What is blogging?

Blogging is a way for people to express their personal thoughts, ideas, knowledge and viewpoints about a variety of subjects on the internet, in simple terms. Unlike magazine or newspaper journaling, blogs are available as soon as the individual posts them; anyone with access to the world wide web can write one, and anyone with a special interest or hobby can, almost certainly, find a blog on that subject. Readers can subscribe to particular blogs that peak their interest, or, if there isn't one-create their own. If you wanted to keep up with your favorite movie or rock star, sports team, or any special group, blogging is the perfect way to do so. Blogging brings people together, even internationally, on the same subject-it has revolutionized the way we, as humans journal, and even interact with one another. Not only do blogs keep people updated on personal, it is also a very powerful political, and even economic tool. Since quite a few blog writers are professionals, either in their field of study or at writing, they can be very persuasive, especially if you're a follower of the writer.



The term "weblog" was first used in 1997 by Jorn Barger, editer of Robot Wisdom. When people hear the term "blog" today, its so common and widely used that no one really has to think about what blogs are anymore, which is why this post's prompt is definately the hardest for me to tackle. I remember when Xanga was the cool thing in Jr. High, which I guess is really just blogging for pre-teens and teens, so how can I define a term that is as common as hearing someone say they just ate a cheeseburger?





It's hard. Google even has a search engine (Google Blog) just for looking up specific blogs. Some of the most popular blogs (according to mpdailyfix.com) are those written by widely known people, such as celebrities, or people who are well known for exceptional writting.



I recently changed my major to Biology, and when I typed in "biology" to the Google blog engine, there were 753,000,000 results. Before the internet was widely used, scientist would conduct experiments, gather data, etc., and then wait for someone to post their study in a science journal, or publish it themselves for other scientists to review and use. Now, if you wanted to find a published article about the genetic predisposition for autism, you would not have to wait or even search journals yourself. Simply typing in "genetic predisposition for autism" yield 4,475 results. With just the click of a button, you have what you need at your fingertips.



Modern medicine has the potential to greatly benefit from blogging as well. Results from tests conducted on patients with any disease or disorder can be shared almost instantly with medical researchers across the globe.



My mom taught elementary school for sixteen years. I remember times when the school would ask her to start teaching a new concept. Days would pass with my mom racking her brain for lesson plans that would effectively get the point across without boring her 8-year-olds to tears. Blogging would be excellent in this case. Experienced teachers post blogs on, say, multiplication, write and report lesson plans they used in their own classroom that taught the students the lesson in an interesting way. My mom is now the Director of Nursing at Canyon Lakes, a rehabilitation center for pre-teens and teens in Lubbock. These kids are very troubled because they have had such hard lives, and sometimes they are a little hard to handle. There are literally thousands of blogs with advice on how to best help these teens so that my mom and her staff could get helpful pointers from specialists or even parents who have been there and seen results from the actions they advise you to take.



I can't think of a single profession where blogging would not prove useful. Not only is it an easy way to find what your looking for with only a few words or a short phrase, but it's an excellent way to learn something new that could be very useful to you.



Hobbies are also easy to follow blog-wise. I love yoga, and though I'm just beginning, I know I will want to continue practicing for a long while. Lubbock is not exactly crawling with yoga studios, and though most gyms do offer a class, it's simply not the same experience I get when practicing the way I like to practice. By following yoga blogs, I will be able to learn new poses, find out how to get the most out of my practice, and read up on how to maximize time I set aside for yoga.


I think that anyone in modern times could find several different uses for blogging and, though maybe not willingly, has been effected by it's effects on society.