Datasheet

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Chapter 1: Discovering Blog Basics
Think of a blog this way: It’s a kind of Web site. All blogs are Web sites (the
opposite isn’t true, though), and neither the content nor the creator makes
a blog a blog — the presentation does. A blog can be many things: a diary, a
news source, a photo gallery, or even a corporate marketing tool. Blog con-
tent can include text, photos, audio, and even video, and bloggers talk about
nearly any subject that you can imagine.
One of the reasons blogs have become such a popular way of publishing a
Web site is because they’re particularly good at generating high search-engine
rankings. If you have a blog, it’s more likely than a standard Web site to come
up high in lists of search results for the topics you discuss because your posts
are fresh and current. Search engines give an extra boost to Web pages that
have the most recently updated or created content related to the keywords
that someone is searching for. And better search-engine listings mean more
visitors, more readers, more comments, and a more vibrant community.
Individuals and companies have taken advantage of the blog medium to reach
out to Web users.
How people use blogs
With millions of blogs in the world — the blog search engine Technorati
(http://technorati.com) has tracked more than 133 million blogs
since 2002 — it’s obvious that blogging is a popular and successful format
for publishing a Web site. But just what are people doing with blogs? They
can’t all be talking about their cats!
And they aren’t. Bloggers are using the blog format to communicate effec-
tively in all kinds of information spheres, from the personal to the profes-
sional. In fact, many blogs serve multiple purposes at the same time, mixing
posts about activities at home with news pertaining to work. Your blog can
serve many purposes in your life.
Documenting your life
A lot of folks use blogs for the same reason they might keep a diary — to
chronicle their lives and activities. This urge to communicate appears in all
kinds of mediums, from scrapbooking to taking digital photographs, and if
you’re interested in sharing these personal details with others, a blog gives
you a fast, efficient way to do so.
If you send holiday newsletters every year or e-mail a group of friends and
family to let them know about exciting events in your life, you can have a lot
of fun with a blog. You can blog as often as you want, and your readers visit
when they’re ready to get more information. Best of all, each blog post gives
your friends and family a quick way to respond to you without having to find
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