A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. An online diary is a personal diary or journal that is published on the World wide web on a personal website or a diary hosting website A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. A web page or webpage is a resource of information that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a Web browser. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) are part of a wider network of social media. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic A photoblog (aka photolog or phlog is a form of Photo sharing and publishing in the format of a Blog, but differentiated by the predominant use of and A photoblog (aka photolog or phlog is a form of Photo sharing and publishing in the format of a Blog, but differentiated by the predominant use of and Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging is a form of Blogging for which the medium is Video. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. An MP3 blog is a type of Blog in which the creator makes music files normally in the MP3 format available for download A podcast is a series of audio or Video digital-media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated Download Social media are primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings Micro-blogging is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts. Micro-blogging is a form of Blogging that allows users to write brief text updates (usually 140 characters) and publish them either to be viewed by anyone or by a As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs. Technorati is an Internet Search engine for searching Blogs competing with Google and Yahoo. ^[1] With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something. Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging is a form of Blogging for which the medium is Video.

See also: History of blogging timeline

Types

There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written. Before blogging became popular digital communities took many forms including Usenet, commercial online services such as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe, Journalism is the profession of writing or communicating formally employed by publications and broadcasters for the benefit of a particular Community of people Professional journalism is a form of news reporting which developed in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century along with formal schools of journalism News is any new information or information on Current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or Word of mouth Reportage sometimes refers to the total body of media coverage of a particular topic or event including news reporting and analysis " the extensive reportage of recent News style (also journalistic style or news writing) is the particular Prose style used for News reporting (ie Journalism ethics and standards comprise principles of Ethics and of good practice as applicable to the specific challenges faced by professional Journalists Historically Objectivity is a significant principle of Journalistic professionalism. News values, sometimes called "news criteria" determine how much prominence a news story is given by a media outlet and the attention it is given by the audience In Journalism, a source is a person publication or other record or document that gives information Editorial independence is the freedom of editors to make decisions without interference from the owners of a publication A journalism school is a School or department usually part of an established University, where Journalists are trained List of Journalism topics This page aims to list all topics related to the field of Journalism. Arts journalism is a branch of Journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of the arts Business journalism is the branch of journalism that tracks records analyses and interprets the economic changes that take place in a society Entertainment journalism is an umbrella term used to describe all forms of Journalism that focus on the Entertainment business and its products Environmental journalism is the collection verification production distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events trends issues and people that are associated Fashion journalism is an umbrella term used to describe all aspects of published Fashion media Political journalism is a broad branch of Journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of Politics and Political science, although the term usually Science journalism is a relatively new branch of Journalism, which uses the art of Reporting to convey information about Science topics to a public forum Sports journalism is a form of Journalism that reports on Sports topics and events While the sports department within some Newspapers has been Tech journalism is a relatively new branch of Journalism, which uses the art of Reporting to convey information about Tech topics to a public forum Trade journalism reports on the movements and developments of the Business world by way of articles or analysis A traffic report is an element of a Radio program or TV news broadcast that informs listeners about general traffic conditions Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location Advocacy journalism is a Genre of Journalism that intentionally and transparently adopts a non-objective viewpoint usually for some social Citizen journalism, also known as public or participatory journalism or democratic journalism, is the act of citizens "playing an active role in the The civic journalism movement (also known as public journalism is according to professor David K Community journalism is locally oriented coverage that typically focuses on city neighborhoods or individual suburbs rather than metropolitan state national or world news "Gonzo" redirects here For other uses see Gonzo (disambiguation Gonzo journalism is a style of Journalism which is written Investigative journalism is a type of reporting in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest often involving crime Political corruption, or some other Scandal Docufiction (often understood as Docudrama) is a Neologism which refers to a cinematographic work in a Genre mixing Fiction and Narrative journalism is the interpretation of a story and the way in which the journalist portrays it be it fictional or non-fictional New Journalism was a style of 1960s and 1970s News writing and Journalism which used literary techniques deemed unconventional at the time Opinion journalism is Journalism that makes no claim of objectivity. Visual journalism is the practice of strategically combining words and images to convey information Watchdog journalism refers to forms of Activist journalism aimed at holding accountable public personalities and institutions whose functions impact social and political life The term Fourth Estate refers to the press, both in its explicit capacity of advocacy and in its implicit ability to frame political issues Fifth Estate is any class or group in society other than the Clergy ( First Estate) the Nobility ( Second Estate) the Commoners ( Freedom Constitutional or statutory protections pertaining to freedom of the press Infotainment (a Portmanteau of information and entertainment refers to a general type of media broadcast program which provides a combination of current Media bias in the United States News propaganda is Covert Propaganda packaged as credible News without transparency as to source and motivation Public relations (PR is the practice of managing the flow of Information between an Organization and its Publics Public relations - often referred Yellow journalism is Journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers The news media refers to the section of the Mass media that focuses on presenting current News to the public A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally News agency (alternative A news agency is an organization of Journalists established to supply News reports to organizations in the News trade Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast" that is published by electrical methods instead of the older methods such as printed newspapers Online journalism is defined as the Reporting of facts produced and distributed via the Internet. Photojournalism is a particular form of Journalism (the collecting editing and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast that creates images in order to tell Alternative media are media (newspapers radio television movies Internet etc A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends A reporter is a type of Journalist who Researches and presents information in certain types of Mass media. Editing Language, Images or Sound through correction condensation organization and other modifications in various media A columnist is a Journalist who writes material on a regular basis for publication in a series A photographer is a person who takes a Photograph using a Camera. Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary

