What is Blog | Use of Blog | Types of Blog

Basics of Blog:

• What is a blog?
• Why we use a blog?
• How blogs are useful in education?
• Types of Blogs.

What is a Blog?

             A Blog is nothing but a website that is published on Wolrd Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries(we can say "posts") for discussion or informational motive. It usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page.

Why we Use a Blog?

             A blog can be used to facilitate group work, a number of commentators argue that blogs encourage reflective learning, they can be used as a diary to keep a record of achievement and of interesting material. The way that blogs are typically organized allows the reader/viewer to recontextualise posts according to categories and dates as well as allowing the user to use keywords to search for posts on any topic. 

             A Blog can decrease feelings of isolation for distance students, and promote the shift from surface to deep learning. A blog is more successful in promoting interactivity that is conversational as opposed to other online discussions. Research also suggests that blogs allow a more creative response from students and that the open and inter-linked nature of blogs connects learners to contexts beyond the classroom.

How Blogs are useful in Education:

             Educators are using blogs in many ways including as online portfolios, for student personal reflective journals, as a record of field notes, as discipline-specific spaces for knowledge sharing, as a space for student dialogue and for class administration. To keep up with cutting-edge research as it happens.

Types of Blog Sites:

1. Personal blogs:

             The personal blog is an ongoing online diary or commentary written by an individual, rather than a corporation or organization. While the vast majority of personal blogs attract very few readers, other than the blogger's immediate family and friends, a small number of personal blogs have become popular, to the point that they have attracted lucrative advertising sponsorship. A tiny number of personal bloggers have become famous, both in the online community and in the real world.

An example of Personal Blog:
Niraj Panchasara

2.Collaborative blogs or group blogs:

             A type of weblog in which posts are written and published by more than one author. The majority of high-profile collaborative blogs are based around a single uniting theme, such as politics, technology or advocacy. In recent years, the blogosphere has seen the emergence and growing popularity of more collaborative efforts often set up by already established bloggers wishing to pool time and resources, both to reduce the pressure of maintaining a popular website and to attract a larger readership.

An Example of Collaborative blogs or group blogs: 

i. MetaFilter (known as "MeFi")

MeFi(MetaFilter)

             Metafilter(MeFi) is a weblog that anyone can contribute a link or a comment to. A typical weblog is one person posting their thoughts on the unique things they find on the web. This website exists to break down the barriers between people, to extend a weblog beyond just one person, and to foster discussion among its members.

3.Microblogging

             Microblogging is the practice of posting small pieces of digital content which could be text, pictures, links, short videos, or other media on the Internet. Microblogging offers a portable communication mode that feels organic and spontaneous to many users. It has captured the public imagination, in part because the short posts are easy to read on the go or when waiting. Friends use it to keep in touch, business associates use it to coordinate meetings or share useful resources, and celebrities and politicians (or their publicists) microblog about concert dates, lectures, book releases, or tour schedules. A wide and growing range of add-on tools enables sophisticated updates and interaction with other applications. The resulting profusion of functionality is helping to define new possibilities for this type of communication. Examples of these include Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and, by far the largest, Weibo.

Facebook TwitterTumblr. weibo

4.Corporate and Organizational Blogs

             A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business or not-for-profit organization or government purposes. Blogs used internally, and only available to employees via an Intranet are called corporate blogs. Companies use internal corporate blogs enhance the communication, culture and employee engagement in a corporation. Internal corporate blogs can be used to communicate news about company policies or procedures, build employee esprit de corps and improve morale. Companies and other organizations also use external, publicly accessible blogs for marketing, branding, or public relations purposes. Some organizations have a blog authored by their executive; in a practice, many of these executive blog posts are penned by a ghostwriter, who makes posts in the style of the credited author. Similar blogs for clubs and societies are called club blogs, group blogs, or by similar names; a typical use is to inform members and other interested parties of a club and member activities.

Examples of Corporate and Organizational Blogs:

i. Disney Park Blog

DisneyPark Blog

             Disney brings its magical touch to blogging on its Disney Parks Blog. While the Disney brand is at heart focused on the kids, this blog’s content is perfect for parents looking to get some traveling tips.Unlike most blogs, Disney’s doesn’t emphasize its social networking profiles; instead, it only has RSS and Email subscription links. Disney does not include social sharing buttons for Twitter and Facebook at the bottom of every post, either.

ii. Starbucks

Starbucks Blog

             Starbucks has a rather plain blog; it’s simply titled Starbucks. It focuses on the culture of coffee drinkers, from the food to elements that make up the coffeehouse environment.

5.Aggregated blogs:

             Individuals or organization may aggregate selected feeds on a specific topic, product or service and provide a combined view for its readers. This allows readers to concentrate on reading instead of searching for quality on-topic content and managing subscriptions. Many such aggregations called planets from a name of Planet (software) that perform such aggregation, hosting sites usually have a planet. subdomain in a domain name  

Example of Aggregate Blog:

planet.gnom.org

Planet GNOME

6. By Genre:

             Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, journalism blogs, health blogs, travel blogs (also known as travelogs), gardening blogs, house blogs, book blogs,fashion blogs, beauty blogs, lifestyle blogs, party blogs, wedding blogs, photography blogs, project blogs, psychology blogs, sociology blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs, legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs), or dream logs. How to/Tutorial blogs are becoming increasingly popular.

7. Media Type Blogs:

             A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketch blog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog. Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called tumblelogs. Blogs that are written on typewriters and then scanned are called typecast or typecast blogs. A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a phlog.

8.Devise Blogs:

            A blog can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA could be called a moblog.One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance. Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.

9.Reverse Blogs:

             A reverse blog is composed by its users rather than a single blogger. This system has the characteristics of a blog, and the writing of several authors. These can be written by several contributing authors on a topic, or opened up for anyone to write. There is typically some limit to the number of entries to keep it from operating like a web forum.