Columns

Some websites are collections of solo blogs tucked inside another bigger blog community. These solo blogs in this settings are sometimes called columns. They tend to showcase the writing of a single blog author in her own style and often give her a dedicated section of the community site. Usually there is a cohensive design brand overall, but sometimes the columns display each author's own decorative point of view.

Occasionally, an independently-produced solo blog indicates that it is part of a larger blog network by displaying a button or banner on its site. This indicates that it is part of an overall community, but neither a column nor necessary a group or traditional community blog.

Good of Community

While writing with bloggers who are similar to you is great in the small scale, a larger blog with more authors, a community blog, can bring diversity to your audience. Having an eclectic group of authors allows your readers to connect with the blogger who is most like them, it offers a little something for everyone. Variety is the spice of life.

Community blogs are a growing trend. A community blog can provide a haven for people with similar interests or attitudes to commune and chit-chat with not only the blog authors, but also with each other. Some community blogs offer additional features, such as forums or message boards, so that readers can connect, set up profiles, and create even more content than you might otherwise be able to achieve with a solo blog.

The Group Scoop

A group blog tends to be on a bit smaller scale than a community blog. Usually two or three friends get together and share one blog, each writing entries in their own unique voice. The topics of group blogs are varied, just like a solo blog, and can run the gamut from personal blog to gossip to fashion.

Working with a couple of people can be a good way to start out, as it can be more exciting than blogging alone and easier to manage than dozens of authors. It still gives each blogger a feeling of empowerment without it spiraling into something bigger than you can handle. When you get too many cooks in the kitchen, sometimes the tone of a blog can change, and you or your readers can become uninterested. So it is important to choose bloggers that mesh with your groove to write with.

Knitting Blogs

Knitting is the new black. Since knitting exploded into the pop culture in the early 2000s, everyone seems to enjoy the many benefits of knitting. Many people find it meditative, others appreciate always having a gift on hand for that last-minute baby shower invite. And junk food addicts like that it keeps their hands busy when they are tempted to plow through a bag of sour cream and cheddar chips.

There are a zillion knitting blogs and communities with all the information you could possibly need to become a needle-wielding diva. Give a few a read, share your insights by commenting, and watch as you spin your way into the knitting blog circle.

Dieting and Fitness Blogs

The diet and fitness industry is a multibillion dollar business, and many people are perpetually trying to achieve their ideal weight or fitness goals. Enter diet and fitness blogs.

As many weight loss programs and diets there are in the world, you can find about an equal amount of websites dedicated to the subject. Some are commercial in nature, but many are blogs. While you can run across very disturbing blogs that are pro-anorexia or pro-bulimia, these are not the sites referring to. What referred here is about healthy fitness and nutrition.

A diet/fitness blog is most often written from a first-person point of view, chronicling a person's journey to get fit. In this vein, you will sometimes see bloggers logging their food intake or tracking their workouts. Other times, the diet or fitness blog is written more as a resource, providing recipes or workout tips.

If you are on a journey to get fit, consider starting a diet and fitness blog. While it can be scary to put yourself out there like that, it is a great way to garner support and encouragement, as well as keep you honest about your intake and exercise level. Sharing recipes and tips draws in new readers with like-minded goals enabling you to connect with others on your same path.

Gossip Blogs

Girls, who doesn't love to sit around and gab about the latest celebrity scandals, fashions, and romances? Gossip blogs have to be rivaling mommy blogs for the fastest growing segment of the blog community, and it seems like every day a new one pops up.

Most gossip blogs tend to be a bit on the catty side, dishing up editorial commentary about celebrities, in addition to the actual scoop. The entries are often accompanied by photos, sometimes with watermarking (captions to prevent theft ot indicate where the image originated). Some gossip sites even include celebrity sightings in real time.

When it comes to gossip blogs, it should be quality, not quantity. Some gossip blogs overwhelm you with too much information. Some gossip blogs give you new content on every detail about thousands of times a day. However, if gossip is your bag, may be a gossip blog is just the ticket for you.

Mommy Blogs

Personal blogs by women tend to fall into the mommy blog category, and sometimes they get stuck there. This is an unfair labelling, as often blogs by women get pegged as mommy blogs simply because the bloggers happen to be mothers. Even if a woman with children blogs about stock market, someone somewhere will call it a mommy blog just because she has kids. There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a mommy blog, but let the label fit the blog. A mommy blog is much more than a mention of your child or the fact that you happen to have one.

Mommy blogs tend to focus on the day-to-day life of a mom, with the majority of entries specifically about her children, parenting, and coping with being a mom. Mommy blogs are ways for moms to connect with one another to get advice or read about other moms' experiences. Or, sometimes it is a way to spend time not discussing their children, as a way to have some adult interaction and support from those in the know.

Some mommy blogs are not personal blogs, but more of a collective or community blog that shares pesonal anecdotes, parenting tips and advice. Moms are getting in on the video blogging and podcasting markets as well, so there is room for you and room to grow if you are interested in starting a mommy blog.

Of course the flipside of the mommy blog is the daddy blog, although you do not often seen it called that. And people usually call a blog written by a mixed gender couple a parenting blog. Mommy blogs are big business right now, as women make up the majority of the advertising target audience. A blog that contains quality content and receives reasonable traffic can make money from advertising.

With mommy blogs appearing to grow faster than any other blog demographic, there are a myriad to choose from.

