A blog is simply a website that you can easily and regularly update with postings.  This article is actually posted in a blog.  Read on to find out about some blog basics and why you should consider expressing your thoughts in a blog.

Early websites were static – to update them you had to write HTML.  Later improvements in technology allowed you to use software like Dreamweaver to update pages, but updates were certainly not something you would do regularly.

Blog software is totally focused on making site updates very simple and easy.  It allows you to enter text, include photos and even video using a simple editor which looks a little like Microsoft Word.  The editing is in a private webpage on your site, so there is no uploading of files.  One other aspect is that site appearance (or theme) is completely separate from the content.  The theme is a set of files that describe the layout of each page.  You can make your own theme, or you can find one and use it out of the box.

Blogs typically have ways of interacting with readers, through comments.  Again, they are not static like other types of websites.  WordPress also has plugins which extend the base functionality.  For example, the section down the bottom of this page that has icons for Digg, StumbleUpon and other social networking sites is part of a plugin.  A separate plugin manages the contact page.

I use WordPress, which is very popular blog software and my web hosting firm supports an automated installation.  To get started, you can use pre-hosted sites at Blogger.com, or WordPress.com, rather than installing your own version.

I used Rentacoder contractors to do my graphic design and to develop the theme that I use.  To find out about using these contractors, see the article in this series on offshore contractors.

Once you have your blog software setup, you’ll need a few pages that are not blog postings.  These include some details about yourself, a contact page and perhaps a legal page.

Then you can start writing blog entries.  As soon as you do so, your entries will automatically update sites and you will get visitors immediately.  This is a good thing about a blog.  You don’t have to wait for weeks for your first visitors.

You can write a blog on almost any topic and as long as you give valuable content, you will get visitors.  The benefit of having a blog is that you get to express yourself on various topics, you get readers who are (hopefully) interested in what you write about, and you can sometimes even make money if you display advertising, or install a shopping cart plugin.  I think that blogs are an excellent way of getting started with a business idea by building up a base of readers to test feasibility, or simply expressing some views on a subject that interests you.

Being a blogger means producing something, rather than passively consuming what other people do.  Visiting a blog is also a worthwhile activity in that it allows you to leave valuable feedback and interact with the site owner and other visitors.

Tags: producer, subversive

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 28th, 2010 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Daily subversive tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.