Personal blogs

The personal blog, an on-going diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following.

Corporate blogs

A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business In popular usage "marketing" is the promotion of products especially Advertising and Branding However in professional usage the term has a wider meaning of A brand is a collection of Images and ideas representing an economic producer more specifically it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a Public relations (PR is the practice of managing the flow of Information between an Organization and its Publics Public relations - often referred A Corporate Weblog is published and used by an organization to reach its organizational goals

By media type

A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog. Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging is a form of Blogging for which the medium is Video. A linklog is a collection of URLs ( Hyperlinks that the maintainer considers interesting enough to collect A photoblog (aka photolog or phlog is a form of Photo sharing and publishing in the format of a Blog, but differentiated by the predominant use of and A photoblog (aka photolog or phlog is a form of Photo sharing and publishing in the format of a Blog, but differentiated by the predominant use of and ^[2] Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called tumblelogs. A tumblelog (also known as a tlog or tumblog) is a variation of a Blog that favors short-form mixed-media posts over the longer editorial posts frequently

An Artlog is a form of art sharing and publishing in the format of a blog, but differentiated by the predominant use of and focus on Art work rather than text.

A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a Phlog

By device

Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. For other uses see Gopher. Gopher is a distributed Document search and retrieval Network protocol designed The term "phlog" may also be used to refer to a Photoblog A phlog is a type of daybook similar to a Blog, but run off a Gopher protocol A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA could be called a moblog. A mobile device (also known as cellphone device, handheld device, handheld computer, "Palmtop" or simply handheld) is a pocket-sized Mobile blogging (moblogging is a form of Blogging in which the user publishes blog entries directly to the web from a Mobile phone or other mobile device ^[3] One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site. The EyeTap is a name for a device that is worn in front of the Eye that Acts as a Camera to record the scene available to the eye and Acts This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance. Sousveillance (suːˈveɪləns original French) as well as inverse surveillance are terms coined by Steve Mann to describe the recording of an activity Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.

By genre

Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs, house blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs,quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs) or dreamlogs. A genre (ˈʒɑːnrə also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/ from French "kind" or "sort" from Latin: genus (stem gener-) is a loose set A political blog is a common type of Blog that comments on Politics. A travel journal, also called road journal or travelogue, is a record made by a voyager Fashion blogs are Blogs that cover Fashions in Clothing and Fashion accessories. A Project Blog is a type of Weblog customized to record a Project, or a deliverable task with its goal procedures and status changes An edublog is a Blog written by someone with a stake in Education. Niche blogging is the act of creating a Blog with the intent of using it to market to a particular Niche market. A dream journal is a journal in which dream experiences are recorded While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a Splog. Spam blogs, sometimes referred to by the Neologism splogs, are artificially created weblog sites which the author uses to promote affiliated

Community and cataloging

The Blogosphere

The collective community of all blogs is known as the blogosphere. Blogosphere is a collective term encompassing all Blogs and their interconnections Since all blogs are on the internet by definition, they may be seen as interconnected and socially networked. Discussions "in the blogosphere" have been used by the media as a gauge of public opinion on various issues. A collection of local blogs is sometimes referred to as a bloghood.

