A blog, actually is a blend of two terms from web and log, leading to web log, weblog, and finally to blog. A blog is an online website that is used in like an online journal. It can serve as an important solution to pave the way to what you really feel or think in a particular topic. Like other online media, blogs often focus on many particular topics. The topics can range over many topics, discussing politics, sports, music, fashion, foods, or whatever is of interest as long as it can reach the mind of the reader.

Blogs can also be thought of as online diaries. They're eminently suitable for documenting al the vagaries of life, the things that interest and excite you, or the thins that piss you off. Since their appearance in 1995, blogs have dramatically changed the way of communication online, affecting public opinion and mass media around the globe. Blogs are hosted natively as in the case of Wordpress.com. Blogger.com, etc. or they can be hosted on your own webhosting account.

Blogging is simply the process of authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog. The person who posts blog entries is called a blogger.

A blog post typically consists of:
•    Title - main title or a headline
•    Body - main content of the post
•    Comments - added by readers
•    Permalink - the URL (web address) of each individual article
•    Post date - date and time the entry was posted

Blog entries may optionally include the following:
•    Categories or tags - subjects that the content discusses (essentially used to break down the posts into categories)
•    Trackback - links to other sites that are connected to the blog post

How Blogs Are Different to Stabdard Websites

Blogs have characteristics that separate them from standard websites. Blogs allow the easy production of new pages. Content for new pages is entered into a simple form usually containing the title itself, the category and the main content of the article, and then finally submitted or published. The new blog post is then automatically added to the homepage, resulting the in creation of a new full article page, Finally a new page containing the article and the post date is added to the site.

Blogs also differ from forums and newsgroups, since onky the blog owner casn post new articles to the site.

How A Blog Is Made

Different systems are used to produce and maintain blogs. Blog platfoms like Wordpress, LiveJournal and Blogger can eliminate the need for bloggers to manage the software. Where users host blogs on their own webservers, they have full control over the blog layout and appearance, and can add various widgets to the blogs to add extra funtions to them. Some notable internet portals like Yahoo or Google, provide blog production and hosting.

Types of Blog

•    Personal - it is like putting a diary online. You can post different kinds of thoughts or daily experiences, informing the world what is happening in your life.
•    Career - usually focused on one’s professional ability and passions
•    Cultural - discusses sports, theatre, music and other arts. Among the most read blogs.
•    Business
•    Science
•    Moblog - a mobile blog, in which the content is posted to the internet from a mobile device
•    Educational - that is used by students to record what they learn and mentors to record what they teach.

Blogs can be very instrumental in reaching others to communicate your thoughts, feelings, abilities, passions and can even make money (but that's for another post).