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{{short description|Discussion or informational site published on the internet}}
{{redirect|Blogger|the Google service|Blogger (service)|other uses|Blog (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Journalism sidebar}}
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A '''blog''' (a [[Clipping (morphology)|truncation]] of "'''weblog'''")<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html|title=Weblogs: A History And Perspective|last=Blood|first=Rebecca|date=September 7, 2000|access-date=September 2, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530144950/http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html|archive-date=May 30, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in [[Reverse chronology|reverse chronological order]] so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the [[web page]]. In the 2000s, blogs were often the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often covered a single subject or topic. In the 2010s, multi-author blogs (MABs) emerged, featuring the writing of multiple authors and sometimes professionally edited. MABs from newspapers, other [[News media|media outlet]]s, universities, [[think tank]]s, [[advocacy group]]s, and similar institutions account for an increasing quantity of blog [[Web traffic|traffic]]. The rise of Twitter and other "[[microblogging]]" systems helps integrate MABs and single-author blogs into the news media. ''Blog'' can also be used as a verb, meaning ''to maintain or add content to a blog''.
The emergence and growth of blogs in the late 1990s coincided with the advent of web publishing tools that facilitated the posting of content by non-technical users who did not have much experience with [[HTML]] or [[computer programming]]. Previously, knowledge of such technologies as HTML and [[File Transfer Protocol]] had been required to publish content on the Web, and early Web users therefore tended to be hackers and computer enthusiasts. As of the 2010s, the majority are interactive [[Web 2.0]] websites, allowing visitors to leave online comments, and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mutum|first1=Dilip|last2=Wang|first2=Qing|editor=Neal M. Burns |editor2=Terry Daugherty |editor3=Matthew S. Eastin|title=Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Advertising: User Generated Content Consumption|volume=1|year=2010|publisher=IGI Global|pages=248–261|chapter=Consumer Generated Advertising in Blogs}}</ref> In that sense, blogging can be seen as a form of [[social networking service]]. Indeed, bloggers not only produce content to post on their blogs but also often build social relations with their readers and other bloggers.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Gaudeul, Alexia |author2=Peroni, Chiara |name-list-style=amp |year=2010|url=https://ideas.repec.org/a/ebl/ecbull/eb-10-00198.html |title=Reciprocal attention and norm of reciprocity in blogging networks|journal=[[Economics Bulletin]]|volume=30|issue=3|pages=2230–2248}}</ref> Blog owners or authors often [[Internet forum#Moderators|moderate]] and [[Wordfilter|filter]] online comments to remove [[hate speech]] or other offensive content. There are also high-readership blogs which do not allow comments.
Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject or topic, ranging from philosophy, religion, and arts to science, politics, and sports. Others function as more personal [[online diary|online diaries]] or [[online advertising|online brand advertising]] of a particular individual or company. A typical blog combines text, [[digital image]]s, and [[Hyperlink|link]]s to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (''[[art blog]]s''), photographs (''[[photoblog]]s''), videos (''[[video blog]]s'' or ''vlogs''), music (''[[MP3 blog]]s''), and audio (''[[podcast]]s''). In education, blogs can be used as instructional resources; these are referred to as ''[[edublog]]s''. [[Microblogging]] is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
''Blog'' and ''blogging'' are now loosely used for content creation and sharing on social media, especially when the content is long-form and one creates and shares content on a regular basis, so one could be maintaining a blog on Facebook or blogging on [[Instagram]]. A 2022 estimate suggested that there were over 600 million public blogs out of more than 1.9 billion websites.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Si Quan Ong |date=February 3, 2022 |title=71 Blogging Statistics for 2022 |url=https://ahrefs.com/blog/blogging-statistics/ |access-date=December 30, 2022 |website=SEO Blog by Ahrefs |language=en}}</ref>
