To Blog or Not to Blog: Are Blogs Becoming More Popular than Forums, Newsletters and E-zines?
Blogging is hot, and seems to be becoming hotter each month. Although blogging originally was dismissed, by many successful publishers and other online "gurus", the truth is that now, a few years after the "blogging trend" began, there are actually more blogs and more bloggers online than ever before. Blogging, obviously, is "here to stay"! Actually first documented in 1997, Web logs initially used the abbreviated version: wee-blog, with a Web log editor referred to as a blogger. Since then, all types of Web logs (blogs) and blogging software have emerged, giving rise to this lucrative and dynamic market. Now, everything from advertising blogs to zoology blogs exist, with every topic in between apparent online. Political blogs are rampant, and groups of bloggers across the globe post regularly on every topic imaginable. What does a blog supply that an e-zine, newsletter, or forum might not? What has skyrocketed the popularity of the blog over the past several years? The answers are really quite simple: 1. Blogs are more highly interactive. Posters get to see the results of a post immediately, as the post appears simultaneously after posting. Posters also don't have the usual moderation that appears in forums, where posts may be deleted without warning. Usually, in blogs, more freedom is given, and posts are usually accepted no matter what the content, or the topic. E-zines and newsletters, with their one sided presentation of views, have decreased in popularity with the increase of the popularity of blogs. 2. Blogs are easy to maintain and easy to start. The sheer volume of choices is staggering! Everything from "blogging software" to "blogging services" are available, and even a novice blogger will find blogging quick and easy to do. 3. Blogs are "Search Engine Friendly Food". Search Engines love blogs, because of the constantly changing content that appears daily. Search Engines are constantly "searching" for new content, and blogs meet this requirement splendidly! 4. Blogs are actually a lot of fun! The entertainment aspects of a blog cannot be dismissed. A great deal of "voyeurism" exists on blogs, where other bloggers continually monitor discussions, both pro and con concerning an issue. Discussions on blogs can be "heated" and interesting, with much repartee occurring daily! Blogs are a rousing form of media, indeed, with many bloggers returning repeatedly throughout a day to view new posts. For a view into popular blogs of many categories, just visit: http://www.blogit.com 5. Many blogs are capable of syndication. Syndication is a great way to ensure that your writing and your views are exposed to as much of the general public as possible. Syndication is many times included in blogging services now, and this has drawn individuals to the art of blogging continuously. For an example of a blog service that features syndication, please visit: http://www.typepad.com 6. There are no lists to maintain, or spam filters to worry about with blogs. This is one reason why so many writers and publishers have turned to blogs. E-mail delivery of newsletters and e-zines has become difficult over the past few years, with the advent of spam filters. Blogs are not delivered, and therefore, no methods of defeating filters are needed, and no "non-deliverables" occur, which has been the bane of writers and publishers prior to this. A good blogging software exists at: http://www.silkblogs.com 7. Blogs are economical. Since no lists are maintained, there are no list server costs. Blogging software and blogging services are also very reasonably priced, giving good value for the money spent monthly consistently. Some blogging services charge others to "read", while others charge writers to "write", but overall the monthly charges are rather minimal either way. 8. Blogs are educational. There are such a variety of informative and educational blogs available now, that a search for any subject usually turns up hundreds of offerings. Differing points of view on all subjects are offered routinely, giving a reader or poster an "insight" into the hearts and minds of other bloggers. Blogs also, to be successful, however, need to contain the same elements of a popular newsletter or e-zine: A. Compelling, well-written content. No one, either online or offline wants to read materials that are poorly written or difficult or boring to read. B. Updated material. Just as in newsletters or e-zines, if material is not updated continually, then the audience eventually dies. C. Rousing topics. Topics of interest to a wide range of readers succeed more than topics that appeal to very few, or are rather dull topics. D. A nice layout and visual appeal. A blog is akin to a Web site for written materials, and just like in the design of a Web site, every care should be made to have the blog be visually appealing and friendly to visitors. Newsletters, e-zines and forums, of course, will remain. But as you can clearly see, blogging, bloggers, and blogs themselves, have definitely added to the "online experience" and will possibly (and hopefully) be around for decades more! Vishal P. Rao is the owner of: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/
An online community of people who work at home.
Related News
Lessons from the India USA Nuclear deal - indiainteracts.com
Lessons from the India USA Nuclear dealindiainteracts.com, India -Sep 6, 2008... September 6th, 2008 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. ... |
9 Things To Think About When Planning An Executive Blog - Social Computing Magazine
Getting Sucked Into Social Networking - Corsavoo.com
Getting Sucked Into Social NetworkingCorsavoo.com, France -Sep 6, 2008When you post blogs or files in your account, everyone from your network of friends will be informed of the update through RSS feeds. ... |
Google says Goodbye to RSS, Hello to Followers - Appscout
E-Mail marketing and blogging provider iContact gets $5 million in ... - InternetRetailer.com
Fast Talk Response - - Fast Company
Fast Talk Response -Fast Company -Aug 20, 2008... in the last year to 18 mos. is because it has all the benefits of blogging (RSS,commenting,sharing,tagging,bookmarking) but none of the hassles. ... |
Pro-Blogger - How to have a Constant Stream of Blogging Ideas - PR CannaZine (press release)
Tips On Blogging For Dollars - Corsavoo.com
Travel 2.0 marketing services for hotels launched - m-Travel.com
Food blogging: Pumpkin baked ziti with caramelized onions and sage ... - Feministe
|
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
24 Tips and Strategies on How Everyone Can Blog Right and Get Everybody to Read
By the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key
part of online culture. "Blog readership shoots up 58% in
2004 6 million Americans get news and information fed to
them through RSS aggregators But 62% of online Americans do
not know what a blog is." - Pew Internet & American Life
Project
Could There Be A New Way Of hearing The News Stories We Feel Are Relevant In Our Lives?