Blog search engines

Several blog search engines are used to search blog contents, such as Bloglines, BlogScope, and Technorati. This is a list of Wikipedia articles about search Bloglines is a web-based news aggregator for reading syndicated feeds using the RSS and Atom formats BlogScope is a search engine for the Blogosphere with advanced analysis and visualization technology Technorati is an Internet Search engine for searching Blogs competing with Google and Yahoo. Technorati, which is among the most popular blog search engines, provides current information on both popular searches and tags used to categorize blog postings. A tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an Internet bookmark, digital image or Computer file) Research community is working on going beyond simple keyword search, by inventing new ways to navigate through huge amounts of information present in the blogosphere, as demonstrated by projects like BlogScope. Blogosphere is a collective term encompassing all Blogs and their interconnections BlogScope is a search engine for the Blogosphere with advanced analysis and visualization technology

Blogging Communities and Directories

Several online communities exist that connect people to blogs and bloggers to other bloggers, including BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog. A virtual community, e-community or online community is a group of people that primarily interact via communication media such as Newsletters MyBlogLog is a social network for the Blogger community that is based in part on interactions facilitated by a popular Web widget that many members install on

Blogging and Advertising

It is common for blogs to feature advertisements either for the financial benefit of the blogger, or to promote the blogger's favorite causes. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand The popularity of blogs has also given rise to "fake blogs" in which a company will create a fictional blog as a marketing tool to promote a product. A fake Blog (sometimes shortened to flog or referred to as a flack blog) is an electronic communication form that appears to originate from a credible

Popularity

Researchers have analyzed the dynamics of how blogs become popular. There are essentially two measures of this: popularity through citations, as well as popularity through affiliation (i. e. blogroll). This is a list of blogging terms. Blogging like any hobby has developed something of a specialised Vocabulary. The basic conclusion from studies of the structure of blogs is that while it takes time for a blog to become popular through blogrolls, permalinks can boost popularity more quickly, and are perhaps more indicative of popularity and authority than blogrolls, since they denote that people are actually reading the blog's content and deem it valuable or noteworthy in specific cases. ^[4]

The blogdex project was launched by researchers in the MIT Media Lab to crawl the Web and gather data from thousands of blogs in order to investigate their social properties. Blogdex was an online resource for understanding hot topics of discussion in the Blogosphere. The MIT Media Lab (also known as the Media Lab) is a department within the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It gathered this information for over 4 years, and autonomously tracked the most contagious information spreading in the blog community, ranking it by recency and popularity. It can thus be considered the first instantiation of a memetracker. A memetracker is a tool for studying the migration of Memes across a group of people The project is no longer active, but a similar function is now served by tailrank.com. Tailrankcom is a site that provides a feed of content on the World Wide Web that's being discussed across the Blogosphere.

Blogs are given rankings by Technorati based on the number of incoming links and Alexa Internet based on the web hits of Alexa Toolbar users. Technorati is an Internet Search engine for searching Blogs competing with Google and Yahoo. Alexa Internet Inc is a California -based Subsidiary company of Amazon In August 2006, Technorati found that the most linked-to blog on the internet was that of Chinese actress Xu Jinglei. Xu Jinglei (born April 16, 1974 in Beijing, China) is an Actress and director most famous in Mainland China. ^[5] Chinese media Xinhua reported that this blog received more than 50 million page views, claiming it to be the most popular blog in the world. ^[6] Technorati rated Boing Boing to be the most-read group-written blog. Boing Boing (originally bOING bOING) is a publishing entity first established as a Magazine, later becoming a group blog. ^[5]

Gartner forecasts that blogging will peak in 2007, leveling off when the number of writers who maintain a personal website reaches 100 million. Gartner, Inc ( is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Gartner analysts expect that the novelty value of the medium will wear off as most people who are interested in the phenomenon have checked it out, and new bloggers will offset the number of writers who abandon their creation out of boredom. The firm estimates that there are more than 200 million former bloggers who have ceased posting to their online diaries, creating an exponential rise in the amount of "dotsam" and "netsam" — that is to say, unwanted objects on the Web.

Blurring with the mass media

Many bloggers, particularly those engaged in participatory journalism, differentiate themselves from the mainstream media, while others are members of that media working through a different channel. Citizen journalism, also known as public or participatory journalism or democratic journalism, is the act of citizens "playing an active role in the "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" Some institutions see blogging as a means of "getting around the filter" and pushing messages directly to the public. A message in its most general meaning is an object of Communication. Some critics worry that bloggers respect neither copyright nor the role of the mass media in presenting society with credible news. Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" Bloggers and other contributors to user generated content are behind Time magazine naming their 2006 person of the year as "you". User generated content ( UGC, often hyphenated also known as Consumer Generated Media ( CGM) or User created Content ( UCC) refers Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and Person of the Year (formerly Man of the Year) is an annual issue of the United States Newsmagazine Time that features and profiles

Many mainstream journalists, meanwhile, write their own blogs — well over 300, according to CyberJournalist. net's J-blog list. The first known use of a weblog on a news site was in August 1998, when Jonathan Dube of The Charlotte Observer published one chronicling Hurricane Bonnie. Jonathan Dube is an award-winning print and online journalist and a pioneer in the online journalism world The Charlotte Observer, serving Charlotte North Carolina and its metro area, is the largest newspaper in terms of circulation in North ^[7]

