Blogs are Web Pages That "Morph"

26 Mar Blogs are Web Pages That "Morph"

This site is a medical blog.  I call it a web site, but there are a few subtle differences germane only to “webmasters.”  For you, the reader, it is just a web site.  Either way, your are looking for credible sources of health information.

WEB + LOG = WEBLOG = BLOG

The term “blog” is actually a combination of the two words web and log.  It has all the functionality of a traditional, static, web page, but also has some Web 2.0 friendly attributes.  Combining the content, purpose and format, we are a Medical Blog.

What is a BLOG?

Initially, blogs became very popular due to the ability to leave “comments.”  Leaving comments allowed readers to become more proactive contributors to that particular web page and to the Internet.

Letting yourself be heard was a huge success, but the success has dwindled due to spammers.  Spammers quickly learned that they could leave “spam” as comments.

Blogs are Easy to Create

I have been hacking away at creating web pages since 1994.  I used Microsoft’s FrontPage for years.  It was fun to create your own web page, but it took lots of time.  Everything needed to be “programmed” or designed.

Blog software is much easier to use.  It can be used “right out of the box.”  It is rather generic in appearance, but you can add color, graphics and design later.

My blog, or web site, is always changing.  I spend most of my time writing and less time designing.  Every once in a while, I’ll make a design change, but the content, or writing, is most important.

Blogs Work From Any Computer

Another advantage of blog software is that I can add or make changes to my site from any Internet connected computer.  I can be at work, ice rink (when the WiFi works) or at home to make changes.  This versatility is a tremendous advantage to me.  The software and the blog data resides on a remote server in cyberspace (actually mine is with “www.GoDaddy.com ” in Scottsdale, AZ).

Traditional web page software resides on a specific computer.  You must have, and pay, for a copy of the web page software on each computer that you use.  The software stays on my laptop, for example, thus forcing me to use the same computer every time I want to work on a web page.  This is highly inconvenient.

Content is King

The biggest reason blogs are popular is the ease in which you (ok, I) can add articles, or posts, to the page.  I can write an article and once finished, it takes about 1 minute to upload to the Internet (or Scottsdale).

Content is crucial to the Internet.  The popularity of a particular web page is now based, almost exclusively, on the content and relevance of your articles.  Web sites that are updated frequently with relevant content rank higher in “searches” than those that don’t.  Traditional web pages take more time to add content.  It can be done, but it isn’t so seamless and easy.

Searches?  An organic “search” is what you do to “Google” something.  One day, I hope my web page comes up very high when you “Google” “macular degeneration” or “diabetic retinopathy.”

The Price is Right

Best of all, you can start a blog…for free.  WordPress.com and Google Blogs are two sites that allow you to set up a blog for free.  There are some limitations, of course.

If you don’t like free, I use WordPress.org installed through GoDaddy.  I have also recently purchased a new template called Thesis.  Overall, hosting with GoDaddy using WordPress.org (actually also free) along with cost of the template costs me about $7 per month.  Really

What Does This Mean? For all the reasons above; cost, ease of use, versatility, and SEO friendliness, BLOGS  are becoming more and more popular.  You can design any blog to look like any traditional web page.  These days, web page and blog are basically synonymous and I try to use the terms interchangeably, but not to confuse you.

Have a great weekend.