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| {{mergefrom|Online diary}} | |||
| {{cleanup-date|August 2006}} | |||
| {{Journalism}} | |||
| {{otheruses}} | |||
| '''Blog''' is the contraction universally used for '''weblog''', a type of website where entries are made (such as in a ]), displayed in a reverse ]. | |||
| Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal ]. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on ]s (]), ]s (]), or ] (]), and are part of a wider network of ]. | |||
| The word ''blog'' can also be used as a verb, meaning ''to maintain or add content to a blog.'' | |||
| == History == | |||
| ]s, ]s, ], and ]s can all be seen as predecessors of blogs. | |||
| Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including ], ] and ]s (BBS). In the 1990s, ] software, such as ], created running conversations with "threads". Threads are topical connections between messages on a metaphorical "corkboard". | |||
| === 1994 – 2001 === | |||
| {{Main|Online diary}} | |||
| ], an early blogger.]] | |||
| The modern blog evolved from the ] where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, ]s, or journalers. A few called themselves ]s. The Open Pages ] included members of the online-journal community. ], who began eleven years of personal blogging in 1994 while a student at ], is generally recognized as one of the earliest bloggers.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/20/MNGBKBEJO01.DTL|title=Time to get a life — pioneer blogger Justin Hall bows out at 31|publisher=SFgate|date=2005-02-20|accessdate=2006-06-09}}</ref> | |||
| Other forms of journals kept online also existed. A notable example was game programmer ] widely read journal, published via the ]. Websites, including both corporate sites and ]s, had and still often have "What's New" or "News" sections, often on the ] and sorted by date. One example of a news based "weblog" is the founded by the self styled maverick reporter ], though apparently Drudge dislikes this classification. One noteworthy early precursor to a blog was the ] personal website that was frequently updated by ] legend ]. | |||
| Early weblogs were simply manually updated components of common ]s. However, the evolution of tools to facilitate the production and maintenance of web articles posted in said chronological fashion made the publishing process feasible to a much larger, less technical, population. Ultimately, this resulted in the distinct class of online publishing that produces blogs we recognize today. For instance, the use of some sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of "blogging". blogs can be hosted by dedicated ]s, or they can be run using ], such as ] or ], or on regular ]s, such as ]. | |||
| The term "weblog" was coined by ] on ] ]. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word ''weblog'' into the phrase ''we blog'' in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of 1999.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6794172|title=It's the links, stupid|publisher=]|date=2006-4-20|accessdate=2006-07-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/19991013021124/http://peterme.com/index.html|title=Peterme.com|author=Peter Merholz|publisher=]|date=1999|accessdate=2006-07-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kottke.org/03/08/its-weblog-not-web-log|author=]|title=kottke.org|date=August 26, 2003|accessdate=2006-07-21}}</ref> This was quickly adopted as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog"). | |||
| After a slow start, blogging rapidly gained in popularity: the site ], launched in 1996, had only 100 diaries by 1997, but over 50,000,000 as of December 2005. Blog usage spread during 1999 and the years following, being further popularized by the near-simultaneous arrival of the first hosted blog tools: | |||
| * ] launched in October 1998, soon growing to thousands of online diaries. Open Diary innovated the reader comment, becoming the first blog community where readers could add comments to other writers' blog entries. | |||
| * ] started ] in March 1999. | |||
| * Andrew Smales created ] in July 1999 as an easier alternative to maintaining a "news page" on a website, followed by ] in September 1999, focusing more on a personal diary community.<ref>Jensen, Mallory </ref> | |||
| * ] and ] (]) launched ] in August 1999 (purchased by ] in February 2003) | |||
| <!-- * Paul Kedrosky's ] -- EXPAND OR DELETE? --> | |||
| Blogging combined the personal web page with tools to make linking to other pages easier — specifically ]s, ]s and ]s. This, together with ] enabled bloggers to track the threads that connected them to others with similar interests. | |||
| === 2001 – 2004 === | |||
| Several broadly popular American blogs emerged in 2001: ]'s AndrewSullivan.com, ]'s ], Taegan Goddard's ] and ]'s ] — all blogging primarily on ] (two earlier popular American political blogs were Bob Somerby's ] launched in 1998 and ]' Kausfiles launched in 1999). | |||
| By 2001, blogging was enough of a phenomenon that how-to manuals began to appear, primarily focusing on technique. The importance of the blogging community (and its relationship to larger society) increased rapidly. Established schools of ] began researching blogging and noting the differences between journalism and blogging. | |||