Some bloggers have moved over to other media. The following bloggers (and others) have appeared on radio and television: Duncan Black (known widely by his pseudonym, Atrios), Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit), Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (Daily Kos), Alex Steffen (Worldchanging) and Ana Marie Cox (Wonkette). Duncan Bowen Black (born February 18 1972 better known by his Pseudonym Atrios (ˈeɪtrioʊs is an American liberal Blogger Glenn Harlan Reynolds (born 1960) is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his Instapundit is a United States Political blog produced by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga (born 11 September 1971) often known by his Username and former military moniker "Kos" ( kōs) is the Daily Kos (koʊs is an American political Blog, publishing news and opinion from a liberal or progressive point of view Alex Steffen (* 1968 is an American writer blogger editor and Futurist most noted for his bright green ideas Worldchanging is an American non-profit online magazine and Blog about Sustainability and Social innovation. Ana Marie Cox (born September 23 1972) is an American Author and Blogger who is the founding editor of the political blog Wonkette In counter-point, Hugh Hewitt exemplifies a mass media personality who has moved in the other direction, adding to his reach in "old media" by being an influential blogger. Hugh Hewitt (born February 22, 1956) is an American radio Talk show host author and Blogger He comments on politics and society

Blogs have also had an influence on minority languages, bringing together scattered speakers and learners; this is particularly so with blogs in Gaelic languages, whose creators can be found as far away from traditional Gaelic areas as Kazakhstan^[8] and Alaska^[9]. A minority language is a Language spoken by a Minority of the Population of a country The Goidelic languages, (also sometimes called particularly in colloquial situations the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) historically formed a Dialect Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent Minority language publishing (which may lack economic feasibility) can find its audience through inexpensive blogging.

There are many examples of bloggers who have published books based on their blogs, e. g. , Salam Pax, Ellen Simonetti, Jessica Cutler, ScrappleFace. Salam Pax (aka Salam al-Janabi, سلام الجنابي is a Pseudonymous blogger from Iraq whose site "Where is Raed?" received notable Ellen Simonetti (b December 15 1974, North Carolina) is a former Flight attendant who was fired after documenting her life and work Jessica Louise Cutler (born May 18 1978 in Monterey California) is a blogger an author and former congressional staff assistant who was fired ScrappleFace is a US website run by Scott Ott that satirizes the news from a conservative perspective Blog-based books have been given the name blook. Not to be confused with the card game Bluke. A blook can refer to either an object manufactured to imitate a bound Book, an online A prize for the best blog-based book was initiated in 2005, ^[10] the Lulu Blooker Prize. Lulu Blooker Prize is a literary award for " Blooks quot (books based on Blogs) inaugurated in 2006 to coincide with the 450th anniversary of Gutenberg's invention ^[11] However success has been elusive offline, with many of these books not selling as well as their blogs. Only blogger Tucker Max cracked the New York Times Bestseller List. Tucker Tibor Max is an American Humorist, Internet personality, and entrepreneur. The New York Times Best Seller List is widely considered to be the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. ^[12]

Blogging consequences

The emergence of blogging has brought a range of legal liabilities and other often unforeseen consequences.

Defamation or liability

Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers concerning issues of defamation or liability. The courts have returned with mixed verdicts. Internet Service Providers (ISPs), in general, are immune from liability for information that originates with third parties (U. An Internet service provider ( ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a company which primarily offers their customers access to the Internet S. Communications Decency Act and the EU Directive 2000/31/EC). The Communications Decency Act of 1996 ( CDA) was arguably the first attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the

In John Doe v. Patrick Cahill, the Delaware Supreme Court held that stringent standards had to be met to unmask anonymous bloggers, and also took the unusual step of dismissing the libel case itself (as unfounded under American libel law) rather than referring it back to the trial court for reconsideration. The Supreme Court of Delaware is the sole Appellate court in the United States ' state of Delaware. A trial court or court of first instance is the Court in which most civil or criminal cases begin In a bizarre twist, the Cahills were able to obtain the identity of John Doe, who turned out to be the person they suspected: the town's mayor, Councilman Cahill's political rival. The Cahills amended their original complaint, and the mayor settled the case rather than going to trial. ^[13]

In January 2007, two prominent Malaysian political bloggers, Jeff Ooi and Ahiruddin Attan were sued by pro-government newspaper, The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Kalimullah bin Masheerul Hassan, Hishamuddin bin Aun and Brenden John a/l John Pereira over an alleged defamation. Ooi Chuan Aun ( (born c 1956 better known as Jeff Ooi, is a Malaysian IT consultant by profession Ahirudin bin Attan, (born December 20, 1961 Ahirudin was appointed Editor of the Business Times in 1997 and remained so until he was appointed Acting The plaintiff was supported by the Malaysian government. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and ^[14] Following the suit, the Malaysian government proposed to "register" all bloggers in Malaysia in order to better control parties against their interest. ^[15] This is the first such legal case against bloggers in the country.

