History Of Blogs

December 6th, 2009

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If you’ve not studied the history of blogs, you’re missing out on knowing some fascinating facts – and that’s as exciting as the enormous potential that blogging has for your business.

The word Blog is short for ‘Web Log’. A log or diary of stuff that you host on the Web.

the world’s first blog was probably ‘Open Diary’ created by Dave Winer, though the term itself was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997.

At first, blogging was just like regular diary writing, but done on the Web for everyone to see. But then it evolved into what modern blogs are – a statement that stands for many different points of view of the blogger.

A blog is an easy way of publishing your thoughts to the Web.

You don’t have to know how to code, program or handle technical details. Just type into a box and click a button to publish your content to your blog. It’s even called push-button publishing!

The history of blogs makes for a mirror in which we see the very evolution of the World Wide Web and globally accessible content.

Best Blog Sites

December 5th, 2009

There are many fantastic blogs out there on the Web, covering various topics. And with millions of blogs spanning diverse interests, it is often hard to identify the very best ones.

Blog directories and “best of” lists posted by various bloggers are a quick and easy way to find some of them. Also, since the top blogs get many links from other sites, they often rank high on search engines, getting them more visibility.

Some of the best blog sites started out as free blogs on Blogger or WordPress before moving on to more elaborate solutions.

You too can shift your blog to a different location after you have gained some experience, though you can start out with a hosted blog on your own server right away, if you prefer it.

The best blog sites have decent design. Some are outstanding and amazing. But with that said, it is so easy to design great blogs using the templates and free blog layouts widely available, there simply is no good excuse for having a blog design that sucks!

Free Blog Backgrounds

December 4th, 2009

Free blog services are often surprisingly good for beginners. And you get many nice goodies added on to your blog platform, like free blog backgrounds and templates to select from.

Blogger and WordPress, the most popular platforms, are both free. And many people work on creating free blog backgrounds, themes, graphics and plug-ins for the millions of bloggers registered on the service.

Here’s a quick video from Google about getting started with Blogger.com

How To Start A Blog

December 3rd, 2009

If you’ve been wondering how to start a blog, here’s your answer.

Your Step by Step Approach To Start A Blog

First, go to a free blog site like Blogger.com at http://www.blogger.com

Register by filling up the form on the registration page. Select a username, and enter other data. Soon after, you can start creating your first blog.

Choose a title and brief description of your blog. Make it keyword rich so that you get the most traffic from search engines.

You can have Blogger.com host your blog, or publish it to your own website. At any stage later on you can change this.

That’s it. You know how to start a blog. Now all you have to do is keep publishing posts. And if you read “How To Blog“, you’ll know how to do that – easily!

What Is A Blog?

December 2nd, 2009

What is a blog?

Many years ago, I was asked this question by an expert at affiliate marketing. I had contacted her about promoting my newly released book, “33 Blog Profit Ideas” and she asked:

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to educate me first. In a very
short sentence, please explain what a blog is and how it works…”

That’s the test to see if you know what you’re talking about. Can you explain it – in a very short sentence – to someone who doesn’t know anything about it?

Here’s my reply:

“A ‘blog’ is short form for ‘web log’, a sort of online personal diary on which *anyone* can reveal his/her innermost thoughts, feelings, desires, dreams, ambitions, hopes, fears… and more.

Yes, it’s a website. With one small difference. It lists posts ordered by date, in a personal journal format, and is easier to create than a website – just involves typing into a form and hitting the PUBLISH button.”

So, to you… what is a blog?

Free Blog Sites

December 1st, 2009

There are many free blog sites on which you can host your blog.

These blog services will let you set up a blog completely free. The list runs into the hundreds. Here are the most popular among them.

a. Blogger – http://www.blogger.com/

b. WordPress – http://www.wordpress.org/

c. Radio Userland - http://www.userland.com/

d. Movable Type – http://www.movabletype.org/

e. Open Journal – http://www.grohol.com/downloads/oj/

f. pMachine (now Expression Engine) – http://www.expressionengine.com

On these sites, you can make a blog without having to worry about installing software, configuring databases or doing anything even remotely technical. It is ideal for beginners to test the waters and get an idea of how blogging works.

Don’t waste too much time researching free blog sites. Just pick one, start your blog, and when it picks up and gets many readers, move over to a more robust solution – like hosting your own blog on your web hosting server.

Blog Definition

November 30th, 2009

Looking for a blog definition?

The Chicago Tribune defines a blog thusly:

“A Weblog is a Web site that maintains a constantly updated list of links to other sites; those links can deal with any subject or focus on a particular one. Webloggers typically offer pithy, sarcastic commentary about the links.”

Or here’s another one:

“A ‘blog’ is short form for ‘web log’, a sort of online personal diary where *anyone* can reveal his/her innermost thoughts, feelings, desires, dreams, ambitions, hopes, fears. A blog lists posts ordered by date, in a personal journal format, and is easier to create than a website – just involves typing into a form and hitting the PUBLISH button.”

Darren Rowse defines a blog as:

‘a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order’ – that is, the newer posts appear first, and older ones later.

Pick the blog definition that works best for you.

How Do I Start A Blog

November 29th, 2009

If you’ve been asking yourself, “How do I start a blog?”, here’s the answer.

Step #1 – Go to Blogger.com – http://www.blogger.com

Step #2 – Click the ‘Sign Up Now’ button. You will reach the
registration page, where you will start to create your
account.

Step #3 – Select a username, and enter other data like your
name, email address and choice of password. After reading
the ‘Terms of Service’, click on the ‘Sign Me Up’ button.

Step #4 – Next comes creating your first blog. Click on the
‘Create a New Blog’ button.

Step #5 – Choose a title and brief description of your blog.

Step #6 – You have a choice between having Blogger.com host
your blog, or having it published to your own website. There
are pros and cons to each approach.

At any stage later on you can have the entire blog transferred
back to your site.

Now all you have to do is keep publishing posts. Don’t worry
about how do I start a blog – it just got ‘fall off a log’ easy!

Best Male Blogs

November 28th, 2009

Male Fitness Blog
http://www.malefitnessblog.com/

An excellent resource that easily makes it to the top of this list of “Best Male Blogs” – there is a wealth of content on this blog about exercise, fitness and healthy living for males.

Male and Beautiful
http://maleandbeautiful.blogspot.com/

Another winner that made it to the “Best Male Blogs” list is this collection of photographs of male models.

Male Beauty Forum
http://www.malebeautyforum.com/

Has some useful information and links for males that let us include this one too in the list of “Best Male Blogs”

Adult Male Blogs
http://adultmaleblogs.com/

It’s a place for males to blog, and provides tools, resources and web space, not to mention free blog templates. A shoo-in for including on “Best Male Blogs”

This list of “Best Male Blogs” is short. If you know of any we can add to it, please share. And for more about how to blog, read our other articles.

What is the definition of a blog?

November 27th, 2009

A blog may be defined in this way:

“A Weblog is a Web site that maintains a constantly updated list of links to other sites; those links can deal with any subject or focus on a particular one. “

Another way to answer the request for definition of a blog is:

“A ‘blog’ is short form for ‘web log’, a sort of online personal diary. A blog lists posts ordered by date, in a personal journal format. Blogging just involves typing into a form and hitting the PUBLISH button.”

One more way one can state the definition of a blog is:

‘a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.’

Use whichever definition of a blog works for you.