Mainstream media has become a single-minded authority on how we should perceive life. Theirs is a negative perspective. Could there be a new way of hearing the stories we feel are relevant in our lives?
RSS Works: Hard Metrics to Prove It
Marketers are constantly asking if RSS marketing works and if this can be proved.
Blogging for Business
Not long ago a blog was simply an online diary. Initially, people decided that blogging was describing, in excruciating detail, how their day went, what they had for dinner last night, and why they spent the whole weekend doing laundry.
Im a Failed Blogger!
I've never been popular in my whole life. I think there must be something inside me that didn't get enough attention as a kid or something because I seem to find myself looking for it all the time. I think about some of the career paths I have walked down: I've been a musician, a pastor (who gets to get on a platform and talk to people ? getting attention ? even if I do have something selfless to say ? I like the feeling I get when I feel like people "get it" ? anybody else have this in common?), I've been a stand-up comedian (here, there's a real pressure to get people to like you because if they don't, they let you know fast). I even started "blogging" because a lot of great bloggers are out there and they seem to know how to type just the right things to get lots and lots of feedback. Heck, I figured I'd tried everything else, why not see if I get some feedback, too. And you know what I found out?
How to Use Blog Exchanges
Traffic exchanges and blog traffic exchanges are a way to expose your blog or site to traffic by visiting other blogs and sites. I have looked at many such exchanges and selected what I though to be the best of these to see what sort of traffic I could bring to my site.
How To Build Traffic To Your Blog
RSS Responder is a new script that allows you to keep in touch and follow-up with your subscribers without the hassle of email.
Marketing With Blogs - Part 3
In part 1 and part 2 of this article series on marketing with blogs, I discussed the reasons why blogs are excellent tools for marketing, and provided some tips on using your blog to sell your products and services online.
Blogging: A Profit Making Internet Option
Blogging is a relatively new form of communication, closely related to the newsletters of days long past. Your thoughts, ideas, and activities are posted for the world (or a chosen few) to view, and if you choose to include the option, leave a comment. By creating a Blog and adding to it every day or relatively often, you create in your reader a desire to see "what was said next". They will return to read what you post next. Particularly, if what you posted the first time is interesting, valuable information, presented in a manner that is fun to read. A few ideas to get you off and running with your informational Blog, might include: travel, a new baby, planning your wedding, building a new business, working with your clients, developing a new product, counting your blessings, or ideas you are interested in sharing.
Sales Marketing: Secrets To Using Blogs (Online Diaries) To Increase Your sales And Profits
These days, everybody is blogging.
You Are Losing Money If Youre Not Using RSS Feeds On Your Website!
(An RSS primer can be found near the bottom of the article)
Blogs Explained
It seems like Blogs are everywhere these days. You can't seem to surf the Internet without seeing the word Blog somewhere. The intent of this article is to explain the basics what a Blog is and how you can use them to help promote your business and gain valuable information quicker that surfing the Internet.
RSS - The Intelligent Marketing Medium
Are you new to RSS? If so here is a introduction to what RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is and how your website will benefit from offering an RSS feed to your visitor's.
Podcasting vs. Blogging
The US Navy blogs. Larry Kudlow of CNBC blogs. I'd say "everybody and their brother" except (1) it's a cliche and (2) it may be grammatically inaccurate. Dan Rather is only too aware that everybody blogs.
Comparing Free Blogging Software
With the increased interest in Blogging (web Logging), many web hosting providers now provide an assortment of free usage, open source blogging software packages. Among the most popular of these blogging tools are B2evolution, WordPress and Nucleus. Each of these programs offer similar basic features, so the question arises as to which one is easiest to use and would be appropriate for the requirements of your particular website.
Who Would Use RSS
My previous two articles "What is RSS and Why use RSS" focused on how we can give our customers a better online experience while lessening the hassles for the online marketer. In this article I'm going to offer you another way to look at RSS ? from the standpoint of a new emerging profession: the channelmaster or newsmaster as Robin Good calls it. These are going to be the "Who's Who" of RSS in the coming months and years.
I remember when email was the new thing for the average person; everyone was excited about the "new" technology. It had been around for awhile in the tech world but not with the average person. When we all started using email, it was so fascinating to be able to send out a message anywhere and get an answer back the same day!
RSS, Feeds, and Aggregators
When you work online all the time, immersed in bits and bytes, hands automatically resting on the keyboard, where the lingua franca is a mish-mash of acronyms and abbreviations - it is easy to forget that the average person has no clue what we talk about. It can be very daunting for the Internet neophyte with all these terms, technology and hardware. That's why I wrote this. Because I don't want people to be afraid to either ask (via comments on this thread) or to click/use buttons they don't know or use.
Just Tag It!
Tags - Revolutionary or Just Folly?
Business Blogs and Their Benefits
Blog is a medium for self-expression on web. Blogs are in the form of few paragraph entries. Blogs are created by both individual and companies, which are in the form of personal and commercial blogs. It provides an option to make the articles interactive in the form of comments. Wiki is another type of blog which is similar to web page with contribution from more then one people.
Why You?re Not Blogging - And Why You Should Start Today
Those of you who aren't ready to wade into the Blog pool are taking your time for several reasons, according to my informal interviews with people before and after they blog. Others start blogging and then abandon their projects too soon, unaware of the benefits.
|