In the United Kingdom, a college lecturer contributed to a blog in which she referred to a politician (who had also expressed his views in the same blog) using various uncomplimentary names, including referring to him as a "Nazi". The politician found out the real name of the lecturer (she wrote under a pseudonym) via the ISP and successfully sued her for £10,000 in damages and £7,200 costs. The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency ^[16]

In the United States blogger Aaron Wall was sued by Traffic Power for defamation and publication of trade secrets in 2005. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Aaron Matthew Wall (born 1979) is a Oakland California -based blogger and Search engine optimization expert who writes the popular blog SEOBook A trade secret is a Formula, practice, Process, Design, instrument, Pattern, or compilation of Information which Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[17] According to Wired Magazine, Traffic Power had been "banned from Google for allegedly rigging search engine results. "^[18] Wall and other "white hat" search engine optimization consultants had exposed Traffic Power in what they claim was an effort to protect the public. A white hat is the Hero or good guy, especially in computing slang where it refers to an Ethical hacker who focuses on securing and protecting Search engine optimization ( SEO also search optimization) is the process of editing and organizing the content on a webpage or across a website to increase its potential The case was watched by many bloggers because it addressed the murky legal question of who's liable for comments posted on blogs. ^[19]The case was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, and Traffic Power failed to appeal within the allowed time. ^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}

Employment

In general, attempts at hiding the blogger's name and/or the place of employment in anonymity have proved ineffective at protecting the blogger. ^[24] Employees who blog about elements of their place of employment raise the issue of employee branding, since their activities can begin to affect the brand recognition of their employer. Minchington (2005 defines Employee branding as "the image projected by employees through their behaviours attitudes and actions"

In fall 2004, Ellen Simonetti was fired for what was deemed by her employer to be inappropriate material on her blog. She subsequently wrote a book based on her blog.

Ellen Simonetti, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant, was fired by the airline for photos of herself in uniform on an airplane and comments posted on her blog "Queen of Sky: Diary of a Flight Attendant" which her employer deemed inappropriate. Ellen Simonetti (b December 15 1974, North Carolina) is a former Flight attendant who was fired after documenting her life and work Delta Air Lines Inc ( is a United States Airline based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. ^[25][26] This case highlighted the issue of personal blogging and freedom of expression vs. employer rights and responsibilities, and so it received wide media attention. Simonetti took legal action against the airline for "wrongful termination, defamation of character and lost future wages". ^[27] The suit is postponed while Delta is in bankruptcy proceedings (court docket).

In the spring of 2006, Erik Ringmar, a tenured senior lecturer at the London School of Economics was ordered by the convenor of his department to "take down and destroy" his blog in which he discussed the quality of education at the school. The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the ^[28]

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was fined during the 2006 NBA playoffs for criticizing NBA officials on the court and in his blog. Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958 in Pittsburgh). He is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA Basketball team, The Dallas Mavericks (also known as the Mavs) are the professional Basketball team of the National Basketball Association based in Dallas Texas ^[29]

Mark Jen was terminated in 2005 after a mere 10 days of employment at Google for discussing corporate secrets on his personal blog. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online ^[30]

In India, blogger Gaurav Sabnis resigned from IBM after his posts exposing the false claims of a management school, IIPM, led to management of IIPM threatening to burn their IBM laptops as a sign of protest against him. International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology ^[31]

Jessica Cutler, aka "The Washingtonienne", blogged about her sex life while employed as a congressional assistant. Jessica Louise Cutler (born May 18 1978 in Monterey California) is a blogger an author and former congressional staff assistant who was fired After the blog was discovered and she was fired,^[32] she wrote a novel based on her experiences and blog: The Washingtonienne: A Novel. Cutler is presently being sued by one of her former lovers in a case that could establish the extent to which bloggers are obligated to protect the privacy of their real life associates. ^[33]

Catherine Sanderson, aka Petite Anglaise, lost her job in Paris at a British accountancy firm as a consequence of blogging. Petite Anglaise is the pseudonym of Catherine Sanderson, a British Blogger living in Paris whose blog articles caused her to be sacked from Dixon Wilson ^[34] Although given in the blog in a fairly anonymous manner, some of the descriptions of the firm and some of its people were less than flattering. Sanderson later won a compensation claim case against the British firm, however. ^[35]

On the other hand, Penelope Trunk, writing in the Globe in 2006, was one of the first to point out that a large portion of bloggers are professionals, and a well written blog can actually help attract employers.

