Short for web log, a blog is a chronologically arranged website that allows the author to add content quickly and easily. Blogs can be written about any subject or theme – making the internet open to any content imaginable. Typically blogs are focused around a central theme: cooking, parenting, sports, etc,. There are several free platforms available to bloggers (the authors who write a blog): WordPress, Blogger, Weebly are examples of sites that offer easy to use blogs. Blogs can be written by one author or shared among a group, making it an easy tool to use for personal or business uses.
One of the most compelling reasons for a company to start a blog is the potential to start a dialogue between customers. Blogs allow readers to comment on an article, creating an environment where people can converse via the internet. A company that wishes to get feedback about a particular new product, or seeks to find out how to best meet the needs of its customers can do so through their blog. Typically hosted as a page on a website, the blog can be “subscribed” to, which allows readers to receive notification every time the author of the blog posts a new article. This can help to build community or drive interest in a company’s offerings.
Blog posts are composed of text, images, and/or video and are mainly short (around 500 words) articles. Blogging allows a user to make daily updates to a website without having to go through the main web design process, and can be an effective way to have a web presence without paying for hosting, domain names or site services. Whether used as a stand-alone tool or in combination with a website, the blog is a simple, user-friendly format that can be both fun and profitable.
