How to blog

‘I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train’ – Oscar Wilde, novelist and playwright. Gwen Cheeseman updates your journal

What is it? – the term blog is short for weblog. This is a website on which somebody, or a group of people have placed a kind of Internet diary which is regularly updated, and shows the newest entry first. You can scroll back through and read the older entries. Maintaining or running a blog is called blogging. This concept is different from a forum or a newsgroup, because only the person whose blog it is can bring up a subject for discussion.

How do you set one up? – there are plenty of websites that will host your blog, allow you to update it easily (you don’t have to be an Internet expert to blog), and control what your blog looks like. A simple Internet search will bring up many of these sites, so have a look around until you think you’ve chosen the one that suits you best. Most of the sites are free of charge.

Not just words – although most blogs start off as online journals, they can now be much more than a text-based diary. You can upload photographs, drawings, music, or even videos.

Too friendly? – even though your blogging community and hosting website may seem really friendly, you must remember that this is the Internet and you need to keep yourself safe. Anyone can access and read your blog, as can automated ‘crawlers’ which scan the Internet looking for e-mail addresses to add to their libraries. So never disclose your personal e-mail address – unless you want to be bombarded with spam. You should also be wary of posting pictures of people, even your friends. Not everyone wants their face on the Internet so it’s best to ask first.

Who am I? – many people are happy to go on the Internet as themselves, but others prefer to go incognito, so think about whether to use your real name or not on your blog. If you’re nervous, use a nickname and make sure you don’t give out personal information.

Prepare to be challenged – readers of your blog may disagree and post unwelcome comments. However, if anyone is offensive you can prevent them from commenting on your post. Happy blogging!

 

"Although most blogs start off as online journals, they can now be much more than a text-based diary. You can upload photographs, drawings, music, or even videos"