InteractiveWoo

Watch this video first: “Blogs in Plain English”

Defining a Blog

A blog is a type of website where content is organized in the form of posts. As described in the video above, posts are usually arranged in chronological order with the most recent at the top of the main page, keeping the content of the blog “fresh” all the time. Blog posts are usually organized in categories and tags so they are accessible from the main page. Blogs also have traditional web pages and archives of older posts. Most blogs have the common characteristics of having a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) “subscribe” button where content can be delivered to the reader as it becomes available. Most blogs also have the ability to for readers to leave comments on the posts, hence creating a discussion over the posted topic. There are blogs on virtually any topic you can think of and bloggers with similar interests or topics are building relationships and building communities like never before.

Main Components of a Blog

• Post - A post is where you write the main content of your blog. Each post has a headline describing the content, the date the post was created, tags associated with the post, and one or multiple categories
• Page - A page is a traditional web page where you want content to remain static. An “about us” or “contact” page are examples of pages
• Comments - Each post can be a topic for discussion using comments. You can set comments to appear automatically or after a review. Comments encourage discussion and increase engagement for future readers.
• Categories and Tags - Posts can be organized through categories or tags. Depending on the breadth of a blog, categories are used for a high level organization of your posts and tags are used for more details. For example, a tennis blog with a post about Roger Federer defeating Andy Murray in the US OPEN Tennis Finals can be categorized as US OPEN and tagged as Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

A great way to learn about blogs is to read a few, bookmark your favorites, and become engaged by leaving comments. The BEST way to learn about blogs is to start blogging yourself. Continue to “How to Make Blog”

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