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The
Great Blog Craze
May 5, 2004
A blog (short for Web log) is a Web page with short frequently
updated posts arranged in chronological order. This layout allows
you to view the most recent posts at the top of the page, while
the older ones get pushed down the page. Blogs—which are
created using easy-to-use templates-- can be news sites, personal
diaries or chronological musings on a wide range of topics.
Some blogs are specifically about politics or music, for instance,
while some post on an eclectic array of topics. Many businesses
use blogs to post the latest info about their services, but
some of the most popular blogs online are created by regular
people who like to post their ideas for the world to read. Blogs
can be more interesting and up-to-date than regular static web
pages. They also make excellent communication tools for groups,
since they allow readers to submit comments after each post,
giving it an element of the message board. To make it even more
communal, most blogs tend to link to other blogs, creating what
is known in cyberspace as the “blogosphere.”
Personal Blogs:
Services like Xanga or Blogger
offer easy-to-use templates so you can create your own personal
blog without needing much technical know-how. You can use your
blog to document the events of your day so your friends and
family can stay in touch, or you can post stories, graphics,
or anything you feel like putting on the Web. All kinds of people
use personal blogs. Some instructors at UCD are beginning to
use them to offer updated course info. Even the major presidential
candidates George W. Bush (georgewbush.com/blog) and John Kerry
(blog.johnkerry.com) maintain blogs that catalog the events
of their campaigns.
Community Blogs:
Community blogs are a great way to find people with similar
interests. There are blogs about specific types of music, hobbies,
games, academics, sexual orientations, race, and more. For example,
LiveJournal features
a community blog for UC Davis students at www.livejournal.com/community/ucdavis/.
You don’t need to be a LiveJournal user to post in it.
Another interesting and well-known community blog on the internet
is Metafilter, which
posts eclectic content on culture, politics, and current events
from users across the world.
Technology Blogs:
The popular Slashdot highlights
the latest in technology news, including technology-related
laws and software announcements. The campus’ own TechNews
provides headlines from campus and off-campus news sources on
matters such as virus alerts, industry news, educational technology,
and more. You can even subscribe to have the headlines delivered
to your inbox in a weekly email.
Blogs About Blogs
- Blogdex tracks popular
topics as they travel from blog to blog. Reading blogdex gives
you a list of the most blogged-about items (news stories,
web links, etc.) on the internet for that day.
- Bloglines
lists the most visited blogs each day.
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