I Have Heard About Blogs… But, I Really Don’t Know Much About Them

Have you ever wondered: “I have heard about blogs… But, I really don’t know much about them?” You are not alone. In fact, blogging has been around, believe it or not, since the 90’s.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word blog with two entries: First, a blog is “a website that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks, videos, and photographs provided by the writer”; Second, a blog “is a regular feature appearing as part of an online publication that typically relates to a particular topic and consists of articles and personal commentary by one or more authors” (Merriam-Webster, n.d., Blog Definition). Both definitions are quite accurate.

Prior to blogging becoming mainstream, for many Internet users, “journaling” preceded it, where writers’ contributions would include thoughts about specialized subjects, where they believed they could offer expertise and/or commentary (Levit, 2009, para. 4). Still, to this day, blogging follows the aforementioned format. However, almost every conceivable subject is available on the Internet, and, if it is not, it can quickly be created by bloggers of similar subjects. In addition, if blogging content is not found on a specific subject, the beauty and flexibility of blogging is that a web user can begin his or her own blog.

Blogging has moved beyond the hobby and spare time category for many writers; today, depending on the content published, blogging can be extremely lucrative. Some bloggers have turned their written content into a regular source of income, with some creating blogging empires with millions of readers. Nevertheless, “only 2% of bloggers earn over $150k per year” (Blogging Statistics, n.d., para. 28).

In 2020, blogging has evolved to include written posts well beyond personal thoughts. There is still a personal dimension to blogging that is not found in the writing of many professional publications in print. Consequently, blogging has become an effective way to communicate one’s thoughts in a warm and meaningful way.

Today, “there are over 152 million blogs on the internet”, with “new blog” content developed in less than one second (Blogging Statistics, n.d., para. 4). On the Internet alone, approximately 25% of URLs are connected to blogs (Blogging Statistics, n.d.). And, most web browsers would indicate they read at least one blog, if not more, on a regular basis.

References
Biersdorfer, J. (2014, July 21). Where to start when starting a blog. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/technology/personaltech/where-to-start-when-starting-a-blog.html
Blogging statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://99firms.com/blog/blogging-statistics/#gref
Coll, S. (2010, May 31). What I learned about blogging. The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/news/steve-coll/what-i-learned-about-blogging
Levit, A. (2009, June 21). To blog or not to blog. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124553744783134641
Merriam-Webster. (n.d., n.d.). blog [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blog