What is a Blog?
- Blog: from “web log”, a regularly updated online space owned by one person
- Written in a personal voice with a clear author
- Usually built around one topic or niche
- Posts appear in reverse chronological order (newest first)
- Common features: comments, categories, tags, author bio, images, video
- Platforms: Blogger, WordPress, Medium, Ghost, Substack, Edublogs
A blog is a regularly updated online space, owned by one person, where posts are published in reverse chronological order in a personal voice.
The newest post sits at the top, and each post carries the writer’s own thoughts, style, and opinions.
The word “blog” is short for “web log”.
Think of it as an online journal or online personal diary.
graph TD
A["Web log"]:::root
A --> B["Web (online)"]:::part
A --> C["Log (journal/diary)"]:::part
B -->|B| D["Blog"]:::blog
C -->|log| D
classDef root fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#3b82f6,color:#1e3a8a;
classDef part fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#f59e0b,color:#78350f,width:200px;
classDef blog fill:#bbf7d0,stroke:#16a34a,color:#14532d;
One person writes posts over time, and the newest post shows up first. A blog gives the owner freedom to write about almost anything and to add images, video, and links.
A blog is usually built around one topic or audience.
A teacher might run a blog about classroom ideas. A student might run one about a science project. The topic stays focused, but the voice stays personal.
From “web log”.
A blog started as an online log or journal published on the web.
How a blog is different from a normal website
A normal website is often formal and static. Its pages are fixed, like an “About” page or a “Contact” page, and they rarely change. A company website or a school’s information page works this way.
A blog is different in a few clear ways:
- Updated regularly: new posts are added over time, not set once and left alone.
- Reverse chronological order: the newest post appears at the top, the oldest at the bottom.
- Personal voice: there is a clear author who writes with their own opinions and style, not a formal institutional tone.
- A topic or niche: most blogs focus on one subject or one audience.
- Conversational tone: the writing speaks to readers directly.
- Optional extras: comments, categories, tags, an author bio, and media like photos and video.
A blog also differs from a wiki. A wiki is collaborative and built around shared knowledge, where many users edit the same pages. A blog normally has one clear owner with their own voice. (The Wiki vs Blog article covers that contrast in full.)
A blog is updated regularly; a normal website is often static.
A normal website has fixed pages that rarely change.
A blog adds new posts over time and shows the newest one first.
Good blogging platforms
Several platforms let you start one for free or at low cost:
- Blogger: a simple, free option owned by Google, and one of the oldest platforms (launched in 1999).
- WordPress: the most widely used platform, flexible and powerful.
- Medium: focused on writing, with a built-in reader audience.
- Ghost: a clean platform aimed at writers and newsletters.
- Substack: built around blog posts sent out as email newsletters.
- Edublogs: made for education, used by teachers and students.
Each platform handles the same basics: you write a post, publish it, and readers see the newest post first.
Examples of blogs
The best way to understand a blog is to read one. Here are two examples:
- This site runs its own blog, where posts are published over time on teaching and technology.
- A student-built blog on Edublogs: sumairakhant213.edublogs.org, an example of how a learner can publish their own posts.
Comments, categories, and tags.
Many blogs also include an author bio and media like images and video.
These features are optional, but they are common on most blogs.
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