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Blogs began life as Weblogs. Similar to a captain's log, it was a kind of diary kept on the Internet. Many blogs still fit into this mould. The blogger writes about his or her life, events taking place and his or her thoughts and feelings.

Wordweb defines a blog as "a shared on-line journal where people can post daily entries about their personal experiences and hobbies."

Blogs have come to mean many things to many people. Perhaps the defining characteristic is that new content is added frequently and entries are presented in reverse chronological order the latest entry appears first. Open any blog and the latest post is at the top.

A blogger is simply a person that creates a blog and adds frequent posts to the blog.

Some still use the medium as a means of recording a diary - sometimes to share with the world, at other times to share their personal lives with family and friends. Some may restrict access of the blog to people that they know. Many bloggers use the facility to showcase their writing, photography or art. Others use the medium to express social, political and religious views. For some it is a means to share their knowledge of a specific skill, craft or sport.

For many, the term blog has lost its close association with maintaining a log or diary of events. In many ways a blogger can be compared to a newspaper columnist. Blog posts expressing opinions and observations about the world are posted daily or weekly. While the columnist must adhere to the policies and codes of practice of his or her publication, the blogger has no such constraint. The columnist has the benefit of editorial review and advice about the legality of publishing various forms of information. The blogger is accountable to no-one and relies solely on his or her own subjective judgement to decide what is fit for publication.

A relatively recent development in the world of blogging is the attempt by many to make money out of blogging. Some bloggers focus their attention on 'monetising' their blog. Advertising is added using Google Adsense and other advertising agencies in an attempt to earn cash. Affiliate marketing is simply using a blog to promote and sell goods produced by a third party company. Each sale earns commission. Some blogs present material on how to make money from blogging. They focus on SEO or Search Engine Optimisation how to bring traffic to your blog.

If you are new to the world blogs then it is worth spending some time explore the available material. Begin by visiting

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