The internet is a vast place where sites of all kinds coexist. From ecommerce to news to social networking, there are literally thousands of things to do and see. A remarkable amount of internet traffic is claimed by blogs, personal sites that have seen an enormous rise in popularity over the last decade. Here, we’ll provide a crash course on the blogosphere.

• What is a blog?

  Blog is short for web log, a site dedicated to discussion or information, usually about a particular topic. Information is usually displayed in reverse chronological order. They can be as simple as a single person’s musings about the auto industry or as complex as a massive news site like The Huffington Post. The defining factor is that the site is comprised of posts, entries that are dated and displayed on the site. Most allow readers to comment on posts and interact with the blogger.

• Who has one?

  The identities of those who maintain blogs are as diverse as the internet itself. Many teens maintain blogs that function as online diaries. Commercially, many business maintain company them in order to draw potential customers. Many news sites also technically fit the category, employing hundreds or even thousands for their operation.

• Where are they located?

  Though some bloggers opt to purchase domain names for their sites, many operate through services like Tumblr, WordPress, Blogester, and Blogsport. These sites provide free hosting for millions of blogs. Many companies choose to integrate them directly into their sites.

• What is the point?

  Blogs provide a place for users with a certain topic in common to interact. Many companies find them useful as a part of their online marketing campaigns, using them to generate buzz. The younger generation uses the internet for a large component of their social interaction and uses blog posts as a way to share information with one another.

• How do I read them?

  It’s easy to access a blog, and almost even easier to find one. A simple Google search for the topic of interest will undoubtedly yield plenty of blog results. Becoming a member of a site like Tumblr also enables users to follow certain users, placing any posts from them in reverse chronological order on one page. Many users choose to use an RSS feed where all sites added to the list are included in an automatically updated list of recent posts.

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