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Online blog services and tools for bloggers interested in writing online journals.
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.monitoring-software.net
Blog Definition
blog
A blog is often a mixture of what is happening in a person's life and what is happening on the Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site, although there are as many unique types of blogs as there are people. People maintained blogs long before the term was coined, but the trend gained momentum with the introduction of automated published systems, most notably Blogger at blogger.com.
Thousands of people use services such as Blogger to simplify and accelerate the publishing process. Blogs are alternatively called web logs or weblogs. However, "blog" seems less likely to cause confusion, as "web log" can also mean a server's log files.
(source..... marketingterms)
weblog
A weblog, or simply a blog, is a website which contains periodic, reverse chronologically ordered posts on a common webpage. Such a web site would typically be accessible to any Internet user. Part of the reason "blog" was coined and commonly accepted into use is the fact that in saying "blog", confusion with server log is avoided. Individual posts (which taken together are the blog or weblog) either share a particular theme, or a single or small group of authors.
(source..... wordIq)
blog
n.) Short for Web log, a blog is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.
(v.) To author a Web log. Other forms: Blogger (a person who blogs).
(source... webopedia)
blog
a personal Web site that provides updated headlines and news articles of other sites that are of interest to the user, also may include journal entries, commentaries and recommendations compiled by the user; also written web log, Weblog; also called blog.
(source... reference.com)
weblog
A weblog, or simply a blog, is a website which contains periodic, reverse chronologically ordered posts on a common webpage. Such a web site would typically be accessible to any Internet user. Part of the reason "blog" was coined and commonly accepted into use is the fact that in saying "blog", confusion with server log is avoided. Blogs run from individual diaries to arms of political campaigns, media programs and corporations, and from one occasional author to having large communities of writers. (source ... wikipedia)
blog
A weblog is a hierarchy of text, images, media objects and data, arranged chronologically, that can be viewed in an HTML browser. (source ... harvard)
blog
Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site. Blogs have common elements: updated frequently (usually daily); informal; grouped by date with links to archives of older posts; informative and/or inspiring (the good ones); frequently linked to other sites that inspired the blog; and addictive for those who blog. The author of a blog is often referred to as a blogger. When we add an entry to our blogs, we may often say we blogged today.
(source ... BloggerForum)
blog
Short for weblog. A meandering, blatantly uninteresting online diary that gives the author the illusion that people are interested in their stupid, pathetic life.
(source ... UrbanDictionary)
What is blogging?
Blogging is the action of posting to or participating in an online diary or journal.
What are blogs?
A blog is often a mixture of what is happening in a person's life and what is happening on the Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site, although there are as many unique types of blogs as there are people. More definitions of a blog.
Another Explanation - What are blogs?
Personal blogs are web pages that serves as a publicly-accessible personal journal for an individual. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author. Recently businesses have begun using blogs to communicate tips, updates, and product announcements. Blogs are updated frequently and provide fresh news and information on a regular basis.
What is blogger?
1.) Blogger is a service that provides Web-based tools used by individuals to publish to the Web. It can refer more generally to any person who publishes on a weblog. The tool Blogger is a service to make weblog publishing easier. The user does not have to write any code or to worry about installing server software or scripts. But nevertheless the user can influence the design of his blog freely.
2.) Blogger is an individual that actively participates in blogging.
What is a web blog?
Blog and web log are synonymous and refer to online compilations of information that contain posts with the most recent at the top.
What is RSS
An acronym meaning really simple syndication or rich site summary. It is a standard for content distribution and syndication. more rss definitions
What is a Blogroll?
A bloggers collection of links to favorite blogs.
What is Blogosphere?
An interconnected network of blogs.
Movable Type
Web blog publishing tool for individuals and businesses. A free unsupported version is available for up to 3 blogs.
Blogger
Now owned by Google, team in Google focusing on helping people have their own voice on the web and organizing the world's information from the personal perspective.
Live Journal - LiveJournal is a simple-to-use (but extremely powerful and customizable) personal publishing ("blogging") tool, built on open source software. It is a free service that allows you to create and customize your very own "live journal": a journal that you keep online! ... You can update with short entries several times a day, or with long entries a few times a week... however you'd like to use it. It's free, it's fun, and it's easy to use.
Diarist - a comprehensive starting-point for both writers and readers of online journals. Whether you create a diary, journal, or blog.
Diary-X - If you're looking for a fast, easy way to create an online journal, you've come to the right place. Diary-x has been designed from the ground up to bring you the tools you need to write without worrying about the mundane details of HTML. Flexible enough to accommodate just about everyone, diary-x takes no power away from the author.
The Open Diary - The first interactive diary community on the Internet. Read about the lives of thousands of real people, or get your own free online diary
Blog Drive - Free online news publishing for beginners and advanced users.
BlogEasy - Blog Easy offers free blog hosting, which is a free web page publishing and syndication service that allows users to quickly share information, such as news, reviews, blogs, journals, weblogs, diaries, and photos. | 
