Q: Not to ask a ridiculously obvious question, but what is a blog? And what's the future of blogs and blogging?
A: By a remarkable coincidence, Steven Streight, aka Vaspers the Grate, just asked me the very same questions about the definition of blogs on his own site, so rather than write something new, I'm just going to quote what I wrote for him:
What is your definition of a "blog"?
A blog isn't what everyone thinks it is.
In fact, on this very page, you have a pile of definitions of blogs that I disagree with.
Why?
Because everyone likes to focus on the *presentation* of information and blogs are really all about the *management* of information.
Here's what I mean: if you think that a blog is a web site characterized by frequent articles displayed in chronological order, typically with timestamps, a la a journal or diary, you're missing the forest for the trees.
Weblogs, instead, are just the facade that we see of considerably more powerful content management systems that really revolutionize the maintenance of Websites.
Look at it this way: if you're not using a blog to help manage your site, when was the last time you added any new content or revised an existing page?
When you do add content, do you make sure to link it into all the other pages on your site, including your sitemap?
Sure, there are other software solutions for managing Web sites, but none that are as flexible, easy, inexpensive, and SEO-friendly as weblogs.
What is the future of blogs?
Having said that, I think that blogs are going to go the way of the dinosaur, evolving from an animal we spot into the petroleum we use to fuel our journeys, without giving an iota of thought to the source of the petroleum.
It's not that blogs aren't cool and interesting, but just as geeks used to learn PostScript so they could work with printers and display systems and now...
...have no idea that PostScript is the underlying language of many devices, so we'll find that we can focus on our sites, how the information is displayed and how we utilize it for our needs.
After all, the bottom line is the same as it was before the blogging "phenomenon":
How do you find the best, most useful and valuable information on the Internet for any given question, problem or query?
Dave Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on business and technical topics and is the author of 18 different books and thousands of magazine articles. His Q&A Web site is http://www.askdavetaylor.com/
There is no doubt in my mind that RSS is... Read More
This article is designed to teach you how to profit... Read More
RSS feeds seem to be the breakout technology for the... Read More
If Howard Dean's failed political campaign accomplished anything, I would... Read More
You Might Be A Snob-Blogger If?According to Jupiter Research, about... Read More
With spam filters on high alert, delivering a newsletter by... Read More
Really Simple Syndication is exactly what it's name states. A... Read More
There's a lot of blogs out there on the Web,... Read More
Using RSS on your website is a good way to... Read More
Since the recent rise in interest in RSS there has... Read More
Want to advertise online without spending a fortune? Get a... Read More
These days, everybody is blogging.How about you?You can incorporate blogging... Read More
I have been a blogger since September 2004 but only... Read More
It has been said that blogging will be the new... Read More
Have you ever read an article, intended to explain RSS... Read More
According to a recent survey, gentlemen prefer blogs to the... Read More
Let me ask you three questions to get you thinking.... Read More
One of the main problems with the Internet these days... Read More
In 1999 I asked my friends and colleagues if they... Read More
Why would you use Blogs instead of a web site... Read More
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It's a format that... Read More
T.V. and radio News got you down? On-line current events... Read More
Marketers have found that blogs are excellent tools for communicating... Read More
What The Hell Is A Blog Anyway?The word 'blog' is... Read More
RSS opens up a whole new channel of communication between... Read More
As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is... Read More
RSS(Real Simple Syndication) is the newest form of content syndication... Read More
Those of you who aren't ready to wade into the... Read More
We all know that in the world of online internet... Read More
Web gives a lot of exposure; weblog stabilizes the exposure... Read More
Gain Massive Exposure For Your ServiceGet your web site listed... Read More
Blogging for dollars might sound like the latest game show... Read More
Businesses that are not using feeds today, as part of... Read More
This article is designed to teach you how to profit... Read More
Welcome to part 2 of the article that aims to... Read More
Of all people in the world I was easily one... Read More
Are you new to RSS? If so here is a... Read More
Over the past year or so, more and more webmasters... Read More
A brand new marketing tool predicted to replace email is... Read More
An RSS news feed can be used to communicate with... Read More
Blogs are extremely hot right now. Everyone is starting them,... Read More
Blogs can be a very marketable and very profitable tool... Read More
Getting traffic to your website can be hard. No one... Read More
I've spent months answering questions from marketers about blogs and... Read More
So why use RSS? Well, I can find a whole... Read More
RSS is rapidly becoming a "must have" for a proper... Read More
It seems like Blogs are everywhere these days. You can't... Read More
The more I use Wordpress, the more I love it.... Read More
Flush out the writer in children. Blogging could draw out... Read More
Although Blog was the most requested word of 2004 as... Read More
The US Navy blogs. Larry Kudlow of CNBC blogs. I'd... Read More
Internet marketing using blogs has quickly gained a lot of... Read More
This question does not have a one sentence answer! If... Read More
What is a weblog, well simply put a weblog is... Read More
T.V. and radio News got you down? On-line current events... Read More
Search engines are after one thing ? providing their users... Read More
Nothing and a whole lot!That's if Microsoft gets it right.... Read More
A lot of commotion was made some time ago when... Read More
Need to make money fast, but you don't want to... Read More
If it wasn't for my blog, I wouldn't make any... Read More
A few months back, at the ITEA conference I saw... Read More
For some it's just a fun thing to do, while... Read More
Blogs are becoming more and more popular. The word "blog"... Read More
In this article I am going to cover some tools... Read More
RSS feeds are reshaping how we access information online. In... Read More
RSS feeds have made it so convenient to gather current... Read More
Blogging, RSS & Feeds |