Intro to Blogging

Developed by Brett Bradley

I. Overview

Blogging!?!  A term that you’re probably aware of…or probably have heard somewhere.  Maybe you don’t know the exact definition, but most of you are probably aware that blogging is much like writing a journal…it’s just an online version of that journal.  (In case you’re wondering, the word blog is short for weblog.)

Blogs are an easy way of publishing digital content online because their systems are easy to use.  This includes our selected blogging web site for this course: Blogger.com.  There are many more online blogging sites, but Five-Star Technology Solutions uses this particular blogging service for all of its online courses. 

Five-Star Technology Solutions also uses Google services for other aspects of its online courses, so another reason we’re using Blogger is that Google owns the rights to Blogger.com.  Google also owns the rights to other web services we’ll utilize throughout the duration of the course. 

Using Google applications means that the same credentials you use to sign into Google +, for example, also allow you to log into Blogger.com and vice versa.  One username and password for every service Google provides!

II. Stuff in a blog 

 You might be wondering what kinds of things you’ll find in a blog post. You’ll see:

• Entries organized by date (most recent first, at the “top” of the page)
• A title (gives readers an idea of the subject of the post)
• Content, or the actual substance or information of the blog post, includes text and any other media, such as images or video.

Now let’s look at some key vocabulary words that are strongly associated with blogging.

  

III. Your Blogging Vocabulary 

1    Blog (n)- A Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer/author.

2    Post (v)- To publish (as a message) in an online forum or blog (as an electronic bulletin board).  To add content to your online journal or blog.

3      Comment (v)- In regards to blogging, comments can be left by those who view a blog and want to share their opinions concerning the content that the author has chosen to write about.  Typically, a person can leave as many comments about your blog as he/she would like.  In addition, the author of the blog can also choose to post any additional comments relating to their original blog post or in response to a comment left by a viewer.

4      Theme (n.) A template designed specifically for use to enhance the visual appearance and usability of a blog. This blog has a travel or beach theme.

     And just for some fun, here's a song about blogging:  

    

      IV.  Test Yourself!

           

               What's the name of this blog?   

               What's the title of this post?

               Where are the comments on this blog? Has anyone commented?

               This blog has a travel or beach theme. How do you know this statement is true? 

               What media has this blog incorporated?