The Basics of Blogging and Why You Should Have One

The Basics of Blogging and Why You Should Have One

Given how often it appears in contexts as diverse as politics and pornstars, the word "blog" or "blogging" is almost impossible to ignore. Except if you've been hiding out in a cave for the past four years, you've probably noticed it. However, few people can define a blog precisely, even with that level of familiarity with the term.

An explanation of the blog's background is necessary before proceeding. Blog is an abbreviation for weblog. In the early days of the internet, the term "weblog" was used to describe a website that mostly consisted of personal reflections and journals.  Typically, it gets updated often and covers a wide variety of topics, from the everyday to the deep.  Does that ring a bell? That ought to be the case. When all the fluff is removed, what remains is a simple diary that has been around for nearly as long as language.  

Just how many years have "blogs" been around? The Egyptian scribe Kakheperresenb himself wrote a piece titled "Kakheperresenb's Complaint" that could be considered one of the first examples.  The name should not attempt to be pronounced. The pain will hit you hard. He will be referred to as "K" going forward. Around the year 2000 BC, "K" wrote one of the earliest entries in the annals of human blog history. Considering that the majority of the population was illiterate, "K" likely had a limited audience and lacked the resources and technology that we have today.

"Would I have phrases that are not known, utterances that are strange, in a new language that has not been used, free from repetition, not an utterance that men of old have spoken?" is the unforgettable sentence that "K" left with us. People who had blogs back then were obviously still struggling to come up with content!

The blog, though, is the key to stardom and financial success, with a side hustle thrown in for good measure. Take Darren Rowse as an example; he earned just over $16,000 in August 2005 from AdSense. Yes, there were really three zeros after that 6. So what? This is coming from a person who writes his own comments and rambles about terrible movies and sports shoes. Darren even went to the extent of enrolling in a college course titled "Entrepreunerial Blogging." I think it goes without saying that he was paying attention.

To have a successful blog that attracts readers, however, formal education is not required. Extrovert blogger When Chris Wright was looking for a job, he found a need for an engineer and decided to create his own. Before he knew it, word had spread, and his hit count had been steadily climbing... The idea is clear. People will find you, invitation or no invitation, if you write about something intriguing and important. Like Chris's personal tale so eloquently shows.

I take it you want me to review this again. What do you mean, I need to start writing about—nothing?

Yeah, that's wrong. Whatever the case may be, content is vital, both online and offline. Links from other websites will increase traffic to your blog and, in turn, your earnings, but only if your writing is better in some way funnier, sharper, wittier, smarter, more bizarre, or simply weirder.

Think about all the choices you have. Your education is not a determining factor. You also don't require an extravagant lifestyle to write about on your blog and make other people green with envy. Everyone will be interested in what you have to offer if you can spice up the mundane existence of the ordinary person. Content is king, as stated before.

There will be more visitors, more banner hits, and more money if the material is good.

So, you're interested in learning the ropes of blogging, huh?

It's actually rather simple. Having your own blog hosted is possible with many different services, and the majority of them offer it for free. I would say that Blogger is the most well-known. There are, however, others. If you prefer a more personalized approach, try wearing a few of these:

Livejournal is the go-to platform for bloggers looking for a "kinda" fashionable and trendy online community. It has several neat features, like the ability to enable posts from only particular people, and you may link to other people by topic.

Diaryland: The beginnings of Diaryland are not hidden. Indeed, it makes every effort to mimic the appearance of a classic diary or journal as closely as possible on your blog. There is a smaller, more personal community there compared to others.

What if, instead of jumping in, you'd rather peruse other people's blogs until you have a better notion of what you want to write about?

If you're looking for a place to find other people's blogs, you can find a plethora of them. A little selection to kick things off:

GlobeofBlogs: The global character of GlobeofBlogs is truly noticeable. Blogs from all across the world can be found here.  

Blogarama is yet another collection of blogs covering all sorts of interesting (and strange) topics.

Blogsearchengine: It gets right to the point. They offer a blog search service that you may utilize. Feel free to choose a topic that piques your interest.

Best-blogs.com - Well, are you interested in hearing about further examples of success? Those towards the top of the results page are worth looking at. Next, you'll find out how to go to the top.

I hope you've learned enough to launch your own blog by now. Then why sit around? Step up your blogging game!