About twenty years ago, the world of the internet was almost non-existent. Very few people had any idea about it, least the fact that it was a tool that could someday change the manner in which the world communicates.
The few websites that were present at the time provided simple forms of information to a limited number of people. These sites did not even have an allowance where their readers could leave their comments or communicate with the owners of the site. However, as time went by, the world of the internet began to develop, from a one-sided platform to one that allowed people to communicate to and fro.
The big change was brought about by the advancement of Web 2.0, also known as the social internet. This type of internet created a two-way form of communication and brought about the creation of the first blogs during the 1990s. These blogs were most often collections of daily life events and were often seen in order of the most recent post to the earliest ones.
As the evolvement of blogs continued, more of them were created and even more features were added to them. They increased in popularity too, growing in the millions every year. In fact, it has been estimated that the number of blogs has exceeded a hundred million. They are now like diaries, where people can keep important updates about their lives and share important information with others.
There are numerous categories of blogs, which include:
a.) Personal Blogs
These types of blogs are ones where the author discusses various issues and events, putting a personal touch and mood on them. It has long been said that personal blogs brought the beginning of blogging. A personal blog can be explained as a scrapbook of sorts or as a personal diary. Personal blogs are fun to write and even more fun for the readers in most cases.
b.) Business Blogs
These types of blogs came up as a result of natural progression. The manner in which they are set up is the same all over, though they each have specific target groups, niches and markets to target. The audience must be given the exact information that they are looking for when they visit the blog page. For instance, each business blog should properly spell out the products and services that the business has to offer, as well as put in any other information that could be imperative to the business.
The internet –and specifically a business blog- is a very powerful tool for marketing, considering that it helps businesspeople be able to communicate with all their stakeholders, sometimes on a one-on-one basis. These stakeholders include clients, suppliers and other important partners in the business. Not only do they connect these important people to the business enterprise, they help in developing long lasting relationships that are necessary for good business.
Since blogs also appear on the search engines if they are compatible with some keywords used by a search user on the internet, it means that the blog will also be able to pull in more people that were initially anticipated. This means that if the blog has been given good keywords, then it is likely to be visited by more people.
Caution must be taken however, to remember that corporate blogs are not like personal blogs. They should not be used to keep a daily record of happenings at the workplace. Their main functions are public relations, branding and marketing. Blogs that are similar to the business blog are the group blogs and club blogs, which inform their members about ongoing or planned activities.
c.) Media Blogs
Blogs are also found according to the type of media that they offer to users. For instance, a vlog is a type of blog which updates using videos, while a linklog is one which gives users access to a number of links. A sketchblog is a site that contains numerous sketch portfolios, while a photoblog is a blog that has photos only. Those blogs that have posts that are shorter and make use of a combination of various media are known as tumblelogs.
