Blogging or as it was originally called - a Weblog, started back in 1997. Think about this for a minute, the world wide web (www) was available to people in late 1994 and I learned of it the summer of 1995. Blogging started darn near as soon as people realized the power of the Internet.
I did some research and liked this piece on the history of blogging. Part of why I like it is because of when it was written, back in September of 2000. It was written not long after the time it references. I can't speak to the accuracy of the post, but the time lines add up. It doesn't really matter beyond being interesting, it just gives you some idea of where blogging started and why if you want to be a writer, you may want to write a blog.
If you want to be published, this is Orange Road number one - one way to be published this very minute. You can visit a site like blogger.com or wordpress.com and create a blog in literally 10 or 15 minutes. Think of a title, what you want to write about and start! If you've not already created a blog, let me give you one piece of advice - give some thought to your first post and write it with intention. The reason I say this is because as the months and years pass, people will find your blog and they will want to know why you started it. Your first post is your introduction to those who don't know you. If you're five years in, someone should be able to go to your first post and see why it is you started writing your blog.
I will talk more about how to use your blog for other avenues of being published but for now, think about it. If you have one, how often are you posting? Is it public or private? Why do you write it and who reads it? These are all questions that will be part of your journey. In my next post I will talk about how a blog can benefit you and even make you money. Stay tuned and remember, the best way to be a good writer is to write, write, read, write, read, and write some more!
4 comments:
I post almost every day, and right now I'm averaging about 750 page views per day. All my posts are written with two purposes: 1. To help readers grow a little stronger every day to meet the difficult challenges of life and work. 2. To exercise writing muscles. You don't get better at writing by thinking about it. It's a chance to "warm up" to new topics. I've been blogging off and on for 7 years, but only one or two friendships have come from that. So I see blogging as an extension of my passion, my purpose, my work.
Hi Denny! I agree completely. I know people who think blogging is merely a self indulgent way to stroke ones ego and maybe for a few that's true, but so what? Writing is an art form as much as a life necessity. Thank you for chiming in, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you are here! Big smiles! Kathy
I feel that there's a lot of conflicting info out there on the subject of blogging, the biggest of which is to blog every day. Or is it everyday? The point being is that some say you MUST do so, while others still believe that you should blog only when you really have something to say. Personally, I think it's a style choice for everyone, no matter what topic. I have 5-7 blogs that I write for, depending on who you ask, and I write almost everyday for at least one of them....
Hey Batman! I feel that it depends on what your intentions are. If you want the search engines to pick you up, you need to have frequently updated content. I blog three days a week but I write everyday. If you are blogging as a way to document the exceptional or unusual things in your life, well those will happen when they happen. I think blogs are important and will prove to be more so as history continues to unfold. Thanks for chiming in - as you know, comments on a blog validate the author and just plain make us happy! Big smiles! Kathy
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