| In 2002, Jerome Armstrong's friend and sometime ] partner ] began ]. With up to a million visits a day during peak events, it has now become one of the Internet's most trafficked blogs. | |||
| Also in 2002, many blogs focused on comments by ] ]. Senator Lott, at a party honoring ] ], praised Senator Thurmond by suggesting that the United States would have been better off had Thurmond been elected president. Lott's critics saw these comments as a tacit approval of ], a policy advocated by Thurmond's ]. This view was reinforced by documents and recorded interviews dug up by bloggers. (See ]'s '']''.) Though Lott's comments were made at a public event attended by the media, no major media organizations reported on his controversial comments until after blogs broke the story. Blogging helped to create a political crisis that forced Lott to step down as majority leader. | |||
| The impact of this story gave greater credibility to blogs as a medium of news dissemination. Though often seen as partisan gossips, bloggers sometimes lead the way in bringing key information to public light, with mainstream media having to follow their lead. More often, however, news blogs tend to react to material already published by the mainstream media. | |||
| Since 2002, blogs have gained increasing notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and ] ] stories. The ] saw bloggers taking measured and passionate points of view that go beyond the traditional ] divide of the ]. | |||
| Blogging by established politicians and political candidates, to express opinions on war and other issues, cemented blogs' role as a news source. (See ] and ].) Meanwhile, an increasing number of experts blogged, making blogs a source of in-depth analysis. (See Daniel Drezner and ].) | |||
| The second Iraq war was the first "blog war" in another way: Iraqi bloggers gained wide readership, and one, ], published a book of his blog. Blogs were also created by soldiers serving in the Iraq war. Such "]" gave readers new perspectives on the realities of war, as well as often offering different viewpoints from those of official news sources. | |||
| Blogging was used to draw attention to obscure news sources. For example, bloggers posted links to traffic cameras in Madrid as a huge anti-terrorism demonstration filled the streets in the wake of the ]. | |||
| Bloggers began to provide nearly-instant commentary on televised events, creating a secondary meaning of the word "blogging": to simultaneously transcribe and ] speeches and events shown on television. (For example, "I am blogging Rice's testimony" means "I am posting my reactions to ] testimony into my blog as I watch her on television.") Real-time commentary is sometimes referred to as "liveblogging." | |||
| === 2004 – present === | |||
| ] test blog running ].]] | |||
| In 2004, the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream, as ]s, news services and candidates began using them as tools for outreach and opinion forming. Even politicians not actively campaigning, such as the ] ] ], began to blog to bond with constituents. | |||
| ] broadcast a program by ] and ] called "The blogging of the President," which covered a transformation in politics that blogging seemed to presage. The '']'' began regular coverage of blogs and blogging. Anthologies of blog pieces reached print, and blogging personalities began appearing on radio and television. In the summer of 2004, both United States ] and ] Parties' conventions credentialed bloggers, and blogs became a standard part of the publicity arsenal. Mainstream television programs, such as ]' '']'', formed their own blogs. ]'s Dictionary declared "blog" as the word of the year in 2004.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.wikinews.org/blog_declared_Word_of_the_Year Wikinews|publisher=Wikinews|title=blog declared Word of the Year|date=2004-12-01|accessdate=2006-06-22}}</ref> | |||
| Blogs were among the driving forces behind the "]" scandal, to wit: (television journalist) Dan Rather presented documents (on the CBS show '']'') that conflicted with accepted accounts of ] record. Bloggers declared the documents to be ] and presented evidence and arguments in support of that view, and CBS apologized for what it said were inadequate reporting techniques (see ]). Many bloggers view this scandal as the advent of blogs' acceptance by the mass media, both as a source of news and opinion and as means of applying political pressure. | |||
| Some bloggers have moved over to other media. The following bloggers (and others) have appeared on radio and television: ] (known widely by his pseudonym, Atrios), ] (]) , ] (]), ] (]) and ] (]). ] is an example of a media personality who has moved in the other direction, adding to his reach in "old media" by being an influential blogger. | |||
| Some blogs were an important source of news during the ] such as ], which used SMS text messaging to report from affected areas in Sri Lanka and Southern India. | |||
