Blog? What the hell is a blog?

This is what my mother asked of me when I told her that I finally found a more productive outlet to spend my precious time with. It took a lot of explaining before I had finally convinced her that the money that she is about to give me for my new hobby is well worth it.

Well, it was.

Blog. It may have sounded pretty odd at first but everyone knows the word now. However, with all the hype in the blogosphere today many fail to see the true meaning of this well-known word. Let me give you some quick explanations on the different aspects of blogging. So, What is a blog?

Look for the meaning of blog on the internet and you will find different definitions from a great number of people that are explained both on the general and technical level. I’ll try to add my own definition as well.

A blog is an online publication on which a person can express his/her thoughts, insights, and feelings and share it to an audience over the internet. It may also include the latest news and trends on a particular topic of the author’s interest. With the help of a web-based publication tool, blogs are ideally updated daily with entries that are arranged in chronological order.

Although the definition of blogging can be further explained, this is the most basic definition of blogging that could better explain the word.

The History of Blogging

It is interesting to note that blogging actually came from the concept of online diaries back in the early days of the internet. It then took a different turn as blogging became a little more widespread among internet users.

The term blog was derived from the word “Web Log” made up by an early blogger named Jorn Barger. Peter Merholz, another early blogger, jokingly played with the word and used the phrase “We Blog” on his own site. The term ‘blog’ soon became accepted by the internet community and was used as a term for the new generation of online journals.

The Evolution of Blogging

Throughout the years, blogging has undergone many different changes along with the rapid advancement of technology and the internet. Not anymore is blogging limited to posting entries like a traditional online diary and waiting for someone to just accidentally drop by to read our posts. The act of blogging today extends to many different activities like blog relationships, community building, blog commenting, twittering, podcasting, videocasting and the like.

The True Meaning of Blogging

You may have probably noticed that I have emphasized the word ‘basic’ when I gave my own definition of a blog. This is because as blogging continues to evolve and advanced further through the help of technology, the words that we are going to use to describe it will change along with it.

In spite of all this, the true meaning of blogging doesn’t change at all. It still remains as the place where people can pour their own personal thoughts, ideas, and feelings on different topics that they are interested in to share with other people online. Do you have your own definition of blogging? Do you agree on my own views about the true meaning of blogging? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.