What is a Blog?

After reading the article, “Blogging? It’s Elementary, My Dear Watson!,” I’ve realized there are many different types of blogs and uses for them, both in and out of the classroom. On the whole, blogs are a method of online journaling, and anyone is able to start and run a blog.

The first type of blog is known as a “Web-publishing concept.” This format allows anyone with basic knowledge of how to use a computer and the Internet. The purpose of these blogs is to publish information, mostly basic stuff like renewing driver’s license or recipes.

In the second format, the blogs are used as a journalistic tool to publish news fast, especially the breaking news variety. This is so important or noteworthy news gets out to the public sooner and doesn’t have to be relegated to the six o’clock news hour. For instance if there is a tragedy, like a school shooting or some other horrible event, journalists can get what is happening minute by minute so people know what is going on.

The uses for blogs aren’t just relegated to passing out news and other information to people. It has been shown that students who regularly blog become better writers, because the more you write, the better you get at it. Although I teach math and not English, I think it is imperative students know how to write and formulate opinions so that students’ writing skills aren’t full of emoticons and abbreviated language that is used in text messaging.

There are also a variety of blogs, and you can find a topic on pretty much any subject. Besides Blogger, LiveJournal, Wordpress, there is also Tumblr, which has risen in popularity and usage. It really depends on the personal preference of the blogger as to which host they use for their blog. But if I were teaching students how to blog, I would probably pick Blogger, as you don’t have to pay to start a blog and it feels the easiest to access for me—and I would also try to formulate lesson plans so that it’s basic information for people to access.

As always, when someone starts a blog, safety is always a concern. But those who blog often take precautions, whether it be making commenters have to use Word Verifications to post a comment and not allow for anonymous comments.

Overall, there are many great uses for blogs that are beneficial to people who read and write them.