WHAT IS A BLOG? (AND WHY YOU SHOULD START ONE IN 2021)
Encrypting your link and protect the link from viruses, malware, thief, etc! Made your link safe to visit.
What is a blog, and how does it work? What is blog writing, exactly?
If you’re wondering, don’t worry – you’re not alone!
And we’re here to help.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about what is blogging, explain what makes a successful blog, and how you can start your own blog today!
Ready? Let’s go.
What Is a Blog?
A blog is a type of website that publishes new articles (called “blog posts”) on an ongoing basis. The word “blog” is actually short for “web log”, and they originally started as a kind of online diary.
On the homepage of a blog, you’ll typically see the most recent blog posts first, in what’s called reverse chronological order.
You’ll find all kinds of blogs on the web, on every topic imaginable. The writing style is often more conversational and informal than other types of websites – but not always!
A lot of the details depend on the goal of a blog. There are a lot of personal blogs out there, similar to online journals. But nowadays, there are also a lot of blogs run by businesses hoping to attract new customers with their blog posts.
Want to understand more about what is blogging, and what to know before starting a blog?
Let’s take a quick look at how it all started.
A Quick History of the Blog
Blogs evolved from online diaries in the mid-1990s, where people were running personal web pages. Because the Internet was still so new, there wasn’t much content out there, so people published regular updates about their personal lives, topics they were interested in, and more.
By the late 1990s, blogging platforms popped up to help people publish their blogs, so you don’t have to worry about figuring out code anymore. Open Diary appeared in 1998, then later, sites like Blogger, LiveJournal, and Tumblr.
By 2003, WordPress was created. Today, WordPress powers over 30% of the web.
Today, blogging is more popular than ever. More than 2 billion blog posts were published worldwide in the past year. That’s 5,760,000 blog posts per day, and 4,000 blog posts per minute!
Now let’s take a closer look at how blogging works.
What Is a Blog Post, and How Does It Work?
Blog content is published as an “entry” or “post,” and they’re often published in reverse chronological order. That means that newer content appears first.
Blogs are typically run by individuals or a small team, but they run the gamut from lone writers blogging as a hobby, to corporate blogs with teams that produce informational and marketing content.
What’s the Difference Between a Blog and a Website?
One of the key differences between a blog and a website is that on a blog, content is published regularly and frequently. The site may have a few static pages, like an about me and contact page, but the main focus is the blog.
The site you’re on right now, Blog Tyrant, is a perfect example of a blog!
On the other hand, a website is usually more static and doesn’t change the content as often. A regular website is composed of pages, such as the homepage, about us page, services page, and more. It can even be a single page if that’s all that’s needed. Once a website is built and published, it remains there, mostly untouched for long periods of time. This is why businesses often use websites, because they don’t have to worry about changing or updating them unless their products or business focus changes.
It’s also possible to have both: a regular, static website that has a separate blog section.
A great example is a site like OptinMonster. The main page is a website dedicated to the OptinMonster lead generation software, and it doesn’t change very often. Then there’s also a separate OptinMonster blog that’s updated more often with new blog posts.
Now that we’ve gone over all the blog basics, you might be wondering, “What should I know before starting a blog?”
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits first!
