Lesson III.

BLOG (WEBLOG)

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of
commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-
chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A
typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for
readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual,
although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), and
audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider new reverse chronological or of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of
blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking
more than 112 million blogs. With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning — that of
any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something.
An online diary is a personal diary or journal that is published on the World Wide Web on a personal website or a
diary-hosting website.

TYPES
There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content but also in the way that content is delivered or
written.

Personal Blogs
The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal
bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become
more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a
sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an
extensive following. A type of personal blog is referred to as "microblogging," which is extremely detailed blogging as it
seeks to capture a moment in time. Sites, such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously
with friends and family and is much faster than e-mailing or writing. This form of social media lends to an online
generation already too busy to keep in touch.

Corporate Blogs
A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the
communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding, or public relations purposes
are called corporate blogs.

Question Blogging
is a type of blog that answers questions. Questions can be submitted in the form of a submittal form, or through email or
other means such as telephone or VOIP. Qlogs can be used to display show notes from podcasts or a means of conveying
information through the internet. Many question logs use syndication such as RSS as a means of conveying answers to
questions.

By Media Type
A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of
sketches is called a sketchblog and one comprising photos is called a photoblog. Blogs with shorter posts and mixed
media types are called tumblelogs.
A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a Phlog.

Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video. Entries
are made regularly and often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata.
The most popular video sharing site to date, YouTube, founded in February 2005, was publicly launched between
August and November 2005.

A linklog is a collection of URLs (hyperlinks) that the maintainer considers interesting enough to collect.

photoblog (a.k.a. photolog or phlog) is a form of photo sharing and publishing in the format of a blog, but
differentiated by the predominant use of and focus on photographs rather than text.

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 An MP3 blog is a type of blog in which the creator makes music files, normally in the MP3 format, available for
download. They are also known as "musicblogs" or "audioblogs". MP3 blogs have become increasingly popular since 2003.
The music posted ranges from hard-to-find rarities that have not been issued in many years to more contemporary offerings,
and selections are often restricted to a particular musical genre or theme.

Gopher is a distributed document search and retrieval network protocol designed for the Internet. Its goal is to
function as an improved form of Anonymous FTP, enhanced with hyperlinking features similar to that of the World Wide
Web.

A phlog is a type of daybook, similar to a blog, but run off a Gopher protocol server. These phlogs are typically
hosted off home servers running some sort of UNIX operating system, because a user account on the server is usually
required to update the content. The gopher protocol provides no way for the user to update the content using the protocol
itself as with HTTP POST. There are quite a few phlogs floating around Gopherspace but the vast majority are not updated
regularly.

By Device
Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile
phone or PDA could be called a moblog. One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a
person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to
a web site. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance.
Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.

Mobile blogging (moblogging) is a form of blogging in which the user publishes blog entries directly to the web
from a mobile phone or other mobile device. Mobile blogging is popular among people with camera-enabled cellphones
which allow them to e-mail/MMS or SMS photos and video that then appear as entries on a web site, or use mobile
browsers to publish content directly to any of the standard blogging platforms available.

By Genre
Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs, house blogs, fashion blogs, project
blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs) or
dreamlogs. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a Splog.

COMMUNITY AND CATALOGING

The Blogosphere
The collective community of all blogs is known as the blogosphere. Since all blogs are on the internet by definition,
they may be seen as interconnected and socially networked. Discussions "in the blogosphere" have been used by the
media as a gauge of public opinion on various issues. A collection of local blogs is sometimes referred to as a
bloghood.

Blog Search Engines

Several blog search engines are used to search blog content, such as Bloglines, BlogScope, and Technorati.
Technorati, which is among the most popular blog search engines, provides current information on both popular
searches and tags used to categorize blog postings. The research community is working on going beyond simple
keyword searches, by inventing new ways to navigate through huge amounts of information present in the
blogosphere, as demonstrated by projects like BlogScope.

Blogging Communities and Directories

Several online communities exist that connect people to blogs and bloggers to other bloggers, including BlogCatalog
and MyBlogLog.

Blogging and Advertising

It is common for blogs to feature advertisements either to financially benefit the blogger or to promote the blogger's
favorite causes. The popularity of blogs has also given rise to "fake blogs" in which a company will create a fictional
blog as a marketing tool to promote a product.

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History
The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz,
who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of
1999. This was quickly adopted as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's
weblog").

Origins
Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, commercial online services such
as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe, e-mail lists, and Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). In the 1990s, Internet forum
software, such as WebEx, created running conversations with "threads." Threads are topical connections between messages
on a metaphorical "corkboard."

The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such
writers called themselves diarists, journalists, or journalers. Justin Hall, who began personal blogging in 1994 while a student
at Swarthmore College, is generally recognized as one of the earliest bloggers, as is Jerry Pournelle. Dave Winer's Scripting
News is also credited with being one of the oldest and longest running weblogs.

Early blogs were simply manually-updated components of common Web sites. However, the evolution of tools to facilitate the
production and maintenance of Web articles posted in reverse chronological order made the publishing process feasible to a
much larger, less technical, population. Ultimately, this resulted in the distinct class of online publishing that produces blogs
we recognize today. For instance, the use of some sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of "blogging". Blogs
can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services, or they can be run using blog software, such as WordPress, Movable Type,
Blogger or LiveJournal, or on regular web hosting services.

Blogging Consequences
The emergence of blogging has brought a range of legal liabilities and other often unforeseen consequences.

Defamation or Liability
Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers concerning issues of defamation or liability.
The courts have returned with mixed verdicts. Internet Service Providers (ISPs), in general, are immune from liability for
information that originates with third parties (U.S. Communications Decency Act and the EU Directive 2000/31/EC).

Employment
In general, attempts at hiding the blogger's name and/or the place of employment in anonymity have proved ineffective at
protecting the blogger. Employees who blog about elements of their place of employment raise the issue of employee
branding,
since their activities can begin to affect the brand recognition of their employer.

Political Dangers
Blogging can sometimes have unforeseen consequences in politically-sensitive areas. Blogs are much harder to control than
broadcast or even print media. As a result, totalitarian and authoritarian regimes often seek to suppress blogs and/or to
punish those who maintain them.

Personal Safety
One unfortunate consequence of blogging is the possibility of attacks or threats against the blogger, sometimes without
apparent reason. Kathy Sierra, author of the innocuous blog Creating Passionate Users, was the target of such vicious
threats and misogynistic insults that she canceled her keynote speech at a technology conference in San Diego, fearing for
her safety. While a blogger's anonymity is often tenuous, Internet trolls who would attack a blogger with threats or insults
can be emboldened by anonymity. Sierra and supporters initiated an online discussion aimed at countering abusive online
behavior and developed a blogger's code of conduct.

Therapeutic Benefits
Scientists have long known the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences. Blogs provide another
convenient avenue for writing about personal experiences. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts
immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients and even speeds healing after surgery.