==History==
{{Main|History of blogging|online diary}}
[[File:Eastcampusfire glog crop.png|thumb|left|An early example of a "diary" style blog consisting of text and images transmitted wirelessly in [[Real-time computing|real-time]] from a [[wearable computer]] with [[head-up display]], February 22, 1995]]
The term "weblog" was coined by [[Jorn Barger]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://archive.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/12/blog_anniversary |title=After 10 Years of Blogs, the Future's Brighter Than Ever |access-date=June 5, 2008 | magazine=Wired |date=December 17, 2007}}</ref> on December 17, 1997. The short form "blog" was coined by [[Peter Merholz]], who jokingly broke the word ''weblog'' into the phrase ''we blog'' in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in May 1999.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6794172 |title=It's the links, stupid |newspaper=The Economist |date=April 20, 2006 |access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://peterme.com/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013021124/http://peterme.com/index.html |archive-date=October 13, 1999 |title=Peterme.com |last=Merholz |first=Peter |access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kottke.org/03/08/its-weblog-not-web-log|last=Kottke |first=Jason|author-link=Jason Kottke|title=It's 'weblog' not 'web log'|work=[[kottke.org]]|date=August 26, 2003|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, [[Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)|Evan Williams]] at [[Pyra Labs]] used "blog" as both a noun and verb ("to blog", meaning "to edit one's weblog or to post to one's weblog") and devised the term "blogger" in connection with Pyra Labs' [[Blogger (service)|Blogger]] product, leading to the popularization of the terms.<ref>[http://www.viralblogcontent.com/Origins_of__22Blog_22_and__22Blogger_22.pdf Origins of "Blog" and "Blogger"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103083257/http://www.viralblogcontent.com/Origins_of__22Blog_22_and__22Blogger_22.pdf |date=November 3, 2014 }}, American Dialect Society Mailing List (April 20, 2008).</ref>
===Origins===
Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including [[Usenet]], commercial online services such as [[GEnie]], [[Byte Information Exchange]] (BIX) and the early [[CompuServe]], [[electronic mailing list|e-mail lists]],<ref>The term "e-log" has been used to describe journal entries sent out via e-mail since as early as March 1996.{{cite web|last=Norman|first=David|title=Users confused by blogs|date=July 13, 2005|url=http://lists.drupal.org/archives/development/2005-07/msg00208.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607235110/http://lists.drupal.org/archives/development/2005-07/msg00208.html|archive-date=June 7, 2007|access-date =June 5, 2008}} {{cite web|title=Research staff and students welcome 'E-Log'|publisher=University College London|date=December 2003|url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news-archive/archive/2003/december-2003/latest/newsitem.shtml?03120901|access-date=June 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812190236/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news-archive/archive/2003/december-2003/latest/newsitem.shtml?03120901 |archive-date=August 12, 2007}}</ref> and [[bulletin board system]]s (BBS). In the 1990s, [[Internet forum]] software created running conversations with "threads". Threads are topical connections between messages on a virtual "[[Bulletin board|corkboard]]".{{Explain|reason=Too vague|date=May 2023}}
[[Tim Berners-Lee]] created what is considered by [[Encyclopædia Britannica|Encyclopedia Britannica]] to be "the first 'blog{{' "}} in 1992 to discuss the progress made on creating the World Wide Web and software used for it.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last1=Dennis |first1=Michael Aaron |author-link1=Michael Aaron Dennis |last2=Hosch |first2=William L. |last3=Tikkanen |first3=Amy |date=April 11, 2007 |title=blog |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/blog |access-date=May 3, 2023 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>
From June 14, 1993, Mosaic Communications Corporation maintained their "What's New"<ref>"[http://home.mcom.com/home/whats-new.html What's New!]". Mosaic Communications Corporation. Retrieved June 15, 2013.</ref> list of new websites, updated daily and archived monthly. The page was accessible by a special "What's New" button in the Mosaic web browser.
