A Brief History of Blogging

                               Nowadays Blogs are very common. Everyone reads Blogs. Blogs can be official news, associated with traditional news media, based blogs related to one's work or hobbies, or Blog purely for entertainment. Blogs have relatively short history.

The Early Years:

The first Blog was links.net, created by Justin Hall, while he was a Swarthmore college student in 1994, referred to it as his personal homepage. The term "Weblog" was coined before 1997, was created to reflect the process of a “Logging the web" as he browsed. In 1999 "Weblog" was shortened to "Blog" by programmer Peter Marholz, and until five years later the Merriam-Webster declares the word their word of the year. In 1999, the platform that would later become Blogger was started by Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan at pyra labs.

The Growth Period:

The early 2000s were a period of growth for Blogs. In 1999, there were 23 Blogs on the Internet, than in the middle of 2006 there were 50 Million Blogs according to Technorati's state of the Blogosphere report. Popular Blogs were political Blogs. By 2001, there was enough interest in Blogging that somehow-to articles and guides started cropping up. Version 1.O of movable type was released in September of 2001. First major Blog search engine was launched in 2002. Audio Blogger, the first major podcasting service, was founded in 20003 and video Blog was started in 2004.

Blog Reach the Mainstream:

Till the mid 2000s, Blogs were reaching the mainstream. In January of 2005, a study released saying that 32 Million Americans read Blogs. More than 152 Million Blogs were active by the end of 2010.

The Rise of Microblogs and Tumblogs:

Tumblr allow for a variety of different post types, unlike traditional Blogging services, which have a one-size-fits all size format. It makes easier for users to reblog the content of others, or to like individual posts.

The Future of Blogging:

Blogs have taken on a bigger role in Blogosphere, with a lot of Bloggers opting to use primarily multimedia content. Blogs are unlikely to go anywhere in the foreseeable future. But there’s lot of chance for growth and innovation in method in which, their content is found, delivered and accessed.

What is Blog?

The word “Blog” a contraction of “Web Log” is an informational web page that consists of discrete units called “Posts”. Blogs posts are shorter than other types of writing. Blogs can be personal, artistic, academic, or professional.

Composing a Post:

Great Blogs posts should be thoughtful and purposeful. It should be vibrant and visually interesting.

Principles which help when composing are as follows

1)     Make a Point: Posts must have an argument, opinion, or purpose in mind.

2)     Be Concise: Use precise language and coherent syntax to make your posts easy to read.

3)     Post Often: Blogs should be updated regularly with new and interesting content to hold readers.

4)     Consider Inviting Guests Bloggers: To appeal to diverse readers, broaden your Blog’s scope, or refresh your own perspective on the project.

5)     Proofread: Mistakes and errors can distract readers and make you appear less credible as a writer.

6)     Create Visual Interest: Break up large chunks of text with visual elements like photographs figures or videos to make your Blog more readable.

Using Multimedia:

Audio and visual interest helps grab a reader’s attention, so use design, images, audio, etc. to supplement your writing.

1)     Use Appropriate Content, Size and Quality: Choose the highest possible quality image which do not obstruct the text of a post and make sure it is easy to load.

2)     Attribute your Sources: Provide captions for the reader that will help readers identify the object’s origin.

Using Hyperlink:

Hyperlink creates a sense of conversation, act like citations in more informal circumstances and demonstrate that you are engaged with other people work.

Types to Maintain a Successful Blog:

Make posts titles eye-catching but also reasonably accurate.

E.g.: “Trash Talk” is a post about waste management.

Consider using the tag function in each post that will help guide readers through your content thematically instead of chronologically.

Handle comments with care.

Be aware that you are potentially addressing people with very different knowledge bases and cultural assumptions than yours.