Creating your own blog is as easy as pie, or as easy as taking candy from a baby. Come to think of it, though, with what the blogging platforms have to offer these days, it might even be easier to create a blog than to do those two things I mentioned! After reading through our introductory pages – from common blogging terms to blogrolls to blog templates – you are probably quite eager to get a start on it.

At this point, you should already know what kind of blog you are going to create. Whether it is a personal blog, a sports blog, a political blog – it does not matter. The important thing is that you know why you are creating a blog and what you are going to be writing about.

Now, what you have to decide on is the blogging platform that you are going to use. As we are using WordPress, you can expect me to suggest this blogging platform. There are many reasons for this, one of the main things being the fact that WordPress offers a host of features that make is very easy for new bloggers to create and maintain their blog.

The first thing that you have to do is to go to the WordPress home page. I am assuming that you do not have an account yet, so the next step is to click on the SIGN UP button. Trust me, you won’t miss it – as of this writing, it’s this big orange button on the right. You don’t need to pay for anything in order to create an account – just make sure you have a valid e-mail address.

As with most other accounts online, you need to designate a username and password that will be associated with your WordPress account. You will also be asked to read the terms and conditions – make sure you do, even if you don’t really feel like it. Here’s a very important thing: make sure that you choose the option “Gimme a blog!” That’s what you want to do, right?

On to the next step…you have to choose the domain of your blog. For free WordPress blogs, this is the usual pattern: http://name.wordpress.com/. You can choose what goes in place of “name,” but do realize that it has to be unique. If someone else has picked that name, then you will have to think of something else. You’ll also have to enter the title of your blog. This does not have to be the same as the domain name. Take note that the domain name, once chosen, cannot be changed; but you can always change the blog title anytime. Securing a good hosting plan for your wordpress blog is quite easy. There are many hosting companies supporting WordPress. At Webhostingsearch.com you can go through reviews of leading wordpress hosting companies that can help you find the best host you can utilize in creating a great site.  Once you’re done, you are READY TO BLOG!

This is the fun part – you will be redirected to your dashboard, which is the page where you can access practically everything in your blog. From here, you can choose the blog template that you want. You can also start writing your very first post. Now I won’t keep you – try it yourself and pretty soon, your blog will be up and running.

A blog is not much different from any other web site in that it aims to present information, albeit with some specific differences; and just like all the other web sites that can be found on the Web today, a blog has elements or parts that make up the whole. As you are on your way to become a prolific blogger, let me help you become familiar with the various elements of a blog. Knowing about each of these elements will equip you to make the most of your blogging experience and perhaps even take it to a whole new level.

Blog Header
The name actually is pretty self-explanatory. The blog header is found at the top (at the head) of the blog and, for me, establishes the theme and focus of your blog. This is because it usually contains the name of the blog as well as the logo. What better way to make an excellent first impression than with the blog header?

Blog Posts
Posts are the “meat” of any blog. The posts, or entries, contain the information that the blogger wants to share with his readers. These can be likened to the news articles and other features that you can find in other kinds of web sites. The posts are usually presented in reverse chronological order – the most recent one shown at the top of the page.

Comments
This is one distinguishing feature of blogs. The comments section is present at the end of each post, and provides the interactive aspect of blogs. Readers may write their thoughts and reactions to each post, and the blogger may also respond to the readers in this section. Comments may be restricted to certain people, and bloggers may also opt to delete inappropriate comments.

Archives
A blog that has been up for quite some time will have a lot of posts, granted that the blogger publishes content regularly. The archives section provides a way to gain easy access to older posts. The archives can be presented in various ways – some use calendars while others use drop down links using monthly or weekly options.

Categories
Another way to easily find posts within a blog is to use categories. The blogger has the option to label or categorize posts using terms. These terms are also called labels, tags, and categories. The categories section is not always used by all bloggers, but it is a very good way to make your blog user friendly as readers can merely browse through the topics to find posts catering to their interests.

Blogroll
Blogging is more than writing content for one’s blog. It is also all about interacting with the rest of the blogosphere, and it is inevitable that a blogger gets to create relationships with other bloggers. One way to further relationships AND to offer more content to readers is to promote other blogs in your own blog. This can be done through a blogroll, which shows links to other blogs. Readers can then simply click on the links to discover more information.

Search
This is another blog element that is not always present, but something that is important if you want to make the lives of your readers easier. Much like Google, readers simply have to key in search terms to find relevant posts within the blog.

RSS Feeds
RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a standard way of sharing web site content. Various blog platforms offer RSS Feeds, which allow readers to subscribe to a blog to automatically receive updates and access contents through a reader.

Blogging is one of the easiest and most fun activities that you can engage in. It is understandable, however, that for those who are quite new at it, things could seem a little confusing at first. This is especially true when one encounters a lot of new terms that may seem intimidating. Obviously, the trick is in learning these terms and understanding what they mean. After a while, you will know the ropes very well and recite these terms in your sleep. Here are some of the most common – and important – blogging terms that you should know at the outset.

Atom – Another popular feed format developed as an alternative to RSS.

Blog Carnival – A blog article that contains links to other articles covering a specific topic. Most blog carnivals are hosted by a rotating list of frequent contributors to the carnival, and serve to both generate new posts by contributors and highlight new bloggers posting matter in that subject area.

Blog client – (weblog client) is software to manage (post, edit) blogs from operating system with no need to launch a web browser. A typical blog client has an editor, a spell-checker and a few more options that simplify content creation and editing.

Blogger – Person who runs a blog. Also blogger.com, a popular blog hosting web site. Rarely: weblogger.

