What is a weblog

Asks panda

A. A weblog or blog as they are sometimes known, is an online diary.

Q. Who writes them

A. Anyone can write one and become a 'blogger' and most of the ones you'll

find online are written by ordinary people ' they're just after a bit of

attention.

Q. What are they like

A. They are usually a cross between the diaries of Bridget Jones and Adrian

Mole ' but often not as funny and they've moved on from being simply text

based to including a photo of the diarist and some animation, plus a chat

section that allows you to comment on what you've read or join in on a

discussion or debate. Some weblogs can be cringingly personal, but the

success of any diary or weblog is bound up in the fact that they tell

everything warts and all, and once you get hooked on a weblog they can

become addictive and hard to give up ' you start caring about the person

especially if they are funny, and you forget that they should get a life

instead of sharing it with the world. But the majority of them are pretty

dull.

Q. How would I find a weblog online, or actually start writing one myself

A. You can either trawl through a search engine and they will literally

throw back thousands of blogs at you, or you can go through a weblog portal

like www.blogger.com (this site will get you started providing page

templates, tips on importing photos and java script, plus guidelines on

making your copy exciting) or http://www.lights.com/pickalink/weblogs/ (this

site offers tips, tools and links for web logs) or

http://www.citizenx.com/default.asp or

http://greenspun.com/boohoo/related.tcl page_id=OnlineWriters.

All of these portals will enable you to start your own online diary

immediately, providing some choice examples of good weblogs to get your

started, or let you peruse through the hundreds of diaries they host. The

weblog will then be given its own web address that you can chose to

advertise as you please, or it can be hyperlinked to your home page if you

have one. You can then update your blog as often as you wish. All updates

are presented in chronological order, the last entry appearing first.

Alternatively, your ISP may well provide you with free web space when you

subscribe; these pages are often used as weblogs.

Q. Can you give me an example of some weblogs

A. To give you an idea of some online gems check out www.loobylu.com and

http://lightningfield.com.

Q. Are weblogs used for any other purpose than self-promotion

A. Usually that is the point of them, but they can be used by more than one

person for passing information more efficiently than through email. For

example, you can set up a family weblog where members of your family

(especially relevant if they are scattered around the world) can update each

other on what they've been up to ' this is a lot cheaper than using the

phone and can be accessed at any time by any member of your family. You can

also include family snaps.

If you have any other Internet & Technology related questions, please click

here

By Karen Anderson