A blog is technically an index of web pages (usually referred as “posts”) typically displayed in reverse chronological order (newest first).
Originally, blogs were a way for people around the world to share a digital log of activities, interests, and various media (like image galleries). In many ways, smaller blogs have remained a form of digital diary. However, most high-profile blogs in recent years have been incorporated into larger marketing strategies.
Blogs are not a form of social media, though popular social media sites integrate blog-like features, and blogs can be social in nature. While social media providers tend to be large corporations with proprietary technology, blogs tend to be “open source,” free software available to anyone with access to modest web hosting resources.
The most popular content management system in the world is WordPress. Choices of content management system will vary, but for most users, WordPress website hosting provides the best interface and options.
How Does Blogging Work?
Blogging typically requires a content management system (CMS), like WordPress, to install and synchronize various functions like:
- Database integration
- Scheduled publishing
- Page templates
A blog may potentially incorporate a massive bulk of content in excess of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pages. An integrated system for organizing, categorizing, and tagging content is necessary to avoid catastrophic content overload.
Blog Technology
Content management systems for blogs vary in terms of programming methods, techniques and languages. However, it is more than likely that a blog will have at least one or two of the following technologies:
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- PHP
- MySQL
- Ruby
- Python
- Ajax
- Perl
- Java
And many more. Programmers can write a content management system in virtually any language. However, since blogs are generally interfaced through web browsers, a programmer is more likely to use a language that is more easily integrated with web-based technologies, such as PHP, Ruby or Python.
Can You Make Money With a Blog?
Because blog posts can be published quickly and frequently and cover a wide array of topics, they have become a significant traffic generator for marketing landing pages. Many companies support their products with blog post coverage.