In November 1993 [[Ranjit Bhatnagar]] started writing about interesting sites, pages and discussion groups he found on the internet, as well as some personal information, on his website Moonmilk, arranging them chronologically in a special section called Ranjit's HTTP Playground.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://moonmilk.com/playground.html |title=Ranjit's HTTP playground |date=May 19, 1998 |website=Moonmilk |access-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/19980519210345/http://moonmilk.com/playground.html |archive-date=May 19, 1998}}</ref> Other early pioneers of blogging, such as [[Justin Hall]], credit him with being an inspiration.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Rosenberg |first=Scott |subject-link= Scott Rosenberg (journalist) |interviewer=Simon Owens |title=Scott Rosenberg Traces the Blogosphere's Origins |work=Mediashift |date=September 23, 2008 |publisher=PBS |quote=For instance, Justin Hall started his site in January 1994, before most of us had heard of the web. I asked him, 'Well, you're one of the first bloggers, was there anyone out there who you were getting inspiration from?' And he pointed me to this other guy named Ranjit Bhatnagar who was keeping a site at moonmilk.com in 1993. And, sure enough, it was a reverse chronological list of stuff he found on the web. |url=http://mediashift.org/2008/09/scott-rosenberg-traces-the-blogospheres-origins266/ |access-date=November 26, 2023}}</ref>
The earliest instance of a commercial blog was on the first [[business to consumer]] Web site created in 1995 by [[Ty Inc|Ty, Inc.]], which featured a blog in a section called "Online Diary". The entries were maintained by featured [[Beanie Babies]] that were voted for monthly by Web site visitors.<ref name=BeanieBabies>{{cite book|last=Bissonnette|first=Zac|date=March 2015|title=The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute|publisher=Penguin Books|chapter=The $12-per-hour Sociology Major Who Made Ty Warner a Billionaire| pages=107–121|isbn=978-1591846024}}</ref>
The modern blog evolved from the [[online diary]] where people would keep a running account of the events in their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, journalists, or journalers. [[Justin Hall]], who began personal blogging in 1994 while a student at [[Swarthmore College]], is generally recognized as one of the earlier bloggers,<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/20/MNGBKBEJO01.DTL|title=Time to get a life — pioneer blogger Justin Hall bows out at 31|last=Harmanci|first=Reyhan|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=February 20, 2005|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> as is [[Jerry Pournelle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jerrypournelle.com/#whatabout |title=Jerry Pournelle's Chaos Manor |work=jerrypournelle.com |quote= I can make some claim to this being The Original Blog and Daybook. I certainly started keeping a day book well before most, and long before the term "blog" or Web Log was invented. BIX, the Byte information exchange, preceded the Web by a lot, and I also had a daily journal on GE Genie. Both of those would have been considered blogs if there had been any such term. All that was long before the World Wide Web. |author=Pournelle, Jerry |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216092746/https://www.jerrypournelle.com/#whatabout |archive-date= February 16, 2024 }}</ref> [[Dave Winer]]'s Scripting News is also credited with being one of the older and longer running weblogs.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://news.cnet.com/2008-1082-985714.html
|title=Newsmaker: Blogging comes to Harvard
|first=Paul
|last=Festa
|publisher=[[CNET]] News
|date=February 25, 2003
|access-date=January 25, 2007
|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707204556/http://news.cnet.com/2008-1082-985714.html |archive-date= July 7, 2009 }}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
|date=June 10, 2002
|first=David F.
|last=Gallagher
|title=Technology; A rift among bloggers
|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DE3DE103DF933A25755C0A9649C8B63
|quote=...Dave Winer... whose Scripting News (scripting.com) is one of the oldest blogs.
|url-access=subscription
|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122150419/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/10/business/technology-a-rift-among-bloggers.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm |archive-date= January 22, 2013
}}</ref> The Australian Netguide magazine maintained the Daily Net News<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19961112042649/http://netguide.aust.com/daily/index.html Australian Net Guide]". netguide.aust.com (November 12, 1996). Retrieved June 15, 2013.</ref> on their web site from 1996. Daily Net News ran links and daily reviews of new websites, mostly in Australia.
