What exactly is blogging? It is the act of writing in your blog, whether it is personal observations, or opinions or links to other's blogs, articles and more! In the not so distant past writers needed an editor and a publisher in order to reach the public. They would find themselves changing their style of writing to fit the advertisers, editors and publishers. Blogging has changed all that. It isn't just about a journal entry it's about journalism. Now you can write about what is important to you and in whatever style suits your fancy. Now of course you will still need an audience but this time the audience will be others who think like you or at least like to read the words of someone who thinks like you.
The blog is personal. It touches something in the audience that is elemental. There is a trust built among readers. People have become cynical of the information found in newspapers and magazines. The writer can further define blog postings to match what their readers want to hear but still within their own control. No editors or advertisers making suggestions or directing the flow of their work.
Many people are still asking, "What is blog or blogging and why is it so special?" The definition of a blog, as listed above, only tells you what the blog is physically, but in order to really know what a blog is you have to read them and not just a few. Many weblogs can allow visitors to leave public comments, which can evoke a community discussion or a personal tête-à-tête or they can remain non-interactive. Blogs are heavily interconnected communities with bloggers reading and posing comments on each others blogs, linking to them from their own blog and making reference to them in their writings. This is referred to as the blogosphere. There are many sites available that can track the interconnections between them such as Blog Street.
When these interconnections erupt in a burst of activity based on a particular subject or controversy it is referred to as a blogstorm or blog swarm. Your particular blog can take on many different forms. You can review other sites and provide reviews and ratings and article summaries or you can run your blog like a traditional journal. You can add hyperlinks to the latest news headlines. Define your own blog, make it yours and the world will come knocking at your door for more.