Almost the first question clients ask us is, ‘What is a blog?’ Hardly surprising, we are surrounded online by all sorts of web content. Social media posts, articles, reviews, product descriptions, the list is endless and sometimes confusing.

The answer is simple: blog is a portmanteau (blended) word created from ‘web’ and ‘log’ which was entered into the Oxford English Dictionary in March 2003. In effect a blog is an online diary. Blogs tend to consist of short articles, written in a friendly tone that are regularly updated. The other common feature of modern blogs is interactivity, i.e. the ability for users to comment and engage in two-way conversation. All of this is great but blogs take time to create and manage.

People read blogs because they are interesting; many of them appeal to niche interests. For example, my outdoors blog Two Blondes Walking is very popular and almost all of our followers love getting outside. People write blogs for different reasons but the main two are: a) because they love their subject and enjoy writing. b) to gain a following.

There is some blog-based terminology, none of it is too complicated:

blog = ‘web’ + ‘log’ (also a verb ‘to blog’)

blogger = the blog’s author (some bloggers have multiple blogs)

blogging = the act of writing a blog

blog post = one section of writing (this could be weekly, monthly or even like Two Blondes, daily)

live blog = a blog written in short snippets as an event is happening

blogosphere = the wide and varied community of bloggers on the internet

blogroll = a list of blogs to which you subscribe

subscribe = sign up to receive updates when new blogs are posted

comment = join in a conversation about a particular blog topic

share = tell other people that you have enjoyed a blog post, usually through social media

You can share this blog post if you like and make this blogger very happy. Our next post will explain why all businesses should seriously consider including a blog on their website.

Ever wondered what SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is? We have some answers for you:

http://www.fidarby.co.uk/2017/01/11/so-what-exactly-is-seo/