Another early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, digital video, and digital pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and [[EyeTap]] device to a web site in 1994. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as [[sousveillance]], and such journals were also used as evidence in legal matters. Some early bloggers, such as The Misanthropic Bitch, who began in 1997, referred to their online presence as a [[zine]], before the term blog entered common usage.
The first research paper about blogging was [[Torill Mortensen]] and [[Jill Walker Rettberg]]'s paper "Blogging Thoughts",<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mortensen |first1=Torill |last2=Walker|first2=Jill|date=2002|title=Blogging thoughts: personal publication as an online research tool|url=https://bora.uib.no/bora-xmlui/bitstream/handle/1956/13070/Blogging-Thoughts.pdf |via=Bergen Open Research Archive |journal=Researching ICTs in Context|pages=249–279 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220228073152/https://bora.uib.no/bora-xmlui/bitstream/handle/1956/13070/Blogging-Thoughts.pdf|archive-date= February 28, 2022 }}</ref> which analysed how blogs were being used to foster research communities and the exchange of ideas and scholarship, and how this new means of networking overturns traditional power structures.
===Technology===
Early blogs were simply manually updated components of common Websites. In 1995, the "Online Diary" on the [[Ty, Inc.]] Web site was produced and updated manually before any blogging programs were available. Posts were made to appear in reverse chronological order by manually updating text-based [[HTML]] code using [[FTP]] software in real time several times a day. To users, this offered the appearance of a live diary that contained multiple new entries per day. At the beginning of each new day, new diary entries were manually coded into a new HTML file, and at the start of each month, diary entries were archived into their own folder, which contained a separate HTML page for every day of the month. Then, menus that contained links to the most recent diary entry were updated manually throughout the site. This text-based method of organizing thousands of files served as a springboard to define future blogging styles that were captured by blogging software developed years later.<ref name="BeanieBabies" />
The evolution of electronic and software tools to facilitate the production and maintenance of Web articles posted in reverse chronological order made the publishing process feasible for a much larger and less technically inclined population. Ultimately, this resulted in the distinct class of online publishing that produces blogs we recognize today. For instance, the use of some sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of "blogging". Blogs can be hosted by dedicated [[blog hosting service]]s, on regular [[web hosting service]]s, or run using blog software.
===Rise in popularity===
After a slow start, blogging rapidly gained in popularity. Blog usage spread during 1999 and the years following, being further popularized by the near-simultaneous arrival of the first hosted blog tools:
* [[Bruce Ableson]] launched [[Open Diary]] in October 1998, which soon grew to thousands of online diaries. Open Diary innovated the reader comment, becoming the first blog community where readers could add comments to other writers' blog entries.
* [[Brad Fitzpatrick]] started [[LiveJournal]] in March 1999.
* Andrew Smales created Pitas.com in July 1999 as an easier alternative to maintaining a "news page" on a Web site, followed by DiaryLand in September 1999, focusing more on a personal diary community.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cjrarchives.org/issues/2003/5/blog-jensen.asp?printerfriendly=yes |title=Emerging Alternatives: A Brief History of Weblogs |first1=Mallory |last1=Jensen |date=September–October 2005 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |publisher=Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism |access-date=March 29, 2008 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411075325/http://cjrarchives.org/issues/2003/5/blog-jensen.asp?printerfriendly=yes |archive-date=April 11, 2008 }}</ref>
* [[Blogger (service)|Blogger]] (blogspot.com) was launched in 1999<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bull |first1=Glen |last2=Bull |first2=Gina |last3=Kadjer |first3=Sara |title=Writing with Weblogs |url=https://tl-cdn.pbseducation.org/courses/tech195/docs/writing_with_weblogs.pdf |publisher=International Society for Technology in Education |access-date=December 6, 2023}}</ref>
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===Political impact===
[[File:Talkingpointsmemo2.png|thumb|On December 6, 2002, Josh Marshall's talkingpointsmemo.com blog called attention to U.S. Senator [[Trent Lott|Lott's]] comments regarding Senator Thurmond. Senator Lott was eventually to resign his Senate leadership position over the matter.]]
