What is a Blog and Why Should You Produce One?

The word “Blog” is word that grew from the combination of two words “Web Log”. Early Blogs were just that … a log of entries on a webpage that formed an Online Diary.

Blogs have now evolved into fully functional Content Management Systems (CMS). i.e. Websites that are owned and managed by individuals, where it is easy to create new pages (post articles) and use existing themes/templates to create great looking websites.

The basic structure of a Blog allows you to create pages that people can then comment on (although you can switch that function off, or limit the commentors to registered users), thereby making your website more interactive to visitors and they are more likely to return.

Why Do You Need a Blog?

You may want to create a Blog just for your personal about me/us pages to keep family and friends updated on things you’re doing. Create Photo albums to share, or just keep an online diary for yourself.

If you have a business to promote, a blog is a great way to keep customers and prospective customers/clients up-to-date on your products and services.

Here’s a recent quote from BusinessWeek Magazine:-

“Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they’re simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they’re going to shake up just about every business-including yours. It doesn’t matter whether you’re shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They’re a prerequisite. (And yes, that goes for us, too.)”

You will find the full article at BusinessWeek.