Any Star Trek fans out there?

Just checking…

So, what is a blog?

Ok… well, these days, a blog can be a full-blown website, as well. At least, some people will call their sites blogs. Sometimes the terms are interchangeable. I suppose it depends on who you talk to.

So, how many blogs are there on the Internet? In 2013, this site created a lovely infographic. They figured out there were at least 152 million blogs. Check the Worldometer to see real-time data on how many blog posts are happening at this moment. The Washington Post even calculated how many bloggers might live in their parents’ basement. We know that’s not you, but it’s still entertaining to read.

People read blogs now the way they used to read newspapers. In fact, many news sites are set up like blogs. There’s a blog for everything. There are sites that are blog platforms. People sign up to use a provided framework (Blogger, WordPress.com, Edublogs, Tumblr, etc.) to post things. The Disney Channel even had a show called “Dog with a Blog.” We know dogs don’t blog (or DO they?) but it is a funny concept.

Sometimes, blogs can be quite strange, such as the Lonely Cheetos Tumblr blog. Or there are blogs about strange things, such as I Have Seen the Whole of the Internet.

There’s a blog for everything. So that means they can’t be hard to set up, right? Right! They aren’t! But it does take work keeping them busy, occupied and inviting. If you don’t feed your blog, it will wilt and die. Google will hate it and rate it accordingly. You’ll loose readers. And you’ll suck big time for starting something cool and dropping the bomb. Drop the mic, instead. Post mind-blowing stuff. Teach people things. That’s what blogs are good for.

You’re ready to start blogging, right? Yes, yes you are. So go to our Edublogs area – sites.gsu.edu – and set up a blog. If you need help with sites.gsu.edu, read my other post. 🙂

Blogging Resources Outside of What GSU Offers

• How to Start a Blog
• How to Start a Blog (in 5 Easy Steps)
• How to Start a Blog – the Beginner’s Guide to Successful Blogging
• An infographic about the “Well-Balanced Blog” (quite clever using food groups as examples)

Do your own search…