Blog tutorial

blog - shorter version for 'weblog'

origin
The term "weblog" may have been coined by Jorn Barger in December 1997.

Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, email lists and bulletin boards. In the 1990s Internet forum software, such as WebX, created running conversations with threads.

Thread - consecutive messages on one specific topic of discussion

The site Open Diary, while not using the term blog until recently, launched in 1998, had over 2000 diaries by 1999, and near 400 000 as of september 2005.

Blogging is now enough of a phenomenon that established schools of journalism began researching the blogging phenomenon, and noting the differences between current practice of journalism and blogging.

Since 2003, weblogs have gained increasing notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, or spinning news stories.

Blogs are a news source. The use of blogs by established politicians and political candidates—particularly Howard Dean and Wesley Clark — to express opinions on the war and other issues of the day - cemented blogs in this role. Blogs also arose amongst soldiers serving in the Iraq war. Such "milblogs" have given readers a new perspective on the realities of war. Reading the thoughts of people who were "on the spot" provided a supplement and perhaps a differing viewpoint to official news sources.

In 2004, the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream, as political consultants, news services and candidates began using them as tools for outreach and opinion formation. Anthologies of blog pieces began to reach print, and blogging personalities began appearing on radio and television.

An escribitionist is a person who keeps a diary or journal via electronic means, and in particular, publishes their entries on the web. The word was coined in June 1999 by Erin Venema, an online diarist, in the course of a discussion on a mailing list for web journalers. The word comes from a combination of the English word "exhibitionist" and the Spanish word "escribir," meaning "to write." Coined before the widespread use of weblogs, the word escribitionist is often used to distinguish diary keepers on the web from weblog authors, whose writing often involve far more diverse styles, perspectives and subjects than those used in personal journals. While a weblog author may engage in journaling, or reporting, or political commentary, an escribitionist is focused on personal experiences and reflection.

Source: Wikipedia.org