What is a blog?How Blogs Have Changed the InternetHow Blogs Have Changed the InternetHow Blogs Have Changed SocietyPoliticsThe NewsControversyVarious other ProblemsBlogs and YouBlogs and You, cont.How to BeginCommentingSome Popular SitesBLOGS:Sharing Your WorldWhat is a blog?• An abbreviation of web-log• Web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles, usually in reverse chronological order• Range from individual diaries, to media programs, to tutorial resources• Continuously updated by the blogauthor, termed “blogger”How Blogs Have Changed the Internet• Pre-Cursors: online diaries, bulletin boards, email lists, forum software• Browsers, HTML and multimedia made it easy for the masses to receive compelling content from a variety of sources but it was not so easy for those same masses to produce content. • The problem was that the masses did not have the time, energy or desire to master the skills required to create and distribute content. While most did have the desire to share personal content, they did not have the motivation to invest the personal resources that a Web site demanded.How Blogs Have Changed the Internet• This led to a lot of poorly designed sites with stale material• Blogging tools have removed virtually all the technical barriers that previously prohibited publication by the masses. • Now, everyone with something to say or share can do so without needing to learn new skills.• The internet can be used as a collaborative medium, as first envisioned.How Blogs Have Changed Society• Since the printing press, content and its distribution have been controlled by the rich and the powerful. • Prior to blogs, content basically flowed one way: Was created and distributed by the few and then funneled down to the individual.• Because bloggers can publish anything to a global audience they begin to view the world around them through a “blogging lens”. Everyday events suddenly become potential blog posts. • Has led to some people becoming famous.Politics• The fall of US Senate leader Trent Lott: First blog-driven political controversy• Established politicians and candidates expressing their opinionsThe News• Iraq: The First “Blog War”, explosion of passionate bloggers• Soldiers and bloggers in Baghdad offer a new viewpoint• “Breaking, shaping, and spinning” news stories• Expert bloggers giving their analysesControversy• Friendships Destroyed• Online diaries are integrated into the daily lives of many teenagers and college students, with communications between friends playing out over their blogs. Even fights may be posted in the diaries, with not-so-veiled insults of each other easily readable by all their friends, enemies, and complete strangers. • Secrets Revealed• You’re not exempt from repercussions of what you write• Fired from job, famous case: Jessica Cutler • Cases at Microsoft, Google, FriendsterVarious other Problems• Blogging on the job• Neglecting other commitments• Increasing individual’s use of the internet• To be utilized, without allowing it to take over your lifeBlogs and You• Your very own audience, a way to feel heard• Share yourself with a virtual community• Share your passions• Communicate your ideas• Find others with similar interestsBlogs and You, cont.• Keep in touch with family and friends• Discover yourself, and others• Learn what it is to be a human in this world• Writing about things that matters to you allows you to question yourself and express your feelingsHow to Begin• What will your blog be about?• Who will your audience be?• Sign up with a site, usually for free• Post pictures• A few hours of work a weekCommenting• A comment system allows users to post their own comments on an article or "thread." • Some blogs do not have comments, or have a closed commenting system which requires approval from those running the blog.Some Popular Sites• GreatestJournal.com•Pitas.com• Xanga.com• LiveJournal.com• Blogger.com• DeadJournal.com• Use PHP, Perl,