I was frequently asked this question during my freelancing days and used to give a rather generic answer. As blogs and ‘blogging’ have become so mainstream on both a personal and professional platform, I hardly ever hear that question anymore.

To put it simply -

A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order.

According to Wikipedia:

A blog (a contraction of the term weblog) is a type of website, 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), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts.

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.

I particularly like Blogger’s explaination. It beams with enthusiasm.

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a website, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what’s new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.

Here are a few great posts out there discussing the term:

• My favourite, by Darren Rowse: What is a blog?
• Harvard Law; What makes a weblog a weblog?
• WordPress Introduction to Blogging

For more on the history of Blogging, check out Rebecca Blood’s post; Weblogs, a history and perspective.

If you’d like to start a blog of your own, I’ve created a small list of useful posts to check out before you start. I hope you find them helpful.

• Get blogging in minutes (I suggest reading this post first)
• 10 Quick Steps to Starting a Blog
• Introduction to Blogging by WordPress
• Free Blog Providers, list of 50 so far, more to come!

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