| In the ], '']'' ] launched a redesign in September 2005, which included a daily digest of blogs on page 2. Also in June 2006, ] launched a weblog for its editors, following other news companies <ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5116654.stm|title=Down with blogs... so here's another|first=Dawn|last=Wilson|date=2006-06-26|accessdate=2006-06-26|publisher=]}}</ref>. | |||
| In January 2005, '']'' magazine listed eight bloggers that business people "could not ignore": ], ], ], ], ], Jason Goldman, ], and ].<!-- Dead ext link: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,1011763-1,00.html --> | |||
| == Types of blogs == | |||
| ] | |||
| There are various types of blogs, and each differs in the way content is delivered or written. | |||
| ;By media type: A blog comprising videos is called a ], one comprising links is called a ]<ref>{{cite news|title=What is a weblog?|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/weblogarticle/0,6799,394059,00.html|first=Jane|last=Perrone|publisher=Guardian Unlimted|date=2004-05-20|accessdate=2006-06-25}}</ref>, or one comprising photos is called a ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiki.photoblogs.org/What_is_a_Photoblog|title=What is a photoblog|publisher=Photoblogs.org Wiki|accessdate=2006-06-25}}</ref> | |||
| ;By device: Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a ] like a ] or ] is called a ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2783951.stm|publisher=]|title=blogging goes mobile|date=2003-02-23|accessdate=2006-06-25}}</ref> | |||
| ;]: Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as ]s or ]s. | |||
| ;] of publishers]: A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for ] purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a ] or externally for ], ] or ] purposes are called ]s. | |||
| ;]: Several blog search engines are used to search blog contents (also known as the ]), such as ], ], and ]. Technorati provides current information on both popular searches and ]s used to categorize blog postings. | |||
| == Business models == | |||
| {{unsourced}} | |||
| While the great majority of blogs are non-commercial, full-time bloggers have struggled to find a way to make a profit from their work. The most common and simplest method is to accept targeted ]. However, some bloggers have been hesitant to use this because of negative reader response to the ads. A more discreet form of advertising is for bloggers to promote merchandise from other sites, receiving a commission when a customer buys the item after following a blog link. | |||
| Others have tried a ] model. Prominent political blogger ] claimed at one point that accepting voluntary donations to his blog was more lucrative than his magazine work for ]. Following the practice of public television, Sullivan boosted donations with periodic "]," one of which was reported to net him $120,000. Sullivan's attempt at securing corporate sponsorship for his blog fell apart after strong negative reader response to the deal. | |||
| No other high-profile blogger has accepted a single corporate sponsor since Sullivan's failed deal. However, In the early twenty-first century, many magazines and newspapers began sponsoring personal blogs by their employees. The business model in this case is essentially the same as that of a traditional newspaper columnist. In a creative extension of the model, employees at other media companies began blogs focusing on the companies' products. For example, many actors in pornography blog about their work on company sites, creating a sense of personal connection between consumer and product. | |||
| == Anatomy of a blog entry == | |||
| ] of a typical blog.]] | |||
| A variety of different systems are used to create and maintain blogs. Dedicated ]s can eliminate the need for bloggers to manage this software. With web interfaces, these systems allow travelers to blog from anywhere on the Internet, and allow users to create blogs without having to maintain their own server. Such systems allow users to work with tools such as Ecto, Elicit and ] which allow users to maintain their Web-hosted blog without the need to be online while composing or editing posts. Blog creation tools and blog hosting are also provided by some Web hosting companies (]), Internet service providers (]), online publications (]) and internet portals (] or ]). Some advanced users have developed custom blogging systems from scratch using ] software, and often implement membership management and password protected areas. Others have created a mix of a blog and wiki, called a ]. | |||
| A blog entry typically consists of the following: | |||
| * ''Title'', the main title, or headline, of the post. | |||
| * ''Body'', main content of the post. | |||
| * '']'', the ] of the full, individual article. | |||
| * ''Post Date'', date and time the post was published. | |||
| A blog entry optionally includes the following: | |||
| * ''Comments'' | |||
| * ''Categories'' (or ]s) - subjects that the entry discusses | |||
| * '']'' and or '']'' - links to other sites that refer to the entry | |||
| === Comments === | |||
