You’ve heard the word “blog.” Your favorite television show has a blog, the author of the last book you read has a blog, and your friend has started a blog. But “What’s all the Hubbub about Blogs?
A blog is a publication of frequent thoughts and/or articles listed chronologically.
“Blog” comes from the words “web log.”
Consider the popular TV series Star Trek where viewers heard at the beginning of every show…
“Captains log, star date____”
A blog is like the captains log, but it also contains images, links, audio and video. There are blogs on virtually every topic you can possibly imagine.
How Can You Benefit from Blogs?
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Blogs are written by real people. When a blogger writes a review or shares a personal “how to” guide it brings a higher degree of credibility than the advertising messages we are inundated with by corporations. Blogs are a combination of what is going on in the writer’s business or life and often includes current events and new technologies. The uniqueness of blogs is wide; from politics, health, organization, high tech, green tips to literally millions and millions more. Anything you could ever want to know has been written about by someone in their blog. Blogs are a great resource for relevant information on your subject of interest. |
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Get the inside scoop from blogs
If you enjoy reading books, check out a blog. Many bloggers have been picked up by publishers for lucrative book deals. Recently made popular is the Hollywood movie “Jules & Julia” about a 32-year-old New Yorker who blogged for a year about recipes. |
How to Find Blogs
Blogs are easy to find. Just type your subject into a search engine like Google or Yahoo, followed by the word “blog.” For example, “cooking blog” or “photography blog.”
You can also search blog directories such as Google Blog Search at http://blogsearch.google.com/ to find interesting blogs.
Blog writers post frequently (daily, weekly, etc.) to their blog. Interestingly, each post (article) counts as an individual web page when viewed by search engines so it isn’t uncommon to come across a blog just while surfing the internet.
For audio and video blogs (called podcasts) you can search Apple iTunes http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/. Audio and video podcasts can be downloaded directly to your computer, copied to your ipod, mp3 player, CD or DVD. Podcasts are an excellent source of information, and they’re completely free! (the iTunes program can be downloaded free on the Apple website). Podcasts are also available on many websites/blogs for easy download.
What You Will Find in a Blog
What you will find on a blog website:
- Heading or title of the post
- Picture/image, video or audio
- Content (story, article, etc)
- Comments box
- Since most blog writers don’t usually have sponsors, they may have advertisements on the side or bottom of the page to add a little revenue to their writing endeavor.
Subscribing to Blogs
You can receive regular updates to your favorite blogs in several ways:
- RSS feed
- Cell phone application
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An RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication) can be received by clicking on the icon on the blog. It will take you to a choice of reading formats (iGoogle, MyYahoo, etc.). You can then view all of the most recent updates in your feed reader, Google home page or Yahoo home page. You can even organize them in folders and pages. |
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Most blogs also have the option to subscribe by email. You receive updates in your email inbox anytime a new post is available. |
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The popularity of new smart phones with internet data plans, also bring thousands of applications choices including RSS readers to subscribe to blogs. Just enter your blog website address into the application and you are automatically subscribed. You can then read your favorite blogs anytime and on the go. |
My blog postings are subscribed to both on my website www.michellebrubaker.com by RSS and email.
What You Need to Do
Now that you know “What’s all the Hubbub about Blogs” what should you do?
- Find and subscribe to some interesting blogs on your subject or topic of interest.
- Share links to interesting blogs with your circle of influence.
- Use blogs for research (business, hobby, writing, etc.) and stay current with the latest industry news.
- Add comments to blogs. It’s a two-way conversation with the author and you often don’t have to register or submit any personal information.
Creating Your Own Blog
If you would like to try creating your own blog, there are several free blog hosting services online that are easy to use.
- Blogger www.blogger.com
- Wordpress www.wordpress.com
- Wordpress www.wordpress.org (need some tech
savvy to install) - Typepad www.typepad.com
The Power of Blogs for Your Business
Keeping your own blog can be a powerful resource and bring a high return on your investment.
- Increased website traffic! Every article/blog post written by the author is viewed as a new individual web page by search engines. Combine each article with keywords and phrases and your website traffic goes up even more!
- Authority figure! Articles and blog postings establish you as an expert on your subject.
- Contact list! You have a built in audience to promote your products and services as well as affiliates.
Now you now “What’s all the Hubbub about Blogs!”
Go subscribe to a blog and join the conversation online.
To get your own professionally designed blog incorporated into your website contact me and I’ll set you up!
Best Regards,
