Blogging Explained

Blogging is a form of online self-publishing using an extremely easy content publishing software, for instance, WordPress. A majority of blogs are published using free services such as Blogger.com and WordPress.com, but most of the successful bloggers prefer to publish their blogs under their own domain names, for instance, Content Blog, that is my blog on content publishing trends and online copywriting. Publishing a blog under your own domain name gives you the freedom to choose whatever blogging software you want, and you are always in possession of your content and therefore, don’t have to depend on the vagaries of websites providing you free blogging facilities.

Difference between a blog and a normal website

The basic difference is of course the ease of use and fast implementation. You don’t need to hire a web designer to publish a blog. In case you publish it using a free service you don’t even have to register a domain or pay for hosting; it’s as simple as composing an email and then sending it.

The content on a blog gets arranged automatically, usually in a linear fashion, as you publish your successive posts. For instance, on your home page, the latest blog post, or its extract, appears at the top, and the rest of the posts appear in ascending order, based on the publishing time or date. Similarly, your archives and your navigation gets regenerated automatically as you add new content.

If you decide to host your blog under your own domain name the procedure involves:

1. Registering a domain name
2. Setting it up on a hosting server
3. Creating the database, mostly MySQL, to contain your content
4. Uploading the blogging software (WordPress, MovableType, ExpressionEngine, etc.) to the server using your FTP accounting and setting it up with the MySQL database
5. Installing the software
6. Naming your blog
7. Using and appropriate theme/template for your blog
8. Publishing

It’s a lot simpler than it sounds above.

A website, on the other hand, needs to be designed; every individual page is created separately, and the content is inserted manually before uploading the pages. It’s quite a complex task for a person who doesn’t design and develop web pages.

Why blogging is such a rage?

Due to simplicity of use, and the power it gives to normal people. Currently (as on April 16, 2008) Technorati is tracking 112.8 million blogs so even if 5% of these blogs are published seriously, you can easily imagine their reach. There is a vibrant community of bloggers constantly churning out highly relevant and useful content, revolutionizing the concept of self publishing. Since there are so many people passionate about blogging, they also take great interest in other blogs, and this is from where blogging derives its strength: the accumulated interest and effort of millions of bloggers and their readers.

Blogs allow both common and influential people to express themselves. The opinions can vary from politics to science to news to media to any other topic under the sun. People publish their views on the products and services they use, they write about their personal and professional experiences, they share their knowledge and wisdom, manage inter-continental events, carry out corporate PR exercises and coordinate rescue efforts through their blogs — the uses go as far as your imagination. In fact blogging is so influential that repressive regimes often ban and block them in their countries and persecute bloggers for spreading awareness.

How does blogging affect your business?

As I mentioned above, people passionately share their views and experiences vis-à-vis various products and services they use, and these opinions and outpourings — whether justified or not — spread like wildfire on the waves of blogging and social media websites. A marginally influential blogger (in terms of readership and networking) can cause you millions of dollars of damages through just a single blog post. The totally opposite can happen with a positive blog post.

Many organizations like Ford and Forbes are utilizing their blogs to spread awareness and communicate with their customers and clients. Read why your business should have a blog. Business blogging is so influential that two Forbes consultants have come together and written a book on the power of business blogging.

How does blogging affect your personally?

Are you thinking of ways of establishing yourself as an authority or a recognized figure in your field? Whether you are an artist, a consultant, a teacher, a social activist, a politician or a writer, a blog can help you spread awareness about your abilities and let you share your expertise with your visitors on a regular basis. It gives you a platform to publish your opinions and views and gain followers. Many bloggers have used their blogs to further their careers and get writing and speaking assignments, Seth Godin, for instance. Blogging is an inexpensive way to showcase your artistic and intellectual capabilities and gain recognition and acceptance.

Recent media polls have suggested that blogging is experiencing a decline in popularity and the number of blogs being created every day, and this is a natural thing to happen. Every new trend goes through this phase as everybody wants to leverage it. Then gradually people begin to realize that it’s not their cup of tea. Blogs are becoming specialized now, and with more and more businesses jumping into the fray, attaining a sense of credibility and authority. Whatever is the numerical analysis, blogging is here to stay in its various avatar because of its strength as a potent communication and marketing tool.