All about blogs

A "blog" is the slang term for a "web log", a content form akin to an online diary. A blog is often characterised by a large number of links to other websites (or interesting online articles), the subjects of which are chewed over by the blog writer. They work rather like interactive newspaper columns, written by individuals who wish to express their ideas and opinions in a public forum.

Blog writers are a diverse bunch, and there are millions of them now that software packages (many of which are free to use) such as Blogger and Moveable Type have made it as easy to start an online blog as it is to set up a Hotmail account.

So how did blogs get started?

The internet, with its plethora of home pages, fan sites and talk-boards has always encouraged decentralised publishing. Someone with an interest and/or expertise in a subject, plus a smidgen of web know-how can, thanks to an un-edited internet, make their opinions know to the wider world without having to approach a newspaper editor or books publisher.

Whether it's the films of Marlene Dietrich, hidden meanings in Avril Lavigne's "Complicated", the art of climbing sand-dunes or the construction of remote control cars, there's a site somewhere on the net for almost any subject you can imagine.

But for every specialist there are a dozen generalists, people who hold opinions on a wide range of topics or who have a knack for finding gems on the internet or who simply want to share the details of their day to day existence with others. Probably there are as many reasons for wanting to write a public blog as there are blog writers.

Today there are literally millions of blogs out there, some well-loved and read by hundreds of thousands of net surfers, others un-read and undiscovered.

Some are poorly written, inaccurate or just plain nasty, but they're allowed to exist! And there's a tremendous freedom inherent in being able to publish without having to meet an editor or proprietor or boss's expectations.

Try googling the word blog. You'll find more than 15 million results. Blogging is here to stay.