Political dangers

Blogging can sometimes have unforeseen consequences in politically sensitive areas. Blogs are much harder to control than broadcast or even print media. As a result totalitarian and authoritarian regimes often seek to suppress blogs, or to punish those who maintain them. Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union

In Singapore, two ethnic Chinese were imprisoned under the country’s anti-sedition law for posting anti-Muslim remarks in their weblogs. Singapore A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of The Sedition Act is in Chapter 290 of the Statutes of Singapore. Islamophobia is a Neologism that refers to Prejudice or Discrimination against Islam or Muslims The term itself dates back to the ^[36]

Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer was charged with insulting the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and an Islamic institution through his online blog. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman Amer (كريم عامر (born c 1984 is an Egyptian Blogger and former law student For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Al-Azhar University (pronounced "az-HAR" الأزهر الشريف, "the Noble Azhar" in Egypt, founded in 975 is the chief centre of It is the first time in the history of Egypt that a blogger was prosecuted. After a brief trial session that took place in Alexandria, the blogger was found guilty and sentenced to prison terms of three years for insulting Islam and inciting sedition, and one year for insulting Mubarak. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. ^[37]

Egyptian blogger Abdel Monem Mahmoud was arrested in April 2007 for anti-government writings in his blog. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Monem is a member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brothers ( Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimūn, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان

After expressing opinions in his personal weblog about the state of the Sudanese armed forces, Jan Pronk, United Nations Special Representative for the Sudan, was given three days notice to leave Sudan. Johannes "Jan" Pieter Pronk (born March 16, 1940) is a Dutch Politician and Diplomat. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. The Sudanese army had demanded his deportation. ^[38][39][40]

Personal safety

One unfortunate consequence of blogging is the possibility of attacks or threats against the blogger, sometimes without apparent reason. Kathy Sierra, author of the innocuous blog Creating Passionate Users, was the target of such vicious threats and misogynistic insults that she canceled her keynote speech at a technology conference in San Diego, fearing for her safety. Kathy Sierra (born 1957, California is a programming instructor and game developer ^[41] While a blogger's anonymity is often tenuous, internet trolls who would attack a blogger with threats or insults can be emboldened by anonymity. An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial and irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community such as an Sierra and supporters initiated an online discussion aimed at countering abusive online behavior,^[42] and developed a blogger's code of conduct. The Blogger's Code of Conduct is a proposal by Tim O'Reilly for Bloggers to enforce civility on their bloggers by being civil themselves and moderating comments on

Therapeutic benefits

Scientists have long known the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences. Blogs provide another convenient avenue for writing about personal experiences. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery ^[43].

History

Main article: History of blogging timeline

Main article: Online diary

The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger^[44] on 17 December 1997. Before blogging became popular digital communities took many forms including Usenet, commercial online services such as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe, An online diary is a personal diary or journal that is published on the World wide web on a personal website or a diary hosting website Jorn Barger (born 1953 in Yellow Springs Ohio) is an American Blogger best known today as editor of Robot Wisdom, an influential early Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme. com in April or May of 1999. ^[45][46][47] This was quickly adopted as both a noun and verb ("to blog," meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog").

Origins

Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, commercial online services such as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe, e-mail lists^[48] and Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). Usenet, a Portmanteau of "user" and "network" is a world-wide distributed Internet discussion system GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange was an online service CompuServe, ( CompuServe Information Service, also known by its acronym CIS) was the first major commercial Online service in the United States An electronic mailing list (sometimes written as elist or e-list) is a special usage of e-mail that allows for widespread distribution of information to A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a Computer system running software that allows users to connect and login to In the 1990s, Internet forum software, such as WebEx, created running conversations with "threads". An, or message board, is a Bulletin board system in the form of a discussion site WebEx Communications Inc is a Cisco company that provides on-demand collaboration online meeting Web conferencing and Video conferencing applications Threads are topical connections between messages on a metaphorical "corkboard".

