WHAT IS A BLOG

Blog Definition:

        A blog (also called a weblog or web log) is a website consisting of entries (also called posts) appearing in reverse chronological order with the most recent entry appearing first (similar in format to a daily journal). Blogs typically include features such as comments and links to increase user interactivity. Blogs are created using specific publishing software.

Variations of the term blog:

• Blogging: The act of writing a post for a blog
• Blogger: A person who writes content for a blog
• Blogosphere: The online community of blogs and bloggers

        The World before Blogging

        There was a time when the Internet was just an informational tool. In the early life of the World Wide Web some 20 years ago, websites were simple and provided a one-sided conversation. As time went on, the Internet became more interactive with the introduction of transaction-based websites and online shopping, but the online world remained one-sided.

        That all changed with the evolution of Web 2.0 (the social web) wherein user-generated content became an integral part of the online world. Today, users expect websites to provide a two-way conversation and web logs (or blogs) were born.

What is a “blog”?

          You can find about 2.6 million answers (and counting) to that specific question via Google but I wanted to present the answer in a few different ways so that you, as the new guy or gal, can get it, or if you know someone who wants to know then you can pass them this post.

Let’s start simply, shall we?

Simple Definitions:

Blog?

        Here are a few very simple definitions that can get you started. If you find these to be good enough for you then you’re done reading this post!

·         A blog originally came from the word “weblog” or a “web log”.

·         You can think of it as an online journal or diary, although blogs are used for much more now, like online journalism.

·         A blogger is someone who blogs, or writes content for a blog.

·         Blogging is the act of writing a post for a blog.

Got it? That was easy, and that’s all you might need to know to get started.

Intermediate Definitions:

Blogger?

Want a little more “meat” on your blogging-knowledge bones? Try these definitions on for size:

·         A blog is a type of website which has posts (or entries) appearing in reverse chronological order.

·         Blog posts typically appear with the most recent blog post (or entry, post) first, just like a diary or journal.

·         A blog is typically updated frequently and regularly, although there are some who are considered “slow bloggers”.

·         Blogs typically have an area for people to comment or respond to the blog post.

·         Blogs may also have other areas of content and links to other websites.

·         Blogs can have individual authors or be a collection of authors.

·         Blogs have a history or an archive of previous blog posts.

Not too bad, right? We’re beginning to describe some of the features of a typically blog.

Advanced Definitions:

Blogging?

If you’d like to complete your education of what a blog is then you can read some of the following “advanced” definitions:

·         A blog is a collection of content that is organized repetitively. This content can take the form of basic words (copy) as well as rich media (audio, video, and embeddable objects).

·         A blog typically focuses on a particular subject matter for clarity, focus, and

·         A blog can be built by hand, manually through writing the post, uploading to a website via FTP, and then publishing.

·         A blog can also be managed by software, sometimes called a CMS (Content Management System), where a lot of the features are automatically created and populated.

·         A blog typically can be read in a number of different formats including the homepage, single post page, categories, tags, and also via RSS and other such syndication technologies.

·         Readers and visitors can subscribe to the blog so that they can consume the content in a variety of different means, tools, devices, and applications.

·         A blog today could take the form of microblogging (like Twitter, Posterous, Tumblr), vblogging (video blogging), and more which can focus on a particular type of content or technology.

How to determine if Blogging is Right for You

    Before you start a blog, it's important to determine if blogging is right for you to ensure your blogging experience will be successful.

You Enjoy Spending Time Surfing the Web

         Successful blogging requires a large time commitment and a great deal of sweat equity. Blogging doesn't stop after you write and publish a blog post. Instead, it requires promotion, visiting and reading other blogs and websites, staying abreast of news and issues related to your blog topic, and more.

Most of your blogging activities will occur online. To be a successful blogger, you must enjoy reading, researching, spending time on your computer and surfing the web.

You Like to Write

           If you abhor writing or writing doesn't come naturally to you, then blogging might not be for you. Building a successful blog requires frequent, meaningful updates, responding to comments, leaving comments on other blogs and more. Each of those success factors requires writing. To be a successful blogger, you must be able to write prolifically.

You're Passionate about Your Blog's Topic

        Successful blogging requires that the blogger writes frequent, meaningful posts about their blog's topic to attract new readers, keep readers interested and keep readers coming back. If you are only slightly interested in your blog's topic, it will be difficult to log in each day and come up with fresh, exciting posts and commentary.

       By choosing a topic you're passionate about, it will be easier to update your blog with a smile on your face each day.

You Can Commit to Blogging

          Successful blogging is a commitment in terms of time and effort and requires a great deal of self-discipline and self-motivation. You must have the ability to fit blogging into your schedule and be committed to sticking to that schedule.

You're Comfortable Publicizing Your Thoughts, Opinions, and Ideas

           As a blogger, you will be publishing your opinions for the entire online community to read. While it is possible to remain anonymous and become a successful blogger, anonymous success is not the norm. To attract a large audience and appear legitimate in the blogosphere, more people have taken to sharing their identities and a fair amount of personal information online. As such, bloggers are exposed to negative responses to their posts, and sometimes those negative critiques can be hurtful. Successful bloggers can handle negative criticism.

