A blog is a website that allows the creation and dissemination of content, in most cases, on a specific topic and in which knowledge and opinions are shared on a regular basis.
Blogs are also called virtual logs or virtual diaries, depending on the objective they fulfilled when their use began to become popular.
One of its most notable features is the creation of articles (also called entries or posts) that are displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent appears first).
The word blog derives from webloga term created by the American writer Jorn Barguer in 1997 to shorten the phrase “logging the web” (register or annotate on the web).
Later, in 1999, blogger Peter Merholz turned the word weblog in the phrase we blogand since then, blog is used as a noun and verb (to blog).
That same year, the Blogger platform emerged, which allowed the creation of online blogs, and which later led to the frequent use of terms related to this activity, for example, blog, blogger (blogger), blogosphere and blogging (the action of updating a blog periodically).
The technical advantage of a blog with respect to a web page is that it can be used by any user, without the need for them to have any degree of knowledge in programming or web design.
In addition, the costs of creating or maintaining an online blog are generally very low and even free, compared to what it costs to have your own website.
On the other hand, blogs also allow you to create a community, understood as a group of people (users of other blogs and readers) united by common interests, which generally have to do with the topic that is regularly written about on the website.
These communities are created from the interactions between their participants. For example, comments on blog posts, forums, recommendations from other blogs, out-of-world events on-lineamong others.
Although there are practically no limitations regarding the topics discussed in blogs, the most popular ones have to do with cooking, health, travel, politics, and digital marketing.
Blog history
The history of blogs begins in the nineties, and is preceded by internet forums, in which users could generate comment threads.
The first blogs emerged as a need for users to keep a personal diary online, which allowed it to be read by anyone with an internet connection.
It was Justin Hall, a university student from the United States, who became one of the pioneers of this format, publishing details about his life on his blog. links.netin 1994.
With the emergence of the Blogger platform in 1999, the possibility that anyone could create their own blog without technical knowledge catapulted not only virtual blogs, but a new way of generating digital content.
Today there are several types of blogging services, allowing digital readers to have access to a wide diversity of topics, opinions and knowledge shared by bloggers from anywhere in the world.
From 2004 to 2016, Germany’s international broadcasting service (Deutsche Welle) awarded the work of bloggers dedicated to disseminating information related to human rights, freedom of expression, politics and digital security with the award. Best Of Online Activism (BOBS).
This shows the relevance that blogs have, not only in the world. on-linebut in public opinion.