An early milestone in the rise in importance of blogs came in 2002, when many bloggers focused on comments by [[United States Senate Majority Leader|U.S. Senate Majority Leader]] [[Trent Lott]].<ref name="massing essay">{{cite journal | last = Massing | first = Michael | author-link = Michael Massing | title = The News About the Internet | journal = New York Review of Books | volume = 56 | issue = 13 | date = August 13, 2009 | pages = 29–32 | url = http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22960 | access-date = October 10, 2009 }}</ref> Senator Lott, at a party honoring [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Strom Thurmond]], praised Senator Thurmond by suggesting that the United States would have been better off had Thurmond been elected president. Lott's critics saw these comments as tacit approval of [[racial segregation]], a policy advocated by Thurmond's [[1948 United States presidential election|1948 presidential campaign]]. This view was reinforced by documents and recorded interviews dug up by bloggers. (See [[Josh Marshall]]'s ''[[Talking Points Memo]]''.) Though Lott's comments were made at a public event attended by the media, no major media organizations reported on his controversial comments until after blogs broke the story. Blogging helped to create a political crisis that forced Lott to step down as majority leader.
Similarly, blogs were among the driving forces behind the "[[Rathergate]]" scandal. Television journalist [[Dan Rather]] presented documents on the CBS show ''[[60 Minutes]]'' that conflicted with accepted accounts of President Bush's military service record. Bloggers declared the documents to be [[forgery|forgeries]] and presented evidence and arguments in support of that view. Consequently, CBS apologized for what it said were inadequate reporting techniques (see: [[Little Green Footballs]]). The impact of these stories gave greater credibility to blogs as a medium of news dissemination.
In Russia, some political bloggers have started to challenge the dominance of official, overwhelmingly pro-government media. Bloggers such as [[Rustem Adagamov]] and [[Alexei Navalny]] have many followers, and the latter's nickname for the ruling [[United Russia]] party as the "party of crooks and thieves" has been adopted by anti-regime protesters.<ref>[[Daniel Sandford (journalist)|Daniel Sandford]], [[BBC News]]: "Russians tire of corruption spectacle", https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15972326</ref> This led to ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' calling Navalny "the man [[Vladimir Putin]] fears most" in March 2012.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Man Vladimir Putin Fears Most (the weekend interview) |url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203986604577257321601811092 | first=Matthew | last=Kaminski | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal | date=March 3, 2012 }}</ref> (Navalny died in prison in 2024.)
===Mainstream popularity===
By 2004, the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream, as [[political consultant]]s, news services, and candidates began using them as tools for outreach and opinion forming. Blogging was established by politicians and political candidates to express opinions on war and other issues and cemented blogs' role as a news source. (See [[Howard Dean]] and [[Wesley Clark]].) Even politicians not actively campaigning, such as the [[Labour Party (UK)|UK's Labour Party's]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) [[Tom Watson (Labour politician)|Tom Watson]], began to blog to bond with constituents. In January 2005, ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' magazine listed eight bloggers whom business people "could not ignore": [[Engadget|Peter Rojas]], [[Xeni Jardin]], [[Benjamin Trott|Ben Trott]], [[Mena Trott]], [[Jonathan I. Schwartz|Jonathan Schwartz]], Jason Goldman, [[Robert Scoble]], and [[Jason Calacanis]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,1011763-1,00.html | title=Why There's No Escaping the Blog | work=Fortune | access-date=January 30, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050101004415/http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0%2C15114%2C1011763-1%2C00.html | archive-date=January 1, 2005 | last1=Kirkpatrick | first1=David | last2=Roth | first2=Daniel | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Israel was among the first national governments to set up an official blog.<ref name=Ynet>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3220593,00.html Israel Video Blog aims to show the world 'the beautiful face of real Israel'], Ynet, February 24, 2008.</ref> Under [[David Saranga]], the [[Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] became active in adopting [[Web 2.0]] initiatives, including an official [[video blog]] and a [[political blog]].<ref name=Ynet/> The Foreign Ministry also held a [[microblogging]] press conference via Twitter about its [[2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict|war with Hamas]], with Saranga answering questions from the public in common text-messaging abbreviations during a live worldwide press conference.