The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. An online diary is a personal diary or journal that is published on the World wide web on a personal website or a diary hosting website Most such writers called themselves diarists, journalists, or journalers. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends Justin Hall, who began personal blogging in 1994 while a student at Swarthmore College, is generally recognized as one of the earliest bloggers,^[49] as is Jerry Pournelle. Justin Hall (born December 16, 1974 in Chicago Illinois) is an American freelance Journalist who is best known as a pioneer Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1500 students Jerry Eugene Pournelle (born August 7, 1933) is an American Science fiction Writer, Essayist and Journalist Dave Winer's Scripting News is also credited with being one of the oldest and longest running weblogs^{[50] [51]}. Dave Winer (born May 2, 1955 in Brooklyn, New York City, USA) is an American software developer and entrepreneur in

Early weblogs were simply manually updated components of common websites. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages However, the evolution of tools to facilitate the production and maintenance of web articles posted in reverse chronological order made the publishing process feasible to a much larger, less technical, population. Ultimately, this resulted in the distinct class of online publishing that produces blogs we recognize today. For instance, the use of some sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of "blogging". Blogs can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services, or they can be run using blog software, such as WordPress, Movable Type, Blogger or LiveJournal, or on regular web hosting services. Weblog software (also called blog software or blogware) is a category of software which consists of a specialised form of Content Management Systems Weblog software (also called blog software or blogware) is a category of software which consists of a specialised form of Content Management Systems WordPress is an Open source blog publishing application. WordPress is the official successor of b2\cafelog, developed by Michel Valdrighi Movable type is the system of Printing and Typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual letters or punctuation Blogger is a Blog publishing system. It was created by Pyra Labs, which was bought by Google in 2003 LiveJournal (often abbreviated LJ) is a Virtual community where Internet users can keep a Blog, Journal or Diary.

Rise in popularity

After a slow start, blogging rapidly gained in popularity. Blog usage spread during 1999 and the years following, being further popularized by the near-simultaneous arrival of the first hosted blog tools:

• Open Diary launched in October 1998, soon growing to thousands of online diaries. Open Diary is an Online diary community an early example of Social networking Software. Open Diary innovated the reader comment, becoming the first blog community where readers could add comments to other writers' blog entries.
• Brad Fitzpatrick, a well known blogger started LiveJournal in March 1999. Bradley Joseph "Brad" Fitzpatrick (born February 5, 1980 in Iowa) often seen on the Internet under the nickname bradfitz, is an LiveJournal (often abbreviated LJ) is a Virtual community where Internet users can keep a Blog, Journal or Diary.
• Andrew Smales created Pitas. com in July 1999 as an easier alternative to maintaining a "news page" on a website, followed by Diaryland in September 1999, focusing more on a personal diary community. ^[52]
• Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan (Pyra Labs) launched blogger.com in August 1999 (purchased by Google in February 2003)

Blogging becomes a political force

See also: Political blog

Since 2002, blogs have gained increasing notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and spinning news stories. Evan Williams (born 31 March 1972 in Nebraska) is an American entrepreneur who has founded several Internet companies Meg Hourihan co-founded Pyra Labs, the company behind Blogger before its acquisition by Google. Pyra Labs is the company that coined the word Blogger and made the service a big success Blogger is a Blog publishing system. It was created by Pyra Labs, which was bought by Google in 2003 Google Inc is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online A political blog is a common type of Blog that comments on Politics. In Public relations, spin is a usually Pejorative term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in one's own favor of an event or situation it is a Euphemism News is any new information or information on Current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or Word of mouth The Iraq war saw bloggers taking measured and passionate points of view that go beyond the traditional left-right divide of the political spectrum. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia Left-right politics or the Left-right political spectrum is a common way of classifying political positions political ideologies, or political parties A political spectrum (plural Spectra) is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes

On December 6, 2002 Josh Marshall's talkingpointsmemo. com blog called attention to U. S. Senator Lott's comments regarding Senator Thurmond. Senator Lott was eventually to resign over the matter.

As an example of the rise of importance of blogs, in 2002 many blogs focused on comments by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders (also called Senate Floor Leaders) are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences Chester Trent Lott Sr (born October 9, 1941) is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party Senator Lott, at a party honoring U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, praised Senator Thurmond by suggesting that the United States would have been better off had Thurmond been elected president. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives James Strom Thurmond ( December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and Lott's critics saw these comments as a tacit approval of racial segregation, a policy advocated by Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign. The United States presidential election of 1948 is considered by most Historians as the greatest election Upset in American history. This view was reinforced by documents and recorded interviews dug up by bloggers. (See Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo. Joshua Micah Marshall (born February 15, 1969 in St Louis Missouri) is an American Polk Award -winning journalist who founded Talking Talking Points Memo (or TPM) is a liberal web-based Political journalism organization created and run by Josh Marshall. ) Though Lott's comments were made at a public event attended by the media, no major media organizations reported on his controversial comments until after blogs broke the story. Blogging helped to create a political crisis that forced Lott to step down as majority leader.

