Blogs and websites

Why do I blog? This question will be addressed as I try to explain what is a blog and what is its difference to a website, which most people are familiar with. Most of the info. I will post are information I likewise gathered from other bloggers. Since they are many, allow me to just credit them generically. This entry also intends to encourage blogging, like the rest of those I got to pick info from... trust me, it can be really addictive... =)

What is a blog?

From blogger.com, the host (For FREE!!!) of the blogs I create, comes this definition:

A blog is an easy to use website where:

1. you could post your thoughts;

2. share information;

3. provide updates;

4. interact with other people;

5. and more...

A lot of blogs out there help inform and educate the public, from reporting on changes and attempts to change the laws of government to reporting upon the impact of government decisions. One of the first blogs I created was for a project with the media which I managed, intended primarily for advocacy purposes. I got the idea of creating that blog when a friend set-up a blog to sustain our advocacy on the issues of religion, gender and sexuality. Media practitioners have also started their blogs in order to publish their articles, some of which are those not published by their media outfits or simply to air out their views. Around the world, people who are once repressed with a lack of free speech are risking their lives to blog about the continued repression and political unrest. "Blogs are giving people a voice they had never had before".

Teachers, artists, writers, doctors, lawyers, advocates and many other professionals are now blogging about their experiences and lessons learned to help others learn from them. As such, there are more educational material than ever before available in the world wide web because of this eagerness to share through blogging.

Many people believe that blogs are the changing face of public relations and advertising today. Just a few months ago, a report was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer as to how blogging is becoming an effective advertising strategy.

When do you blog?

If you have "static" information and articles and just want to put it out there and let it sit, then putting up a website will meet your needs. But if you carve interaction and you want to update on a regular basis, then consider blogging.

TIPS

These I gathered from another blog I couldn't remember. They were very good I saved it in a word file, neglecting to save the source. My apologies...

1. Make a plan

Here are guide questions to help you through:

• What are you going to write about?
• Or do you only want to show off photographs (photoblog)?
• Or do you want to post them and talk about them?
• Do you want to write about a lot of topics or just a specific topic or genre?

With a specific topic/subject in mind, plan how you will deliver that information. For example, will you post links and a few comments or will you actually write and explain topics, like articles, or a combination?

2. Choose a theme or style for the site that will represent the "tone" of your subject.

Remember that the look of the blog will give the people the impression of the contents in your blog. It is the first thing that they will see when they walk through your so-called "virtual door".

Website vs. Blog

A website is a collection of web pages on a server. It is a form of static billboard on the Internet that showcases information. There is more to the definition, but for this purposes, that is good enough. A website can be a collection of articles, news, links, information, photographs and anything you want. And a website can even host a blog! =)

On the otherhand, a blog is a website or part of a website that usually features one or more of the following criteria:

• Editorial Commentary
• Links to external sites often seen as recommendations or features
• Tells stories
• Usually about a specific topic, subject, or genre
• Tends to be personal
• Could be considered "newsy" rather than "news"
• Comments and interaction with the audience
• Photographs of you and your activities

For a considerable period of time, a blog would have been a diary, journal, scrapbook or storytelling medium. But it has evolved depending on who blogs and what he blogs about.

Fact of the matter is, a blog is a website; but the varying termonilogy is used to distinguish a static medium from an interactive site, where magic that brings forth interaction and compels thought takes place. =)