| {{main|Feedback comment system}} | |||
| Comments are a way to provide discussion on blog entries. Readers can leave a ] on a post, which can correct errors or contain their opinion on the post or the post's subject. Services like ] aim to ease discussion through comments, by allowing tracking of them. | |||
| == Blog popularity == | |||
| Recently, researchers have analyzed the dynamics of how blogs become popular. There are essentially two measures of this: popularity through citations, as well as popularity through affiliation (i.e. ]). The basic conclusion from studies of the structure of blogs is that while it takes time for a blog to become popular through blogrolls, permalinks can boost popularity more quickly, and are perhaps more indicative of popularity and authority than blogrolls, since they denote that people are actually reading the blog's content and deem it valuable or noteworthy in specific cases.<ref>Marlow, C. . Presented at the International Communication Association Conference, May, 2004, New Orleans, LA.</ref> | |||
| The ] project was launched by researchers in the ] to crawl the web and gather data from thousands of blogs in order to investigate their social properties. It gathered this information for over 4 years, and autonomously tracked the most contagious information spreading in the blog community. The project is no longer active. | |||
| Blogs are also given rankings by ] based on the amount of incoming links and ] based on the web hits of Alexa Toolbar users. In August 2006, Technorati listed the most linked-to blog as that of Chinese actress ] and the most-read blog as group-written ].<ref>Fickling, David, , ] NewsBlog, ] ]</ref> | |||
| It was reported by Chinese media ] that the blog of ] received more than 50 million page views, claiming to be the most popular blog in the world.<ref></ref> In mid-2006, it also had the most incoming links of any blogs on the Internet.<ref></ref> | |||
| ==Blogging and the mass media== | |||
| Many bloggers differentiate themselves from the ], while others are members of that media working through a different channel. Some institutions see blogging as a means of "getting around the filter" and pushing ] directly to the public. Some critics worry that bloggers respect neither ] nor the role of the ] in presenting society with credible news. | |||
| Bloggers' credibility problem, however, can be an advantage for the bloggers and for the mainstream journalists who take an interest in them. News organizations are sometimes reluctant to tell stories that will upset important people. But when bloggers or activists make sensational claims, then they become stories themselves, and journalists can use them as cover for reporting the underlying scandals. | |||
| Many mainstream journalists, meanwhile, write their own blogs -- well over 300, according to CyberJournalist.net's J-blog list. The first known use of a Weblog on a news site was in August 1998, when ] of The ] published one chronicling Hurricane Bonnie.<ref>{{cite news|title=blogging Bonnie.|work=Poynter.org|date=18 September, 2003 |url=http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=48413/}}</ref> | |||
| Blogs have also had an influence on ]s, bringing together scattered speakers and learners; this is particularly so with blogs in ], whose creators can be found as far away from traditional Gaelic areas as ] and ]. Minority language publishing (which may lack economic feasibility) can find its audience through inexpensive blogging. | |||
| == Legal issues == | |||
| The emergence of blogging has brought a range of legal liabilities. Employers have "]d" (fired) employees who maintain personal blogs that discuss their employers.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/03/airline_blogger_sacked/|title=Queen of the Sky gets marching orders|publisher=The Register|date=2004-11-03|accessdate=2006-06-23}}</ref> The major areas of concern are the issues of proprietary or confidential information, and defamation. Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers and the courts have returned with mixed verdicts. In ''John Doe v. Patrick Cahill'', the ] held that stringent standards had to be met to unmask anonymous bloggers, and also took the unusual step of dismissing the libel case itself (as unfounded under American libel law) rather than referring it back to the ] for reconsideration. In a bizarre twist, the Cahills were able to find the ISP address of John Doe, who turned out to be the person they suspected: the town's mayor, Councilman Cahill's political rival. The Cahills amended their original complaint, and the mayor settled the case rather than going to trial. <ref></ref> | |||
| In ], on the other hand, two ethnic Chinese were punished under the country’s anti-] law for posting ] remarks in their weblogs.<ref>] (2006). </ref> Internet Service Providers, in general, are immune from liability for information that originates with Third Parties (U.S. ] and the EU Directive 2000/31/EC). | |||
