell phone.

Subject Matter?
Anything you want - fashion, studies, professional, beer, sports, hobbies, family, erotic writings, science, lifestyle, biography. Some (ok, a lot) are boring, and some are brilliant.
Have a flick through this powerpoint presentation:

It's from Slideshare.net.

Tips: write with passion and conviction, be knowledgeable, allow debate, be consistent, be humble (or else have an interesting attitude), write regularly, link to friends or other bloggers, inform people that you blog so they can come and read it, don't write anything you don't want on the front page of the Saturday Sydney Morning Herald, don't blog when angry, don't blog when drunk, don't give your password to an angry drunk friend or ex-partner, develop your voice, listen to other people, don't listen to other people, make mistakes and learn, read other blogs, keep doing it, find bloggers who will link back, ...

Any other tips?

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