<ref name=JP>{{cite news |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456533492&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |title=Battlefront Twitter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110204933/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456533492&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=November 10, 2011 |author=Haviv Rettig Gur |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=December 30, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The questions and answers were later posted on [[IsraelPolitik]], the country's official political blog.<ref name=NYTs>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/weekinreview/04cohen.html The Toughest Q's Answered in the Briefest Tweets], Noam Cohen, ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 3, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2009.</ref>
The impact of blogging on the mainstream media has also been acknowledged by governments. In 2009, the presence of the American journalism industry had declined to the point that several newspaper corporations were filing for bankruptcy, resulting in less direct competition between newspapers within the same circulation area. Discussion emerged as to whether the newspaper industry would benefit from a stimulus package by the federal government. U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] acknowledged the emerging influence of blogging upon society by saying, "if the direction of the news is all blogosphere, all opinions, with no serious fact-checking, no serious attempts to put stories in context, then what you will end up getting is people shouting at each other across the void, but not a lot of mutual understanding".<ref>[http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20091103/OPINION16/91102031/1004/OPINION/Journalists-deserve-subsidies-too Journalists deserve subsidies too] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324134110/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20091103/OPINION16/91102031/1004/OPINION/Journalists-deserve-subsidies-too |date=March 24, 2014 }}, [[Robert W. McChesney]] and [[John Nichols (journalist)|John Nichols]], ''Delaware Online'', November 3, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2009.</ref> Between 2009 and 2012, an [[Orwell Prize]] for blogging was awarded.
In the late 2000s, blogs were often used on business websites and for [[grassroots]] political activism.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lain Kennedy |first=Joice |title=Job Interviews for Dummies |date=January 3, 2008 |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley Publishing, Inc.]] |isbn=9780470177488 |edition=3rd |___location=Indianapolis |pages=197 |orig-date=2007, the majority was completed by this year}}</ref>
==Types==
[[File:BlogActive.com Screenshot 2004.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|A screenshot from the BlogActive website]]
There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written.
;Personal blogs: The personal blog is an ongoing online diary or commentary written by an individual, rather than a corporation or organization. While the vast majority of personal blogs attract very few readers, other than the blogger's immediate family and friends, a small number of personal blogs have become popular, to the point that they have attracted lucrative advertising sponsorship. A few personal bloggers have gained significant recognition beyond their immediate circles.
;Collaborative blogs or group blogs: A type of weblog in which posts are written and published by more than one author. The majority of high-profile collaborative blogs are organised according to a single uniting theme, such as politics, technology or advocacy. In recent years, the [[blogosphere]] has seen the emergence and growing popularity of more collaborative efforts, often set up by already established bloggers wishing to pool time and resources, both to reduce the pressure of maintaining a popular website and to attract a larger readership.
;[[Microblogging]]: Microblogging is the practice of posting small pieces of digital content—which could be text, pictures, links, short videos, or other media—on the internet. Microblogging offers a portable communication mode that feels organic and spontaneous to many users. It has captured the public imagination, in part because the short posts are easy to read on the go or when waiting. Friends use it to keep in touch, business associates use it to coordinate meetings or share useful resources, and celebrities and politicians (or their publicists) microblog about concert dates, lectures, book releases, or tour schedules. A wide and growing range of add-on tools enables sophisticated updates and interaction with other applications. The resulting profusion of functionality is helping to define new possibilities for this type of communication.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-microblogging |title=7 Things You Should Know About Microblogging |website=Educause.edu |date=July 7, 2009 |access-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref> Examples of these include Twitter, Facebook, [[Tumblr]] and, by far the largest, [[Sina Weibo|Weibo]].