| In ], eight ] Group companies collectively obtained in June 2004 an Interim Injunction and Restraining Order against a Shell ], a Malaysian ] and former Shell employee, ]. The proceedings are in respect of alleged ] postings attributed to Dr Huong on a hosted in ] but owned and operated by an 89 year old British national, Alfred Donovan, a long term critic of Shell. The ]] is directed solely against Dr Huong. Further proceedings against Dr Huong were issued by the same ] companies in 2006 in respect of publications on Donovan weblog sites in 2005 and 2006. The further proceedings include a "Notice to Show Cause" relating to a "]" action potentially punishable by ]. The contempt hearing and a related application by the eight Royal Dutch Shell ] companies for Dr Huong to produce Alfred Donovan for ] in connection with an ] Donovan provided, was scheduled to be heard in the High Court of Malay in ] on 17th August 2006. Donovan's principle weblog is ]. | |||
| In Britain, a college lecturer contributed to a blog in which she referred to a politician (who had also expressed his views in the same blog) using various uncomplimentary names, including referring to him as a "Nazi". The politician found out the real name of the lecturer (she wrote under a pseudonym) via the ISP and successfully sued her for ]10,000 in damages and £7,200 costs.<ref>{{cite news |first = Owen |last = Gibson |url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,,1737445,00.html |title = Warning to chatroom users after libel award for man labelled a Nazi |work = ] |date = ] |accessdate = 2006-05-17}}</ref> | |||
| ], owner of the ], was recently fined during the 2006 ] playoffs for criticizing NBA officials on the court and in his blog. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2440355|publisher=ESPN|title=NBA fines Cuban $200K for antics on, off court|date=2006-05-11|accessdate=2006-06-23}}</ref> | |||
| ], a US airline attendant, lost her job after posting photos of herself in uniform displaying more ] than ordinary on her blog "The Queen of the Sky".<ref></ref> Simonetti took legal action against the airline for "wrongful termination, defamation of character and lost future wages"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/03/airline_blogger_sacked/|title=Queen of the Sky gets marching orders|publisher=The Register|date=2004-11-03|accessdate=2006-06-23}}</ref>. | |||
| In India, blogger Gaurav Sabnis quit his job at ] after his posts exposing the false claims of a management school, IIPM, led to management of IIPM threatening to burn their IBM laptops as a sign of protest against him. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/update.html|title=Gaurav Sabnis's blog entry after quitting IBM|publisher=Vantage point|date=2005-10-10|accessdate=2006-06-23}}</ref> | |||
| <ref>{{cite news|url=http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/im-disconnecting-my-cable-connection.html|title=Gaurav Sabnis's blog entry when he got the Legal notice from IIPM|publisher=Vantage point|date=2005-10-10|accessdate=2006-06-23}}</ref> | |||
| <ref>{{cite news|url=http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/08/fraud-that-is-iipm.html|title=Gaurav Sabnis's blog entry which offended the management of IIPM and lead to the chain of events resulting in him quitting his job at IBM|publisher=Vantage point|date=2005-10-10|accessdate=2006-06-23}}</ref> | |||
| == See also == | |||
| {{portalpar|Internet}} | |||
| {{portal}} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] - the precursor to blogs | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] - social networking site | |||
| * ] - Microsoft's Social Networking platform | |||
| * ] - client software that uses a web feed to retrieve syndicated web content such as weblogs, podcasts, vlogs, and mainstream mass media websites | |||
| * ] - a method of distributing multimedia files, such as audio programs or music videos, over the Internet | |||
| * ] - a MySpace competitor | |||
| * ] - a personal communication portal | |||
| * ] - includes many blog and journal sites | |||
| * ] - (We)blog Research on Genre project | |||
| == References == | |||
| <div class="references-small"> | |||
| <references /> | |||
| </div> | |||
| == Further reading == | |||
| * Alavi, Nasrin. ''We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs'', Soft Skull Press, New York, 2005. ISBN 1-933368-05-5. | |||
| * Bruns, Axel, and Joanne Jacobs, eds. ''Uses of Blogs'', Peter Lang, New York, 2006. ISBN 0-8204-8124-6. | |||
| * Kline, David; Burstein, Dan. ''Blog!: How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture'', Squibnocket Partners, L.L.C., 2005. ISBN 1593151411. | |||
| == External links == | |||
| <!-- These links should go to sites that extend this reference about weblogs. --> | |||
| <!-- DO NOT add your specific blogs or blog search engines here. --> | |||
| <!-- Please keep this list alphabetized. Thanks! --> | |||
| {{wiktionary}} | |||
| * by , USC Annenberg | |||
| * (PDF file) by Mark Brady, Chimera Working Paper 2005-02 Colchester: University of Essex | |||
| * blogs, Lies and the Doocing by Sylvia Kierkegaard (2006) | |||
| * by the ] | |||
| * from the weekly podcast . A 30-minute audio overview of the basics of blogging. | |||
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