Dictionary of the Top Ten Blog Related Terms

There are a surprising number of people that have an interest in creating a blog but do not necessarily understand all of the terminology related to blogging.  Failing to understand the basic terms prevents some individuals from blogging at all, and prevents even more from being successful once they do start blogging.  Why you ask?  Failing to have an understanding of basic terms can be intimidating as well as create unnecessary work for the bloggers just starting out.

There is not a single blogger out there that was not a beginner at one point in time.  We all had to learn the ins and outs, shortcuts, time savers and time wasters.  Having an understanding of the basic architecture and related terms can save a gross amount of headache, and a tremendous amount of time. Here are brief explanations of the top ten terms as related to blogs.

1. Blogs - Whether you choose to believe it or not, in May of 2008, there are people who do not know what a blog is.  The word ‘blog’ is simply short for ‘Web log’, or an online journal created and maintained by one or more individuals.  The term journal, not meant to indicate that a blog is by any means a diary or a soul bearing mechanism, but rather a means of communicating information on a variety of topics of interest. Blogs were intended to be a simple way for their owner to post information quickly and easily, as well as efficient for the target audience to retrieve that information.  The format lent itself to a more personal format than did previous methods  of self publishing.  As with all successful Internet technologies, blogging quickly became an avenue for commercialization, bloggers found ways to make money.  The rest is obviously history.

2. Posts - A Post is a new entry made into the blog. The number of posts increases each time you update your blog.

3. Pinging - Pinging is a tool, or method of letting search engines know that you have updated your blog.  Pinging helps to make sure that people know that you have fresh content available to be read.  This is  an extremely important part of the process, and one that makes the blogging dynamic much more effective than a standard static website.

4. Linking - As you blog, it is inevitable that you will place links throughout your blog.  These links will direct your audience to other sources of related information located on sites or blogs other than your own. Being a good source of information and assisting your readers in finding additional info will actually increase your readership, not send them elsewhere to look for it.

5. Template - This refers to the overall design, or look and feel of your blog.  Regardless of your blog provider, or blog software, the design of your blog can be changed to suit your required theme.  The template can be one, two, three or more columns and generally include any number of color and font combinations.  Make sure your design is not only unique and appealing to the eye, but easy to navigate as well.

6. Blog Host - This is where your blog lives.  Services such as Blogger, Blogspot, etc.  A blog host is a large site that offers the ability to blog to any number of subscribers.  Many are free, gaining their revenue from advertising contained within its users blogs. 

7. Blog Directory - An online database that lists blogs found on the internet and categorizes them for those searching for blogs to read. It is important to make sure your blog is listed in as many directories as possible in order to get the word out about it.

8. Niche - If you haven’t already, you will hear the term niche over and over again.  A niche, or your niche, is the purpose or specific topic of your blog.  Your niche is what your blog is about.  Golf, politics, hypertension, etc., Usually an underexplored niche with little competition would allow you to compete more so than in a large saturated niche.  The more specific your blog is the better. 

9. RSS Feed - RSS Feeds are code created by your blog software or provider that allow your readers to subscribe to it.  This allows your readers to automatically be informed when a change is made to your blog, rather than have to check back manually. 

10. Trackback Links - Trackback links notify other bloggers anytime your blog refers to their blog within a post.  It also includes a link to your site from theirs.

These are just a few of the terms you will learn when diving into blogging.  Regardless of how you choose to set up your blog, or what niche you choose, make sure that you understand the terms and process of blogging.  If you run across something that you are not familiar with, research it before making decisions.