by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: January 07, 2010

When converting our writing experience from the confines of the typewriter to the computer, and then to the internet, there have been major and new areas of knowledge that became essential.  With the word processor, we became familiar with saving and managing files, copying and pasting, inserting and formatting text, and in checking our spelling.  We rejoiced in the wonders of not having to use correction fluid or to re-type pages when a major change was inserted.  It was an absolute thrill to get as many copies as we wanted when our project was completed.

Then, we learned that there are sites on the internet where tiny little windows allowed us to write and to publish our work instantly! But there were wierd symbols with chains and tiny pictures and omega symbols.  Now there are symbols for such things as "rss feeds" and there is something that was not just blogging, but "meta blogging"!

The following list of terms is a general guide to the basics of internet writing. A new internet writer should be able to participate in a forum, write and edit their work, and publish their work, based on these terms.

FORUM: This is an organized and sometimes moderated group that is formed at a site where forum features are provided. Some forums are text only while others allow "rich content", such as photos and videos in the posts and comments. A person can either respond to an existing post or introduce a new topic and hope that others will join the discussion.

BLOG: This is the infamous "weblog", or a blank piece of virtual paper where the writer can put up anything that they want to: text, photos, embedded widgets and interactive features, such as surveys or music players, plus links to other sites and videos. A blog can have any subject or type of content.

BLOG SITE: This is a massive organization of features that allows an individual to have their own pages on the web without having to design a web page from scratch. Such sites provide decorative and customizable page layouts, rich editing, and a variety of tools for creating content that looks like a writer's own magazine, complete with pictures and fancy text.  Most pros use their word processors to write the article, choose fonts and so on, the copy and paste to their blog.

WORD: Whether using Microsoft Word or some other offline word processor, the writer has all of the features, fonts and other benefits of a full word editor, since many on line text editing screens

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