Blogging for beginners
This post could have easily been titled, Blogging 101
, because it consists primarily of information about the blogging vocabulary, which any blogging enthusiast would agree, is essential to a thorough understanding of what comprises a blog.
In other words, every newcomer to blogging needs to know the meaning of terms such as blog, platform, domain, domain name and web host; and once s/he has mastered these key elements of blogging, s/he can enter any conversation about blogging with confidence.
In fact, after the new blogger understands exactly what a blog is, s/he will then be on the way to passing the critical test of choosing an appropriate topic about which to blog. Such a topic should be recognizable and compelling, but must also be presented in a way that extends to readers an invitation, as well as the opportunity, to participate in an ongoing dialog with the blogger and with each other. At times the mere definition of “blog,” which is short for weblog, poses a problem for some who are not familiar with the term or the activity; but the term weblog is defined by Dictionary.com as:
Essentials of a blog
“a personal Web site that provides updated headlines and news articles of other sites that are of interest to the user, [and] also may include journal entries, commentaries and recommendations compiled by the user;” and although the word blog have at times been defined in other ways, this contemporary definition should be enough to clear up any misconceptions of what a blog is. Articles written and published (publishing is the process by which content is placed on the Web) to a blog are described as posts and are presented in reverse chronological order.
So essentially, a blog is comprised of articles, journal entries, commentaries and other such content posted and updated on a regular basis. And although the majority of blogs are in text form, there are also photo blogs and video blogs which may sometimes incorporate text content on a given blog-site, or may be the singular kind of content found on some blogs.
There are additional aspects of blogging that are mostly technical in nature, but should be studied or researched by individuals who are thinking about setting up their own blogs for the first time. Such terms as blogging platform, web host, domain and domain name cannot be avoided or ignored by individuals – including bloggers – who intend to publish content to the Web, because the terms describe integral components of blogging in particular and Web publishing in general.
Technical aspects of blogging
So let’s take a closer look at these technical terms.
Blogging Platform is a computer software program that allows individuals to write posts and to update their blogs. A blogging platform is also used to design the look of a blog, in terms of color scheme, formatting and font size. Some popular blogging platforms are WordPress, Blogger, Linked-In and Tumblr (a photo blogging platform).
Web Host (or host) is an entity that provides the space which a blog or website occupies on the Web. Hosting can be described as a virtual file cabinet where the blog (and other content) is stored and made available to visitors; but without hosting for such content, it cannot get on the Web.
Domain is the Web address of a website, Web page, video or blog that is published to the Web; and while most domains might end in .com, there are some that will end in .net, .info, .biz or one of several other extensions, depending the kind of blog being published, and the purpose for which it is being published.
Domain Name is what the domain is actually comprised of and can also be the name or title of a blog or website, but may also differ from the blog title. For example, in the Web address, “www.tpjaveton.net,” the domain name is “tpjaveton” and, as is true for this blog, the online address differs from the blog title, which is TPJaveton WebNet, although the title could easily have been identical to the domain name.
Your uniquely creative blog
In conclusion, having a relatively good understanding of what a blog is, as well as a working knowledge of the technical terms of blogging-related essentials like domains, domain names and Web hosts will be exceedingly helpful to new bloggers from all backgrounds and professions who aspire to share their own unique stories with interested members of the larger WWW (Wide Word Web) community.
As a token of our appreciation the free ebook titled, Storytelling Marketing can be yours if you have any interest in the art of storytelling. All you have to do is download it here, enjoy the reading and learn how storytelling can be a powerful ally in any business or marketing pursuit!
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