Is Blogging For You? Take This Quick Quiz

There's a new craze sweeping the world. It's called 'blogging'and a new blog is being created every few seconds. But what is it allabout and should you join in?

What The Hell Is A Blog Anyway?

Theword 'blog' is a shortened version of 'web blog'. A 'web log' justmeans a log or diary-type entry on the web. So if you were awaytravelling on a round the world trip you might post a diary on awebsite so your friends and family could keep up to date with yourprogress. On this online diary, or 'web blog' you might also postphotos for your friends and family to view.

And so - the BLOGwas born. And it's really nothing more than that - a collection ofthoughts and information from one individual to be read and seen byothers.

So What Makes A Blog Different To A Website?

Ablog is more immediate and informal. A blog doesn't have a homepage assuch - it just has blog entries or 'posts'. The author or 'blogger'makes regular posts into the blog that are archived as new ones areadded.

The main difference between a website and a blog is thata blog is designed to be added to much more frequently than a website.Some blogs are added to by their authors once a day or more! But it hasto be said that such bloggers are in the minority.

Is Blogging For You?

Well,it provides you with a unique opportunity to keep in close contact witha specific group of people. The CEO of a company may choose to launch ablog to keep in touch with staff members and shareholders. As abusiness-owner you might want to start a blog to let your customers orsuppliers know what is happening in your business.

Blogs are not for everyone, so here's a few key questions to ask yourself.

Question 1

Do you want to keep in close contact, on a one-to-one basis with a specific group of individuals?

Question 2

Blogger

Doyou have the time to add a new and valuable information to your blog atleast once a week? (Or can you pay someone to do this on your behalf?)

Question 3

Doyou find that people are always coming to you wanting more informationabout your product or services and that maybe posting regular updateson the Internet about this might free up your time to be spent on otheractivities?

Question 4

Are you offering information products or services that you can provide 'tasters' of in a blog?

If you find yourself answering yes to most of these question then you should seriously consider starting your very own blog.

It's A Gut Feel Thing

Ultimatelythe decision comes down to whether you have things to say to others ona one-to-one basis. Unlike many websites you see out there, a blog isvery much a person-to-person experience. A corporate blog wouldn'treally work unless you had a face and name that people could put to allthe posts.

It's also worth noting that a blog can be a two-waycommunication tool. Most of the blog software available includesoptions for readers to be able to post comments in response to what hasbeen written. This can be an excellent marketing and research tool foryour business if handled in the right way.

Whatever you do -don't take the decision to start a blog lightly. It can be a bigcommitment and once you've started out on that road there's no goingback. People will be regularly checking your blog after you'vepublicised it and the pressure is then on to deliver readable materialon a regular basis.

Some Blogging Software To Consider

Six Apart

Typepad - very popular and comes with a free trial and upgrade options: Typepad.com
BlogHarbour - also comes with a free 30-day trial Blogharbor.com
Blogger - the 'grand daddy' of blogging Blogger.com

Happy blogging!

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