Connective writing

What is a blog? How is it different from writing essays? Why do people blog? How and where you can start your own blog?


Let's first examine what is a blog. Blogs in Plain English is really a good and short video to watch. It explains what is a blog in really simple words if you don't like to read in context about what is a blog. Some people think blogs are online diaries where people share their opinions, ramblings and personal events. However, there are more to that. Blogs are where people post "News" and it's a way for people to share their own perspective on a issue and to interact with one another. People read, link and quote blogs. Many people use a blog just to organize their own thoughts, while others command influential, worldwide audiences of thousands. Professional and amateur journalists use blogs to publish breaking news, while personal journalist reveal inner thoughts.( Blogger Tour)

Genres are classified by writing style, authorial tone, the content and even word counts play a role. Probably the major difference from a blog and an essay is that blogs are continuous and essays are simply a writing that ends. There is no a lot of interaction between the reader and the writer. Writing is monologue and blogging is conversation. There is always a structure in writing essays. What I learned when I was in school is to write five paragraphs consisting of introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In an essay, the teacher is probably the only reader and sometimes you're writing according to their standards. However, in a blog, writers will analyze/synthesize what they have to read and link it to what we have to say in our own blog. There is always a constant interaction where as writers and readers can be returned to and reflected upon on.

Not only are blogs a way bloggers react to one another, it's also a platform where a one can blog themselves into finding a job. it’s a tool for all jobseekers to demonstrate their ability to analyze, synthesize and communicate information in their field. By blogging about professional and academic experiences, jobseekers can animate those bullet points on their resume, bringing to life a semester abroad, a service-learning course, or an internship. Here is a good example where an undergraduate studying at Berkeley who loves life science and blogging about how fascinating Biology is.  

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Some people blog because they want to interact with a group of community whose interest are relevant to theirs. Many big companies are starting their own blog just to make a difference or provide information about their company. Some people blog because they want to make a living or provide a service. For example, Google launched its blog where it discusses Google's products, technology and Google culture. A way people can make money for writing blogs is to post advertisement. If there is a lot of traffic on your blog, a lot of companies might want to post their ad on your blog because people might click into their website and buy the product and service the company provides.

After learning so much about blog and reading other people's blog and commenting on their blog, I feel there are interactions between the readers and writers. There are so much ideas and information out there and through reading interesting blogs each day, you never know what you might learn on that given day.

The easiest way to learn how to blog is to start a blog. I think the first step is to visit the Blogger Tour just to get a sense of how blogging is like. Also, another way is to visit blogging websites to see how other bloggers are doing with their blog and if you find any interest in starting your own blog. Websites like Io9 and Blog can give you an idea of how blogs look like. To start a blog, you can visit websites like Wordpress, Blogger, Typepad, and many others that provide tools on starting your own blog.