Similarly, blogs were among the driving forces behind the "Rathergate" scandal, to wit: (television journalist) Dan Rather presented documents (on the CBS show 60 Minutes) that conflicted with accepted accounts of President Bush's military service record. Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather Jr (born October 31, 1931) is a journalist and former news anchor for the CBS Evening News Not to be confused with the BBC news magazine program Sixty Minutes (TV series. Bloggers declared the documents to be forgeries and presented evidence and arguments in support of that view, and CBS apologized for what it said were inadequate reporting techniques (see Little Green Footballs). Forgery is the process of making adapting or imitating objects statistics or documents (see False document) with the intent to deceive. The term 'LGF' redirects here For the movie and television production company see Lion's Gate Films. Many bloggers view this scandal as the advent of blogs' acceptance by the mass media, both as a news source and opinion and as means of applying political pressure.

The impact of these stories gave greater credibility to blogs as a medium of news dissemination. Though often seen as partisan gossips, bloggers sometimes lead the way in bringing key information to public light, with mainstream media having to follow their lead. More often, however, news blogs tend to react to material already published by the mainstream media. Meanwhile, an increasing number of experts blogged, making blogs a source of in-depth analysis. (See Daniel Drezner and J. Bradford DeLong. James Bradford DeLong (b June 24 1960, Boston) commonly known as Brad DeLong, is a professor of Economics at the University )

Blogging becomes mainstream

By 2004, the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream, as political consultants, news services and candidates began using them as tools for outreach and opinion forming. Political consulting, beyond the self-evident definition of consulting in political matters refers to a specific Management consulting industry which has grown up around Blogging was established by politicians and political candidates to express opinions on war and other issues and cemented blogs' role as a news source. (See Howard Dean and Wesley Clark. Howard Brush Dean III, (born November 17 1948 is an American Wesley Kanne Clark, KBE (born December 23 1944 is a retired General of the United States Army. ) Even politicians not actively campaigning, such as the UK's Labour Party's MP Tom Watson, began to blog to bond with constituents. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Thomas Anthony Watson (born 8 January 1967) is a politician in the United Kingdom.

In January 2005, Fortune magazine listed eight bloggers that business people "could not ignore": Peter Rojas, Xeni Jardin, Ben Trott, Mena Trott, Jonathan Schwartz, Jason Goldman, Robert Scoble, and Jason Calacanis. Fortune is a Global Business Magazine published by Time Inc's Fortune|Money Group Engadget is a multilingual technology weblog and Podcast (with the latter on hold as of August 31 2007) about consumer electronics Xeni Jardin (ʃɛniː dʒɑːdæn (born August 5 1972) is a journalist and Benjamin Trott, born, is a co-founder (with wife Mena Trott) of Six Apart, creator of Movable Type and TypePad. Mena Grabowski Trott, born Mena Grabowski on, is a co-founder of Six Apart, creator of Movable Type and TypePad. Jonathan Ian Schwartz (born October 20, 1965) is the current President and CEO of Sun Microsystems, as well as a member of the Company's Robert Scoble (born January 18 1965) is an American blogger, technical evangelist, and author Jason McCabe Calacanis (born November 28, 1970 in Bay Ridge Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York) is a Greek-Irish American Internet entrepreneur

See also

• Blogskin
• BROG - (We)blog Research on Genre project
• Citizen journalism
• Collaborative blog
• Customer engagement
• Dream blog
• Edublog
• List of blogging terms
• Blog search engines
• List of social networking websites
• Massively distributed collaboration
• Sideblog
• User-generated content
• Webmaster
• Weblog software
• Microblogs

References

Further reading

• Alavi, Nasrin. We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs, Soft Skull Press, New York, 2005. ISBN 1-933368-05-5.
• Bruns, Axel, and Joanne Jacobs, eds. Uses of Blogs, Peter Lang, New York, 2006. ISBN 0-8204-8124-6.
• Kline, David; Burstein, Dan. Blog!: How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture, Squibnocket Partners, L. L. C. , 2005. ISBN 1-59315-141-1.
• Michael Gorman. Michael Gorman (born 1941 is a British Librarian. He grew up in London, England and gained an interest in libraries in part through his "Revenge of the Blog People!". Library Journal.
• Ringmar, Erik. A Blogger's Manifesto: Free Speech and Censorship in the Age of the Internet (London: Anthem Press, 2007).

External links

• blog software comparison website created by the people of CosmoCode.
• blogging, personal participation in public knowledge-building on the web (PDF file) by Mark Brady, Chimera Working Paper 2005-02 Colchester: University of Essex
• Computer Law and Security Report Volume 22 Issue 2, Pages 127-136blogs, Lies and the Doocing by Sylvia Kierkegaard (2006)
• Legal Guide for bloggers by the Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Review of 10 books on blogs by Sarah Boxer from The New York Review of Books