Blogs

You can hardly read a magazine or watch the news lately without hearing about blogs. Actors, musicians, and athletes have blogs. Cable news talking heads have blogs. Candidates for and occupiers of elected offices have blogs. Corporations and executives have blogs. That's all well and good…unless you're not sure what a blog is. Most agree that the word “blog” is a blending of the words “Web log.” A blog is a type of Web site made up of dated entries (called “posts”) that are usually displayed in reverse chronological order with the most recent post at the top of the blog's main page. Each post can also be reached at its own unique URL (address), usually called a “permalink” (for “permanent link”). Most blogs invite readers to leave comments, and each post has its own small discussion forum. Blogs are easy to create and maintain, requiring virtually no prior knowledge of Web markup languages. If you can write a letter in a word processor, you have the skills necessary to create and maintain a blog.