To Blog Or Not To Blog

Web logs, commonly referred to as "blogs," represent all nthe rage right now in online publishing. nnNot really a newsletter or traditional html page npublishing, blogs resemble more of a web-based diary where nthe creator records their thoughts, posts links, or nresponds to questions. nnWith so much confusion online and an absence of "personal ntouch," blogs stand to actually bring back some humanity to nthe web by allowing people of like minds to come together. nn** Why Blog? ** nnAs the sea of information on the World Wide Web gets larger nand deeper, people starve for knowledge. nnIt's a fact that most human beings learn better when nsomeone else shows or tells them how to do something, or nexplains what something means and its impact on their nlives. nnPeople sitting around a fire and passing information one to nanother is as old as human history, and with blogs you can ndo the online equivalent. nnBlogs allow you to do everything from staying in touch with nfamily members to building a world-wide following of loyal nreaders based around a hobby or your profession. nnn** Monologue or Dialogue? ** nnYou basically have two choices when it comes to your blog. nnYou can set it up so only you can post to the blog and nviewers just read your posts, or you can allow your naudience to comment on your posts and create a dialogue nwith them. nnWhich model you choose comes down to your purpose for the nblog. nnIf you want to get feedback from customers, family members, nfriends, or subscribers, then allowing them to post will nadd a tremendous dimension to your communication. nnIf you want to keep it simple, then start out with a blog nwhere you post and others only read. nnn** How Do You Set Up a Blog? ** nnLog on to Blogger.com to set up a free account (monologue ntype). nnWith absolutely zero experience and without reading the nhelp files, I set up my blog - www.ebookblog.com - in about n5 minutes. nnAt first I just posted a few old articles to fill in ncontent and see how the process worked. nnLately I've gotten the "blogger bug" and plan to start nposting several times a week. nnThough my blog gets posted on my own website, Blogger.com nalso allows you to post to their server so you don't even nneed a hosting account to set up your own blog. nnYou can get a more full-featured blog (dialogue type) from nMovableType.org. nnThere you have the option of getting their software ninstalled on your server or obtaining a very reasonably npriced account hosted on their servers. nnEither way you choose, posting rates as simple as typing ninto a web form, clicking a button, and your articles and ncomments automatically get posted to your blog (no html or nftp skills required).n