Blog...

A blog (a blend of the term web log) is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are 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.

Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.

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 of 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 (art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.

History:

The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May 1999. Shortly thereafter, Evan Williams at Pyra Labs used "blog" as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog") and devised the term "blogger" in connection with Pyra Labs' Blogger product, leading to the popularization of the terms.

Origins:

Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, commercial online services such as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe, e-mail lists and Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). In the 1990s, Internet forum software, created running conversations with "threads." Threads are topical connections between messages on a virtual "corkboard."

The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, journalists, or journalers. Justin Hall, who began personal blogging in 1994 while a student at Swarthmore College, is generally recognized as one of the earliest bloggers,[10] as is Jerry Pournelle. Dave Winer's Scripting News is also credited with being one of the oldest and longest running weblogs. Another early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site in 1994. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance, and such journals were also used as evidence in legal matters.

Early blogs were simply manually updated components of common Web sites. However, the evolution of tools to facilitate the production and maintenance of Web articles posted in reverse chronological order made the publishing process feasible to a much larger, less technical, population. Ultimately, this resulted in the distinct class of online publishing that produces blogs we recognize today. For instance, the use of some sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of "blogging". Blogs can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services, or they can be run using blog software, or on regular web hosting services.

Some early bloggers, such as The Misanthropic Bitch, who began in 1997, actually referred to their online presence as a zine, before the term blog entered common usage.

Creating Your Blog:

·   You need to have a Gmail account or you have to create one before going to blogger.

• Go to http://www.blogger.com

• Click where it says “Create Your Blog Now”

• Fill in a user name. This can be anything you want – it’s what you’ll use to sign in to your blog.

• Select a password. This must be at least 6 characters long. Try to use a combination of numbers and letters, and think of something that others will not be able to easily guess.

• Select a display name. This will be used to sign your blog posts, so choose something that will protect your identity! We recommend that you refrain from using your first and last name, or, if you can be easily located with your first name, choose a name that is somewhat disguising.

• Enter an e-mail address. You’ll need this to register, and later on you can change your preferences so this won’t appear on your blog in clear sight of visitors. Consider setting up a separate e-mail account for your blog – this helps protect you from online predators.

• Read the terms of service, then click the box indicating you have done so.

• Click continue 

• Give your blog a title. This is what will show at the top of your blog page

• Choose a web address for your blog space. This will display in the address bar as http://yourblogspacename.blogspot.com/

• Choose a template. Select from the templates the way you’d like your blog to look. Don’t like anything you see? Just select one to get started – we’ll show you how you can change or customize it later if you want.

Once your blog has been created, you’re ready to change your personal profile and begin posting!

Prepared by,
Mr. P. K. Jayaraj, Course Coordinator, RIESI, Bengaluru
Mr. R. Gangadhar, PA to Director, RIESI, Bengaluru