Personal Blogs

Many people find creating personal blogs cathartic, a way for them to get things off their chests, like writing in a diary or journal. This is one of the great things about blogging. It encourages people to speak their minds. But remember that sharing your most intimate feelings or personal insights on the internet can leave you vulnerable to be attacked by others with opinions that you may not care for.

Those that just pop in to leave nasty comments are usually called trolls. For some reasons, they are usually men, they sometimes may be women. They are called trolls too. It is surprisingly juvenile, and it is not something that happens to everyone, just be prepared. The bottom line is post what you are comfortable with, and if someone does not like it, shine them on. It is only the internet, so their opinions are not that important afterall.

Purpose of Blogging

The possibilities of blogging are pretty boundless as long as you have an imagination and some extra time. There literally is a way for everyone to utilize a blog in some capacity that benefits in life or business. Listed is some of the ways people are using blogs:

Calling all mums - Mothers and parents all over the world are embracing the beauty of blogs as a way to chronicle the lives of their children, from pregnancy to birth to teen. Remembering everything about their pregnancy, even down to the heartburn, may sound like a chore, but for most, it is an endearing way to keep track of their life during that time. You can wax nostalgic for years to come over the day you posted your first ultrasound photo or reread your birthing experience.

Getting hitched - Keep a wedding blog to post news about your upcoming nuptials. Post directions to the hotel, links to your online registry, and a list of local attractions for out-of-towners. Or update the family on time changes, transportation options, and hotel reservation tips. It's a one thing to mass email your guest and to have a spot where your friends and family can all come to get to know about your big day.

Enhancing business - Blogs have changed the way professionals handle their business websites. Not only have companies embraced blogging as a way to connect with customers and lure potential clientele, but blogs have morphed into the hippest and easiest way to manage your site's content. Blogging isn't just a hobby anymore; it's a tool. It makes the internet a more information-rich place that is constantly fresh. Even i its sole purpose is to showcase press releases, your business or company can only benefit from using a blog.

You are crafty - Those of you with creative flair can think of something for which a blog might be useful. Blogs are huge among crafty people. Start a knitting blog and chronicle your latest projects or write tutorials, post sewing patterns, or share instructions on making a tea cozy. Whatever you like to create, using a blog to showcase it can be a lot of fun. By connecting with other people who enjoy creating as much as you do, you could eventually start a group blog with other like-minded crafties.

Podcasting - Podcasting has become yet another explosive trend that stemmed from blogging, and if you haven't heard of it yet, you most certainly will soon. Podcasting is, essentially, blogging with a microphone. It's like being on the radio, only the coolest part is that anyone can do it. You don't have to be a radio deejay or even a professional speaker.

Picture this - Are you an amateur or professional photographer? Make blogging an art by showcasing your views of the world in a photoblog. You can make the internet your art gallery by cleverly displaying your amazing photography skills or just show us pictures of stuff on your cat, whatever makes your flash bulb flicker.

This is just a short list of basic ideas and samples. You can do or blog just about anything. If you are the type who would prefer to blog for the sake of blogging, by all means, get yourself a domain name and start cracking. The world needs to hear what you have to say after all. What is crucial to remember is that blogs in any form are hot. It's a whole lot of fun.

Where to Home your Blog

There are two main methods for blogging: hosted blog services and stand-alone blog platforms.

A hosted blog service is usually owned by a company and offers blogging solutions on its own server either for free or for a small fee. These services are great for new bloggers looking for instant gratification and are a way to try out blogging without making a financial commitment. Some of the best quick and easy hosted blogging services are Wordpress.com and Blogger.com, primarily for their fast and simple set-up. With both, you could be blogging in under five minutes.

A stand-alone blog platform requires that you install a downloaded blog software program and then install that program on your own server space, usually rented through a hosting provider. You will need an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program and a bit of your inner geek in order to accomplish this, but it is not that challenging if you are patient and pay attention to the details. Some examples of stand-alone blog platforms are Expression Engine Core, Movable Type, and WordPress.org.

Common Elements and Definitions

Header: This is sometimes called a banner. In a traditional blog structure, this is usually found across the top of the blog, displaying the blog name or graphic.

Blog name/title: A blog name or blog title is whatever you've named your blog. This is often represented with text or graphic.

Content: Content is sometimes called the body, is the most essential element to any blog. This is where your blog entries lives. There are many variations for how one may display the content of a blog, but traditionally, you find it on the left or right if you only have one sidebar, or in the middle if your sidebars flank both sides.

Sidebar: The sidebar is commonly to display author's profile, favourite links, links to your recent posts or archives.

Footer: Not all blogs have an obvious footer. This is the area at the most bottom of your blog where you may list design credits, additional navigational links, copyright information, links to privacy policies, or anything you like.

Navigation: This is how people get around on your blog. Some blogs have a graphic navigation along the top in lieu of a traditional header. Some choose to create simple text navigations in their sidebar or footer. The choice is yours. Navigation most commonly includes a link back to the main page of your blog, a link to some kind of archives, a link to the profile of the blog author, and sometimes a contact link. You are free to include whatever you like in your navigation.

Blogroll: A blogroll is a list of links to other blogs that often appears in the sidebar. Occasionally bloggers set up a seperate page for their links, so you may find it there.

Comment: This is the area where visitors to your blog leave comments for your post.