All of us who use the internet daily are familiar with what a blog is. A blog is a web page or a website that one person or a small group regularly updates, written in a simple conversational style.
But how many of us know what the word blog means or what does it stand for. Or, why do we call it a blog?
History
Initially, the full form for a blog was “Web Log” coined by John Barger in 1997. Later in 1999, this term was broken down into “We Blog” by Peter Merholz. It was more comfortable on the tongue, and soon, the term blog evolved into a verb, “blogging.”
The verbal use of the word blog became so widespread that the Oxford dictionary acquired it in 2003.
Here is a quick and easy walkthrough of what a blog is!
What is a Blog?
It is an online journal or diary, much like an old-fashioned memoir about one’s aspirations, ambitions, fears, challenges, struggles, interests, travels, skills, etc.
What is better is that you can include pictures, videos, and gifs to make your content more engaging for your audience.
In addition to documenting one’s thoughts and activities, we can use a blog to promote a business or generate funds for personal goals. It also provides you with a platform to explore and exhibit your creative abilities.
A complete literary knowledge, ability to write long prose and being recognized by a publisher were the benchmarks to command the attention of your reader in the olden times.
Things have drastically changed after the advent of the internet. Blogging offered more liberty over the language, length, and content of the content produced. Sorter, faster, and more interactive styles became popular.
Even people with a less professional writing style and experience were able to garner a broad audience. It was a big opportunity for them to build on their skills and enhance their creative expression.
A blog is publicly accessible via the link available on the internet through links provided on someone’s personal and business website, newsletters, visiting cards, social media profiles, online keyword search engines, etc.
The posts on the blog appear in the form of a list in reverse chronological order with the most recent content highest on the record. It shows featured images, titles, and link addresses to visit it.
As opposed to before, when creating a webpage was a lengthy and cumbersome process, it has become very convenient. So much so that having your very own blog is merely a few clicks away.
Blogging Websites
The initial step to facilitate and ease this process was the introduction of “Blogger” by Pyra Labs. Google bought this company out, and with its new interface, all you needed was an internet connection to have your blog.
Later, several free and premium blogging websites like WordPress, ghost, Drupal, Joomla, Medium, Squarespace, Weebly, Typad, etc. introduced themselves to facilitate the process of developing your blog.
The act of blogging caught on like wildfire after that. It is so rampant that a lot of people have forgotten what it means or that it is a variation of “Web Log.” The prevalence of blogging has been beneficial to many individuals and companies alike.
Advantages
People maintain blogs to boost their businesses and project with monetizing as a straightforward purpose. The blog helps them connect with their relevant audience. The next step is turning your audience into consumers.
Now having that consumer base be loyal to your business and keep buying your product and service is quite a task. You have to grab their attention, making your blog more and more informative, entertaining, and descriptive.
Frequent and engaging posts not only keep your audience involved but also build their trust towards your brand. It will, in turn, increase the credibility of your business. It is essential for a brand that is relatively you to command presence, relevance, and authority.
There are a few of the many benefits of digital marketing.
Other than the business point of view, blogs have become an enormous source of mainstream information regarding subject like current affairs, politics, science, technology, fashion, lifestyle, show business, etc.
Not only can you read up on essential things, but blogs are also uniquely interactive as you can comment and ask questions from the experts about the topic under consideration for free.
An increased number of digital media awareness, the blogging marketplace has become saturated with things that are both good and bad. Sometimes you can find blogs that are very helpful and informative. You find blogs that direct you to your required product and service.
Disadvantages
However, the excess of blogs online disturbs the equilibrium for genuine content. There are increased chances of you finding fake news and unreliable products just because it is effortless to put yourself on the internet and reach the desired public.
The compromised quality of content does not stop it from published. Your search will reveal results that are nothing more than incoherent inconsequential gibberish. No one wants to know what 16-year old Delilah from Detroit did on the weekend.
Aside from being irrelevant, the lack of regulation often leads to offensive and insensitive content targeting people racially or sexually. Predators often approach children and other vulnerable people on the blogosphere. Scams and frauds are also very prevalent in the blogging landscape that dupe people out of their hard earned money.
Internet is a free marketplace of ideas. Where it has a lot of advantages, the challenges of it are very hard to overcome as well. What we can do is make the best we can from what we have.
Happy surfing!
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