Blog facts for kids
A blog, also known as a weblog, is a website that works like an online diary or journal. Many people create blogs to write about their opinions and thoughts. People who write on blogs are called bloggers. If a blog mainly features videos, it's called a video blog or vlog.
When someone writes on a blog, each piece of writing is called a post. These posts often include links to other websites. Blogs can have one writer or many. If a blog has several writers, it's often called a community blog or group blog.
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How Blogs Work
On many blogs, readers can leave comments. These are like notes where people share what they think about a blog post. This makes blogs great for discussions. If someone writes something, others can add their thoughts in the comments. The original writer can change their post, but readers cannot. Blogs can become places where many people discuss a topic or share their point of view.
Sometimes, a group blog grows into a small team of trusted writers. This is like a creative network. There's also a larger group of people who just read and maybe comment. Some blogs even let people rank posts. This helps popular posts get noticed more easily.
Many bloggers use an RSS feed for their blog. This lets other programs, called content aggregators, gather new posts from all your favorite blogs in one place. It's often easier to read all new updates this way instead of visiting each blog separately.
The History of Blogs
Before blogs became popular, people used other online communities. These included Usenet, early online services, email lists, and Bulletin Board Systems. In the 1990s, Internet forums allowed ongoing conversations with "threads." Threads connect messages on a virtual "corkboard."
The first "blog" was created in 1992 by Tim Berners-Lee. He used it to talk about the progress of the World Wide Web. Modern blogs grew from online diaries. These were websites where people wrote about their personal lives. Justin Hall started personal blogging in 1994. He is known as one of the first bloggers.
How Blogs Are Made
Early blogs were simply parts of websites updated by hand. For example, in 1995, the "Online Diary" on the Ty, Inc. website was updated manually. Writers would add new entries by changing HTML code several times a day. This made it look like a live diary.
Over time, new tools and software made it much easier to create and update blogs. This allowed many more people to start blogging, even if they weren't tech experts. Today, most blogging uses special software that you access through a web browser. Blogs can be hosted by special blog hosting services, regular web hosting services, or run using your own blog software.
Why Blogs Became Popular
Blogging slowly started but then grew very quickly. Its popularity spread a lot in 1999. This was when the first easy-to-use blog tools became available:
- Bruce Ableson launched Open Diary in October 1998. It quickly grew to thousands of online diaries. Open Diary was the first blog community where readers could add comments.
- Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal in March 1999.
- Andrew Smales created Pitas.com in July 1999. This made it easier to keep a "news page" on a website. He then started DiaryLand in September 1999, which focused on personal diary communities.
- Blogger (blogspot.com) was launched in 1999.
Blogs in the Mainstream
By 2004, blogs became very important. Political consultants, news services, and politicians started using them. They used blogs to share their ideas and shape public opinion. Blogs became a way for politicians to talk about important issues like war. This helped blogs become a real news source.
Governments also noticed how important blogs were. Israel was one of the first countries to have an official government blog.
Blogs have also helped minority languages. They bring together people who speak or are learning these languages. This is especially true for blogs in Gaelic languages.
Types of Blogs
There are many different kinds of blogs. They can differ in what they talk about and how the content is shared.
Blog Communities
- Blogosphere
- The blogosphere is the name for all blogs and bloggers together. It especially refers to well-known and widely read blogs. Since all blogs are online, they are connected through links, comments, and mentions. People sometimes look at discussions in the "blogosphere" to see what the public thinks about different topics.
- Blog search engines
- In the past, there were special search engines to find blog content. Examples included Bloglines, BlogScope, and Technorati, but these are no longer active.
- Blogging communities
- Many online communities help connect people to blogs and bloggers to each other. Some platforms are for specific interests. For example, Blogster has many political bloggers. Global Voices collects stories from international bloggers, focusing on voices not often heard in regular news.
- Blogging and advertising
- Blogs often show advertisements or sponsored content. This can help the blogger earn money, cover website costs, or promote causes they care about. Because blogs are so popular, some companies create "fake blogs" as a marketing tool to promote a product.
As blogging became more popular, businesses started working with bloggers more. Many companies team up with bloggers to advertise and connect with online communities about their products.
Blogs and News
Many bloggers, especially those doing participatory journalism, are like amateur journalists. They are different from professional reporters who work for big news companies. Other bloggers are media professionals who publish online instead of on TV or in newspapers. They might do this in addition to their regular job or as their main way of sharing news. Some organizations use blogs to share their messages directly with the public, without going through traditional news "gatekeepers."
The first time a blog was used on a news site was in August 1998. Jonathan Dube of The Charlotte Observer used one to report on Hurricane Bonnie.
Staying Safe While Blogging
Blogging can sometimes lead to problems. People might face online threats or cyberbullying. It's important to be careful about what you share and how you interact online.
See also
In Spanish: Blog para niños
