The History of Blogging

ContentThe days of locked diaries and bound journals tucked under mattresses have given way to Internet blogging. Unlike the journals and diaries of years past, blogging opens up people’s lives to anyone else who is interested in them. While it may seem that everyone has a blog nowadays, blogging hasn’t always been the sensation it is now.

The earliest forms of blogging were just plain old personal websites. Anyone could rent some space on Geocities, Yahoo, or Fortune City and put up a site all about their own thoughts and feelings. Characterized by MIDI music, blinking graphics, and busy backgrounds, these websites rarely had any visitors outside their creators. However, these paved the way for blogs as they are today.

Journaling sites became popular after free personal sites became sparse. Sites like LiveJournal made it easy for anyone to sign up and start recording their daily activities and thoughts. These weren’t quite like blogs are now; they were somewhere between a private journal and a public blog. Most people only shared their posts with friends and family. These sites are still popular today for those who don’t want to maintain a completely public blog.

Finally, blogs took the Internet by storm. Websites like Blogger and WordPress became popular by giving anyone their own corner of the web. Blogging communities began growing, grouped by common themes and interests. Now, you can find scrapbooking blog communities, parenting blog communities, and occupational blog communities. Well-written blogs develop huge followings. Bloggers can even use their blogs to make money by selling ad space or becoming affiliates. Typically, the most popular blogs have some sort of central theme.

Since the Internet has grown so much faster than any other technology, blogs have developed in a very short amount of time. Who knows how they’ll evolve next?

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The Internet: Taking the World by Storm and Not Slowing Down

The internet has taken the world by storm and it does not appear to be slowing down. Practically every business now has a website. If you hear of a business or see a commercial on television, you will almost always be directed to a website. Individuals have their own websites, as well. These range from freelance professionals that showcase their work with an online portfolio to personal blogs for entertainment purposes.

Schools use websites to inform parents of events, calendars and even let parents monitor their child’s grades online. Universities use websites to streamline the application process. Prospective students can fill out paperwork online or download the appropriate forms to print them. Financial aid is also handled on the internet. You can go to your college financial aid office for help, but most of the aid websites are self-explanatory. With just a few clicks and some information, you can qualify for monetary help right from your home computer.

With all of the millions of websites, search engines work very hard to rank the sites. Ranking is based on various factors, including the number of visitors (popularity) and relevance to a particular search. Google is probably the most well-known search engine and high Google rankings are the envy of every website owner. If you have a website, you need to do everything you can to ensure that it ranks well with Google. Google is, perhaps, the most important measure of success for any website.

Today, there is virtually nothing that you cannot look up on the internet. From the obscure information to the obvious, the answers are right in front of you. Using search engines like Google and Yahoo are the easiest way to find exactly what you need. The internet has made life, communication, business, and socialization faster, easier and, sometimes, more enjoyable.

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