A blog is nothing more than a website. The formal name is a Web log or WeBlog shortened to blog. So what makes a blog different from any another web site? Let's discuss the difference and show some examples. Then we'll show how you can become a blogger.

WeBlogs, or blogs are websites operated by individuals or organizations that want to blow their horn about something. Since the beginning of the public domain using the World Wide Web it's been about individuals creating their own media. Personal web pages began appearing in abundance around 1995, especially as HTML editors became available that enabled one to create a web page without knowing HTML. The early personal web pages displayed mostly personal family photos and trivia and were intended mainly for an audience of other family members. Gradually one discovered that he could use a web page to editorialize on some inane topic and it would attract a gathering of like-minded souls. The web page or blog thus became a running dialog especially as interactions grew and posts were updated daily. To see an example of a few humorous blogs take a look at a blog search engine at http://www.blogsearchengine.com/humor_blogs.html. I think blogs are fun to read. Some of the funny one are daily diaries of folks whose life sounds like a mess. Some are sexy and some are dead serious about the world coming to an end.

Do you want to rant and rave about something?

Let's say you've decided that you have something important to say to the world, be it serious or tongue-in-cheek. Perhaps you're tired of bashing Bush or criticizing Kerry by e-mail to your friends and want to go big time and reach out to the world. But the problem is that you don't know where to start. You have no idea how to create a web page or a blog. What can you do? Enter blogger.com at http://www.blogger.com/start.

Creating a Blog

Blogger.com has been around for about 5 years but has recently come into vogue as a place where one can create an instant free blog on the web. As a starter, I suggest that you go to http://www.blogger.com/start and click on "Take a quick tour." This will help you understand more about blogging and how to create a simple blog. After the tour follow the three steps given which are (1) Create an account, (2) Name your blog and (3) Choose a template. Then all you do is start typing what to want to talk about and follow instructions on how to publish it. I went through the process just to see how easy it was and developed the following blog example at http://davesfiddle.blogspot.com/. I couldn't think of anything to rant about so I created a simple blog about repairing my old violin that I had as a child and learning to play it again at age 75. As you can see, visitors are given an opportunity to comment on the blog which is what makes blogs interesting, especially if it's controversial. Now go create a blog yourself.

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