| ur friends and coworkers turn to you for fashion | | | | all blogs are filled with relentless rants and whining |
| advice? Are you a bonafide guru when it comes to | | | | that was meant to be witty. Blogs are a great way |
| the hottest designers and trends? Or, maybe | | | | to connect with like-minded—or not so |
| you’re a would-be political pundit—the | | | | like-minded—people, exchange tips and ideas, |
| next Walter Cronkite? You could simply have a | | | | and promote services, products, projects and events. |
| riveting way of capturing the world around you. | | | | If you’re an artist or budding fashion |
| Whatever your talent, rant or position, you can share | | | | designer, you can gain exposure for your work |
| your inner most thoughts in a place called the | | | | through an artist blog or fashion blog. Some bloggers |
| “blogosphere”—all you need is | | | | even have “fans” and sell merchandise |
| an Internet connection. | | | | like t-shirts and bumper stickers imprinted with their |
| To the uninitiated, a blog is a personal website that is | | | | blog site. Many companies also have jumped on the |
| updated frequently by the author and typically | | | | blog bandwagon to promote themselves and offer |
| consists of commentary and favorite links, as well as | | | | useful information to their customers. Some of the |
| photos, or anything else really. There are essentially | | | | best blogs are from regular people living ordinary lives. |
| two rules to blogging: 1.) update your site at least | | | | If you don’t have the time or the motivation |
| every 48 hours and 2.) make the content somewhat | | | | to start your own, you don’t have to miss |
| compelling. It seems like everyone has a blog | | | | out on blog-o-mania. Many people enjoy reading other |
| nowadays; even William Shatner and Mariah Carey | | | | people’s blogs to engage in political discourse |
| have one. I mean, everyone’s story is unique, | | | | or learn about subjects they are interested in and to |
| right? And since you don’t need to know | | | | keep informed about what’s going on in a |
| HTML, FTP or graphic design to create and maintain a | | | | particular city. Food blogs are very popular. Find |
| weblog, it’s pretty much fair game for all. | | | | out—or share—cooking tips and recipes. |
| Blog hosting sites, such as Radio Userland ( ), | | | | Get in a good laugh or catch up on celebrity gossip |
| Blogstream ( ), squarespace ( ) and Blogger.com, | | | | with humor blogs and celebrity gossip blogs, or blogs |
| provide software for easy updating of your | | | | hosted by celebrities themselves. |
| blog—just download and you’re ready | | | | So, if you have an idea for a blog, don’t be |
| to start blogging. | | | | shy. There’s bound to be an existing |
| Since there are literally hundreds of thousands of | | | | category for your blog—and if there’s |
| blogs, with millions of words blasted into cyberspace | | | | not, you can create your own. |
| every minute, inevitably there are bad blogs. But not | | | | |
