THE WIDE AND GROWING WORLD OF THE BLOG

If you begin to explore what blogging is for the very first time you will likely find yourself barraged by a plethora of strange terms. You will soon begin to think that they are just inventing a type of blog by attaching a random letter in front of 'log." Which is probably not too far from the reality. There is no need to fear though. We have created a short and concise guide to the world of blogging to help you make sense of a type of media that seems to be taking over the Internet.

First of all the basics

What is a blog?

A blog is a form of communication written from a personal perspective for public consumption. The key is that a blog is not objective. It is completely subjective and that is part of the reason for the popularity of blogs. When you read one you almost feel like you "know" the person writing it. The blog typically communicates on a person-to-person level instead of addressing itself to a wider Audience. So, if we can summarize it we would basically describe a blog as something communicated on a personal level to the general public. And yes that seems to be an oxymoron. However, it is probably the best one sentence description of what a blog is without describing the technology itself. And since we are going to be discussing the various types of blogs we need to understand it at its most basic level.

FORMS OF THE BLOG

A blog 'format' is nothing other than the type of media used to create the blog. In an ever-increasing digital world we are given a large variety of options, which we can use to communicate with other people. Naturally, most of these devices have been used to generate a blog. And if they not, they soon will be. So, with that in mind lets discuss some of the most prevalent variations on the traditional blog.

VLOG / VLOGGING / VIDEO BLOGGING

The 'vlog' is something that emerged relatively recently. Essentially it is exactly what its name describes. It is a video recording addressed on a personal basis to the general public. This form of the blog has been adopted primarily by the corporate world, which sees it as a new way to communicate with the end-user or consumer. This is not a media that the average user has adopted - yet. However, with time expect this form of the blog to gain wider acceptance and greater popularity.

A new and emerging type of "Vlog" is the Vodcast, which is nothing more than a "live" version of the vlog.

Some helpful links for Vlogs: Wikpedia entry for Vlog evideoshare offers the ability to share vlogs with others Vodcasts.tv offers a comprehensive directory of vlogs on almost any subject

MOBLOGGING / MOBILE BLOGGING

Moblogging is a "style" of blogging. Essentially it means to blog on the go from a portable device of some type. Most of these types of blogs take the form of pictures with the picture of something serving the same purpose of words.

One good reason to consider a moblog is when you want to give someone else the experience of being at an event without being physically present. Of course this also applies to the aforementioned vlog. The "new baby" seems to be a popular reason to moblog. And the concept of 'babies' can be applied very loosely since corporations are also using it to introduce new products with just as much frequency. One could almost make the case for giving this type of blog entry (the photo) the moniker of "Phlog" but then again do we really need another term to keep track of? No, probably not.

The other form of a moblog is the blog entry made from a digital communication device such as a bluetooth or a pocket PC. Essentially, there is no difference between a traditional blog and this type of moblog other than the fact that you are doing it on the go.

Some helpful links for Moblogs: Flickrblog is a service that allow you to quickly post pictures to your blog SnapNpost is another company that offers assistance with posting photos

FLOG (s) / FAKE BLOGS

As soon as a new technology emerges it is only shortly thereafter that it is adopted for nefarious purposes by the business world. Of course the purpose is only nefarious from the point of view of the consumer. For the corporation it is usually a pretty good idea. And of course this applies to the'flog.' A flog is just what it says. It is a fake blog. It is a blog written from the perspective of a fictional individual for the purpose of hyping some product or service or in some cases for the sole purpose of deception.

Of course corporations aren't the only ones to do flogs. It is probably just as popular with individuals but most of them are able to keep it secret much better and for a longer period of time.

PODCASTING

Podcasting may seem to fall outside the scope of the blog but in most cases it does not. A podcast is nothing more than a personal radio show, which is broadcast from the individuals' own computer or other digital device. The only major difference in a podcast and a blog is that the podcast usually lasts for a certain period of time and is given "live" whereas the various types of blogs are usually a record of what happened in the past whether that past is a few minutes or several days.