What is a blog and why should I use one?

Blogging is a method of sharing information over the internet for work, pleasure or both. Blogs are often described as an online diary, with dated posts displayed chronologically. Blogging is the action of posting a message on a blog. A blogger is the person posting the message. Many blogs also allow you to post pictures and receive comments from readers.

Blogs can be about anything. They are usually based on a particular topic or an individual's personal thoughts and opinions. They often contain links to other related sites and are commonly free to operate. They require little knowledge to set up and are simple to update.

Who uses blogs?

Who DOESN'T use a blog? Teenagers have blogs, celebrity clubs have blogs, news agencies have blogs, businesses have blogs - even your aunt Sophie could have a blog.

The wonderful thing about blogs is that there are virtually no restraints on what it could be used for. This means that while it's an easy way to share news among family members and post the latest baby pictures, it's equally well suited for a business to post updates and data to inform the public, employees or other interested parties.

Is a blog good for business?

If you want to develop a rapport with your customers, make regular postings about your business and gain interest from other media outlets or potential customers you would certainly benefit from starting a blog.

Because blogs by nature are considered a source of information rather than a commercial advertisement it makes perfect sense for a business to use blogs as a means of establishing a reputation in their market.

Posting information about their industry or field will create a sense of community involvement that potential customers will appreciate. Using links to your business page will create traffic from search engines and blog readers. You can even add a subscription form to your blog so that interested readers can immediately be emailed when you make a post.

Aim to blog about twice per week, keeping it informative and in readable chunks. Don't blog for the sake of it.

How to start a blog

You can create a blog for free. There are many free blog hosting sites you can locate by searching for 'blog' in the search engine. Wordpress.com is a popular one. For a limited period, we will set you a blog up free.

Blogs are the simplest form of creating an online presence. You do not need any experience in website design as most blog hosts will provide you with pre-made templates. They also provide easy to understand instructions for creating your posts along with options such as allowing comments from readers or uploading photos.

Whether you want to post your personal thoughts on a world crisis, share your poems with appreciative readers or start an online business, your blog could be set up and people could be hearing what you have to say. It only takes a few minutes.

Now, Twitter.com is something else...