Definition Of Blogging – It’s Not What It Used To Be

Blogging has grown by the millions in the last few years. Which is quite amazing considering it’s been duplicating exponentially in such a minimal period of time. When we first really saw the blog spring to life early after the millennium no one would’ve expected it to grow as much as it has amounted to today. It’s being used in countless ways now from blogging as a hobby to blogging as a legitimate method of generating revenue. With the introduction of making money with a blog it’s often debated as to whether the content of a blog can be trusted. I’ll continue with this thought later in the post.

Now if you researched the definition of a blog you’d find the answer to be quite obvious. Here’s Dictionary.com’s example:

an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log

This characterization of a blog in dictionaries is in most professional opinions out of date. By saying this I’m not not suggesting that utilizing an “Internet journal” isn’t still happening today, however, it’s not as commonly used for the purpose of talking about thoughts and feelings. Modernly, it’s used for business purposes for releasing information to costumers. It’s also now being used by news organizations such as CNN and TechCrunch in the form of an online news paper. Many online shopping stores are now using it to promote products and advertise incentives they offer when you purchase their products. Examples like Amazon and NewEgg are only some of the many online businesses that have used blogging to their advantage.

Now I mentioned earlier that the accuracy and honesty of blogs have been discredited with the amount of money that can be made with them. This is because the publishers writing the articles aren’t always trying to benefit the reader with this information, they’re making a sales pitch for a product they’re affiliated with. What’s interesting though, is that these “affiliate blogs” have been receiving a substantial amount more attention than the regular blog. With that said, the answer to why this is done is very simple. It’s natural that human instincts cause us to care about oneself compared to another. Most people are interested in something that will benefit them. This is why affiliate blogs are so much more popular- they’re giving the reader something of value to them. Whereas a personal blog is a diary about one person and their life, their family, and their experiences. Blog Readers don’t look at these blogs for the simple fact that it’s not in their interests.

So what’s the definition of blogging then? To tell you the truth, you can’t really lay a precise definition on blogging. It’s been stretched, churned, and manipulated to a point where it can be thought of simply as content. There are plenty of platforms now available that allow the publication of content to be extremely simplified. Wordpress, Blogger, and Typepad are some of the most widely used platforms on the Internet right now.

People have also begun to monetize blogs with programs like Google Adsense and Yahoo Publisher. These programs allow advertisers to promote products by displaying relevant advertisements on your website with you being payed a percentage of what the ad program gets. These programs are another prime example of how blogging has transformed from a more personal experience to a business tool as well. I personally have used these programs to my advantage throughout my numerous websites in the previous years and have generated a descent amount of revenue. You can learn more about how I do this when you subscribe to my RSS feed.

All in all, blogging will never stay still. By this I mean that it will always evolve into new forms. We’re already seeing this phenomenon occur through micro-blogging and the emergence of  Twitter. One thing that will remain at a standstill though is the fact that content will continue to be produced in a variety of different shapes and forms.