blog

=**Blog**=

What is a **Blog**?
A blog is a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. The word "blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

What is it used for?
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. 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)

Origin of the term
The term 'blog originated from the term "weblog". 'Weblog' was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. 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. 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".

Blog History
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 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.
 * 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.
 * Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan (Pyra Labs) launched blogger.com in August 1999 (purchased by Google in February 2003)

Examples of Blogs:

 * Food Blog**
 * http://blogto.com/restaurants
 * Fashion Blog**
 * http://www.freshnessmag.com/v4/
 * Music Blog**
 * http://hypem.com/

**Sources:**

 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
 * http://www.nytimes.com/ref/topnews/blog-index.html
 * http://foryoumaybe.livejournal.com/
 * http://facehunter.blogspot.com/