Blogroll – A list of blogs on a blog (usually placed in the sidebar of a blog) that reads as a list of recommendations by the blogger of other blogs. Possibly a play on the the term logrolling.
You place links to your friends’ blogs in your blogroll.

Blogosphere – All blogs, or the blogging community. Also called blogistan or, more rarely, blogspace. Example: There a millions and millions of blogs in the blogosphere today.

Dashboard – When you login to your blogging account, it is the first screen with all controls, tools and functions.

Permalink – Permanent link. The unique URL of a single post. Use this when you want to link to a post somewhere.

Pingback – The alert in the TrackBack system that notifies the original poster of a blog post when someone else writes an entry concerning the original post. It’s like linking back to the original web page.

Plugins – Small files that add improved functionality and new features. WordPress plugins can greatly improve your blog usage and interactivity

Post – An entry written and published to a blog. Basically, this is what YOU write!

RSS – Really Simple Syndication is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts.

RSS aggregator – Software or online service allowing a blogger to read an RSS feed, especially the latest posts on their favourite blogs. Also called a reader, or feedreader.

RSS feed – The file containing a blog’s latest posts. It is read by an RSS aggregator/reader and shows at once when a blog has been updated. It may contain only the title of the post, the title plus the first few lines of a post, or the entire post.

Subscribe – The term used when a blogs feed is added to a feed reader like Bloglines or Google. Some blogging platforms have internal subscriptions, this allows readers to receive notification when there are new posts in a blog.

Templates – used on the “back end” of a blog that work together to handle information and present it on a blog.

Theme – CSS based code that when applied to the templates will result in visual element changes to the blog. The theme, as a whole, is also referred to as a blog design.

Terms and definitions courtesy of Wikipedia and Quick Online Tips.

Everyone has a blog, and you’re tired of not being able to relate to what people are talking about – why not create a blog of your own? That sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? After all, there is that saying that if everyone else is doing it, you might as well. Then again, if you are a thinking person, you would want good reasons for doing something, such as creating your own blog. Let me provide you with some of these good reasons.

One, a blog is a great venue for you to express your ideas and thoughts. This is the basic rationale behind a blog. With a blog, you can be the author behind great pieces of writing. You have full control over what you write and what you want to share with your readers. The bottom line is this: if you have something to say, then you can use a blog to make yourself heard.

Two, a blog is a great way to have fun and make new friends. Do you ever wonder why people stick to blogging after so many years? One reason is because it is so much fun! Even if you’re not the best writer out there, blogging can open up doors for you in terms of friendships and fun. Just don’t be too uptight about what you’re doing – that just might take out all the fun. Another point – the fun part stems from the fact that you have full creative control over what you’re doing. You choose to write about something that you are passionate about, and the fun simply follows. What better way to spend your free time?

Three, a blog can reach out to a lot of people. If you are looking to promote a specific product or service, then a blog is a cost-effective way to go about it. There are blog platforms that are for free – no cash outlay for you. All that you need is to have something to write about (your product or service and other related information) and someone to write (you!). Bear in mind that blogs can be read by anyone and everyone who is connected to the Internet – the world is literally at your fingertips!

Four, a blog can make you money! Yes, I am talking about revenue. A lot of people actually go into blogging thinking that they just might strike gold. While this scenario happens quite rarely, there really is a potential for earning extra income through blogging. There are many ways by which you can do this – check out our dedicated page for monetizing your blog.

Five, a blog can help you make a difference in your own little way. If you are passionate about a cause, then a blog is a great way to express your sentiments and make others aware. Since you can write about anything in your blog, you can choose to focus on a charity or any other issue that is important to you. You never know, you might make a difference in the lives of people.

Convinced yet? Why not try it out, and start your own blog today!

You have probably heard of the word “blog” so much that you’re starting to wonder what it is all about. Indeed, blogs have been around for many years now, and it has quickly become a popular means of expressing one’s self and sharing information through the Internet. The popularity of blogs has exploded so much so that practically everyone has at least dabbled in blogging. For those of you who are new to this, let me help you out a little bit. Let’s start with this: what is a blog?

If you’re the kind who likes “official” definitions, here are a couple. Wikipedia defines a blog as:

A blog (a contraction of the term “web log”)[1] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.

Webopedia says:

Short for Web log, a blog is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.

I chose these two definitions (out of the countless definitions you can find out there) because of key points. One, a blog is simply a web site. It does have differences from the “regular” web site that you see, but the essence is the same. Two, a blog is authored by an individual – most of the time that is. There are blogs which are authored by several people. Bottom line is that there are distinct authors behind a blog. Three, a blog is commonly perceived as a journal which is shared with the world. While blogs have evolved much over the years to serve purposes other than “diaries,” the characteristic of being an open book to share thoughts and ideas remains the same. Four, a blog is updated regularly – not necessarily daily, but often enough – to provide fresh content. Five, the content, or entries, are usually presented chronologically, with the most recent one being first.

So basically, a blog is a web site that offers new content frequently. This content may focus on a narrow topic or be about a broad range of subjects, depending on what the blogger (that’s the person one who writes for the blog) has in mind for the blog. There are blogs which have a tight focus regarding its subject. Some blogs may have broad topics such as art and music while other have more specific topics such as the life and work of a specific artist. Examples of these blogs are Celebrific, Brewed Coffee, Forever Geek, and Yurto. There also a lot of blogs out there which do not focus on a single subject, more often than not, they are referred to as “personal blogs,” and they are actually the blogs which conform more to the diary-type label. Personal blogs can be about anything and everything under the sun – it totally depends on the blogger.

So now you know the general idea behind a blog. Is that all there is to blogging? Definitely not! For more in depth information, check out the other pages I have prepared to give you specific details on blogs and blogging.