ContributorsAshley Loafman, Daniel Sheets, Danielle Hess, Adalys Ramirez

Types:

                                        What are Blogs and Blogging?

Blogging is a way of collecting links to webpages and sharing thoughts and ideas with people online.

Blogs (or Weblogs) are basically online journals or diaries which are great for sharing information and ideas.

As well as text, blogs often contain audio, music, images and video. They're also really easy to make, so you can have one even if you aren't very technical. Anything can be posted instantly to a blog.

Individuals blog for numerous different reasons and there are countless topics that an individual can blog about. Blogging also welcomes individuals from a wide range of ages, shapes, sizes, races , economic backgrounds, and the disabled; blogging discriminates against no one.

"A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world." Blogging doesn't really have a type. Blogs are simply blogs. The best way to categorize blogs are in three ways.

The first “type” of blogs are personal. Blogs in which the blogger posts updates on his or her life over the internet. The blogger is usually connected to a social network, in which they can blog about personal issues and share these blogs with whomever they wish. Personal blogs can also be called “online diaries or journals.” Personal blogs are the most popular form of blogging as of now and is used mainly by the younger generations. Sites such as Myspace and Facebook are considered personal blogging sites.

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Another type of blog are political blogs. When discussed in the media, the term blog is often understood to refer to a political blog. Political blogs may take a number of forms. Often an individual will link to articles from news web sites and post their own comments as well. Others focus on long essays about current political topics. Many political candidates incorporate blogging into their campaigns. Lower level politicians may do their own blogging, while more prominent candidates, such as presidential candidates, will leave the blogging to their campaign staff.

A Popular Political Blogging Site is DailyKos

The last main type of blogging is business related. These blogs are used by employees, employers, etc as a means of connecting coworkers, employers or both. Blogs can be used by employers to better understand their coworkers wants and needs. Business blogs are also used by employees to vent out their frustration with their workplace.

Some other blog categories are: health, topical, travel, legal, religious, educational, and the list goes on and on.

History:

history

Blogs is an abbreveation of "weblogs", which means web sites that contain entries in reverse chronological order about a particular topic. Blogs can be written by one person or a group of people. The term "weblog" was patented by Jorn Barger in December of 1997. The shorter version "blog" was coined by Peter Merholz in 1999.

Blogs come in many forms such as an online newsletter, audio blogging, and video blogging. After a slow start blogging caught on in the summer of 1996, when the site Xanga was launched. By 1997 it only had 100 diaries by 1997, but by December 2005 it had over 50,000,000. Blogs never have just one author, they can be replied by anyone at anytime, with any opinion accepted.

For the last several years any other forms of blogging have become popular:

Blogging however, was as much about technology as politics, and the proliferation of tools to run blogs and the communities around them connected blogging with the Open Source movement. Writers such as Larry Lessig and David Weinberger used their blogs to promote not just blogging in specific, but different social models in general. One of the running discussions within journalism and blogging is what "blogging" means for the way news "happens" and is covered. This leads to questions over intellectual property and the role of the mass media in society. Many bloggers differentiate themselves from the mainstream media, while others are members of that media working through a different channel.

Many bloggers have large agendas, and see blogging as part of Open Source Politics, or the ability of people to participate more directly in politics, helping to frame the debate. Whereas institutions see blogging as a means of "getting around the filter" and pushing message directly to the public.

Video Blogging: Since the introduction of the video blog the web has been flooded with sites dedicated to this art form.

Examples and Links to Blogging:

http://waiterrant.net/

This is a workplace blog, it covers the writers everyday trials and tribulations associated with working in his fancy bistro. His everyday life seems halarious as he adds his own personal spin on the blog to make you laugh.

http://www.dooce.com

This is a website of someone who actually got fired for her blogging about her job. Afterward she continued to blog, and that website is now the thing that supports her. Her name is Heather B. and she has many added things on her blog, such as a shop where you can buy a calender with different pictures of her dog chuck.

http://www.myspace.com

This is one of the many blogging and networking sites. With this you can choose to share your blog pubicly (to anyone), privately(to friends you choose), or not let people see it at all. Myspace is the main website stalkers and sexual predators use because a few months ago, it didnt have all the privacy it has now.

http://www.facebook.com

This is actually more of a networking site, but is now, due to the use of "notes",is also becoming a blogging site. This site started out for just college students, but is now expanding to work groups, high schoolers, and just plain people.

http://www.xanga.com

This is a full out blogging site, everyone who has a membership here does so to completely blog. The basic xanga membership is free, but you could buy the "premimum" if you wanted.

http://www.youtube.com

Youtube is the leader in the world wide web for video blogs or vlogs. People use youtube to put random videos of themselves, keep a video log like a diary everyday, or just create videos specifically for youtube. You can create a profile and subscribe to other users blogs, or even reply with another video or text.

http://www.wikipedia.org

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia free for the public. Just like any other wiki page anyone can add or delete anything they want to about the subject. Creating a free account allows you to log into the website to add your details on the matter.

This is an example of a video blog. This girl records on video about what happened to her, and then edits it to make it look good.