Saturday 17 September 2011

Blogging: Express yourself


Blogging is one of the easiest ways to express your views on the Web. Blogging started as logging of personal data or maintaining a personal dairy online but it has a wider meaning now.  With technology changing every day, bloggers can post texts, pictures and videos on their blogs. Readers following any particular blog find it easy to keep track of updates about a particular topic or person.

The history of blogging goes back to 1997 when Jorn Barger, an American blogger, coined the term ‘weblog’ which was later changed to ‘we blog’ and then to just ‘blog’. Earlier, there were people who, online, used to maintain their personal day-to-day information regularly and there was no weblog publishing services available.

Later, Open Diary was launched in October 1998. It became the first blog where readers could add comments to other writers' blog posts. The next year, Brad Fitzpatrick, a well known blogger started LiveJournal in March 1999. Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan of Pyra Labs launched blogger.com in August 1999. The site was later taken over by Google in February 2003. Blogging gained popularity with the introduction of many blog publishing sites.

At present, there are many sites that allow you to register and start your own blog. On your blog, you can not only post texts but also upload pictures, videos and other stuff using thousands of blogging applications available for free. 

Most popular websites providing blog publishing services include blogspot.com, wordpress.com, typepad.com and many more. People can monetize their blogs by posting advertisements using Adsense or other online ad services available. Bloggers can allow readers to comment on their post or rate their posts according to their likings. They can also restrict the viewing of their personal blogs using various options available on their blog’s dashboard.


In the age of information technology, many celebrities have started blogs, to be in touch with fans. Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan were among the first few celebrities who started blogging and others followed suit. They started their blogs to use the might of information technology because Bachchan said he was quoted out of context by journalists. He also has recently launched his vocal blog ‘Bol Bachchan’ but it is a premium service application, of a telecom operator, and listeners have to pay a premium charge of Rs 6 per minute, to hear his voice.

Not only professional journalists, writers and film stars there are many bloggers who have gained popularity on Internet through their blogs. There are many more popular Indian bloggers, who are not celebrities but their blogs are followed by thousands of people worldwide. To name a few, Meenakshi Raghavan Reddy is one such blogger who writes about her experiences with life and people around her on thecompulsiveconfessor. While Amit Verma, who was named the Best Blogger in 2005, comments on politics and social life on India Uncut.  Akshay Mahajan is a photo blogger. He says in his blog: There is so much beauty in the overlooked details of our world.” He turned his hobby of photography into a lucrative career and has become a famous young photo blogger. Other popular Indian bloggers include Kamala Bhat, Rashmi Bansal, Sakshi Juneja and others.

These writers write on almost everything under the sun. They not only write about their experiences but also comment on politics, bollywood, sports, parenting, management and other relevant issues.  Many of these bloggers have moved to their own websites after clicks on their blogs increased.

So if you feel the urge of expressing your thoughts and want the world to know about your thinking; ‘Just Blog’.

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