You're Not Afraid of Technology and You Are Willing to Learn

        Blogging requires some knowledge of the Internet and simple software. If you are afraid of your computer, then blogging may not be for you. Alternatively, if you are willing to learn, you can blog. Blogging and the Internet as a whole are ever-changing, and even the most successful bloggers are constantly trying to learn new things to further enhance their blogs. To be a successful blogger, you must be willing to learn how to get started and how to maintain and improve your blog in the future.

You're willing to Take Risks

           Much of successful blogging is related to taking risks from diving in and starting your first blog to launching your blog's first advertisement or adding the first link to your blogroll.

To be a successful blogger, you have to be willing to try new things to enhance and promote your blog.

What is a Blog? What is a Blogger? What is Blogging?

         Do you remember the first time you heard the word “blog”? What was your original thought? How did you respond?

Well, as familiar as you might be to what a “blog” is, there are people who hear it for the first time every single day and have no idea what it really is. They are having that first encounter like you did right now!

Neat, right? In any case, I thought it would be profitable to start from square one and revisit some blogging basics that many take for granted.

So, let’s start from the very beginning and answer that very basic question:

There are 5 steps to start a blog. Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through each one below in-depth.

1.       Choose your blogging platform

2.       Choose a domain name and host

3.       Customize and edit your blog

4.       Write posts and add pages

5.       Get traffic and make it successful

Step 1: Getting Started – Choose your Blogging Platform (WordPress)

Before you can even start worrying about how your blog will look like, you’ll need to choose your blogging platform. 

There’s a lot to choose from. You are able to create a blog with many different blogging platforms, such as WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger and more…

However, given that there are over 72 million active users using WordPress today, it’s clear which platform is the boss. Even my own blogs and sites are built with WordPress blogging platform. Here’s why:

·         It’s FREE for everyone to use (including themes, layouts and add-ons that many other blogging platforms don’t provide).

·         It’s super easy to set up.

It’s secure; WordPress is always updating their software and keeping everything sound and secure, so there’s rarely a worry of having your blog come under hacking attacks. No wonder Sony, NASA and even university blogs are using WordPress.

·         It’s HIGHLY customizable. There are hundreds of free themes and plugins that add more functionality to your blog, from contact and subscribe boxes to plugins that improve blog performance and more.

While the other blogging platforms are generally all pretty OK, nothing in my opinion has ever come close to matching the freedom and customization options that WordPress offers. So without a doubt, go with WordPress. Especially when you are just starting out.

HOLD UP! At this point, you don’t need to install nor download anything – I’ll show you this in a minute, but first…

Why you shouldn’t create a blog on a free blogging platform

Without a doubt, you need to self-host your WordPress blog.

Think about it – what famous, successful blogger you know is using a free blogging website like “startbloggingonline.freeblogs.com” instead of their own domain name like “StartBloggingOnline.com”, for example?

It’s not just that – free blogging platforms have other problems too – including…

·         You don’t control your content – the blogging platform does. They could shut you down any time, and for any reason. Don’t believe me? Read this.

·         The web address of your blog will be long and hard to remember (like yourfreeblog.blogspot.com) instead of a catchy, branded address you choose.

·         You’re not allowed to advertise on most free blogging platforms, making it much harder to ever make money from blogging.

All of these limitations apply to the WordPress.COM blogs. What you really want is to self-host a WordPress blog – it’s the same software without all the limitations!

Don’t get me wrong: If you really don’t care whether or not your blog will be successful, go with free blogging platforms. They’re an okay way to try out blogging for a little bit.

But if you ever want to look credible, build an audience and make money blogging, then you need your own blog, on your own domain name, with your own hosting. That way, you make the rules and control your content.

          If I were you, I’d start with a self-hosted blog on my own domain from day one. Setting up a blog like this is WAY easier and less expensive than you think.

Finding a domain name and web hosting provider

       Now to exciting part! To set up a self-hosted blog on your own domain name, you’ll need two things:

     Domain name – This will be your personal blog address where people find you over and over again. For example Google’s Domain is www.Google.com. Your new blog domain name will be www.YourBlogName.com, except you’ll choose what’s going to be behind Your New Blog. The cost of a domain name is usually $10/year, but if you follow this guide all the way, I’ll show you how to get one for much cheaper.

       Web hosting – This will be the home of your blog address and content that’s on the blog. Without web hosting, you’ll be unable to use your domain. Think of it as a computer hard drive that stores all your content on your blog (images, blog posts and so on). The cost of web hosting is usually somewhere between $2-5 per month.

      It’s less than an XL coffee at Starbucks, so it won’t break the bank. But it’s an important investment to your blog success.

Where should I get my domain name and hosting?

When it comes to hosting, there are only two things that matter.

·         Page load speed – The average amount of time (in seconds) it takes your blog to load.

·         Uptime – 99.9% isn’t enough (it’s 42 minutes of downtime per month). You should be aiming for 100%.

There are hundreds of different web hosting providers. They all offer you a similar service (domain + hosting) with a similar price, but since I’ve dealt with and monitored many famous and recommended web hosting companies like Blue host, iPage, Godaddy etc…