;Corporate and organizational blogs: A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business or [[not-for-profit organization]] or government purposes. Blogs used internally and only available to employees via an [[Intranet]] are called [[corporate blog]]s. Companies use internal corporate blogs to enhance the communication, culture and [[employee engagement]] in a corporation. Internal corporate blogs can be used to communicate news about company policies or procedures, build employee [[esprit de corps]] and improve [[morale]]. Companies and other organizations also use external, publicly accessible blogs for marketing, branding, or [[public relations]] purposes. Some organizations have a blog authored by their executive; in practice, many of these executive blog posts are penned by a [[ghostwriter]] who makes posts in the style of the credited author. Similar blogs for clubs and societies are called club blogs, group blogs, or by similar names; typical use is to inform members and other interested parties of club and member activities.
;Aggregated blogs: Individuals or organization may aggregate selected feeds on a specific topic, product or service and provide a combined view for its readers. This allows readers to concentrate on reading instead of searching for quality on-topic content and managing subscriptions. Many such aggregations called planets from name of [[Planet (software)]] that perform such aggregation, hosting sites usually have ''planet.'' [[subdomain]] in [[___domain name]] (like http://planet.gnome.org/).
;By genre: Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as [[political blog]]s, journalism blogs, [[health blog]]s, [[Travel literature|travel blog]]s (also known as ''travelogs''), gardening blogs, house blogs, [[Book Blog]]s,<ref>Stephan Metcalf, "Fixing a Hole", ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 2006</ref><ref>Jennifer Saranow, "Blogwatch: This Old House", ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', September 2007</ref> [[fashion blog]]s, beauty blogs, lifestyle blogs, party blogs, wedding blogs, photography blogs, project blogs, psychology blogs, sociology blogs, [[edublog|education blog]]s, [[Niche blogging|niche blog]]s, [[classical music blog]]s, quizzing blogs, [[legal blogs]] (often referred to as a blawgs), or [[Dream diary|dreamlog]]s. How-to/[[Tutorial]] blogs are becoming increasing popular.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/09/03/52-types-of-blog-posts-that-are-proven-to-work/|title=52 Types of Blog Posts that Are Proven to Work|website=Problogger.net|access-date=July 18, 2017|date=September 2, 2011}}</ref> Two common types of genre blogs are [[art blog]]s and [[MP3 blog|music blog]]s. A blog featuring discussions, especially about [[homemaking|home]] and family is not uncommonly called a [[list of family-and-homemaking blogs|mom blog]]. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a [[Spam blog|splog]].
;By media type: A blog comprising videos is called a [[video blog|vlog]], one comprising links is called a [[linklog]], a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a [[sketchblog]] or one comprising photos is called a [[photoblog]]. Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called [[tumblelog]]s. Blogs that are written on typewriters and then scanned are called typecast or typecast blogs. A rare type of blog hosted on the [[Gopher Protocol]] is known as a [[phlog]].
;By device: A blog can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a [[mobile device]] like a mobile phone or [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]] could be called a [[moblog]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2783951.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Blogging goes mobile|date=February 23, 2003|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and [[EyeTap]] device to a web site. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as [[sousveillance]]. Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}
;[[Reverse blog]]: A reverse blog is composed by its users rather than a single blogger. This system has the characteristics of a blog and the writing of several authors. These can be written by several contributing authors on a topic or opened up for anyone to write. There is typically some limit to the number of entries to keep it from operating like a [[web forum]].{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}
==
[[File:Blogosphere map.jpg |thumb|right|upright=0.9|An artist's depiction of the interconnections between blogs and blog authors in the "[[blogosphere]]" in 2007]]
;[[Blogosphere]]: The collective community of all blogs and blog authors, particularly notable and widely read blogs, is known as the ''blogosphere''. Since all blogs are on the internet by definition, they may be seen as interconnected and socially networked, through blogrolls, comments, [[linkback]]s (refbacks, trackbacks or pingbacks), and backlinks. Discussions "in the blogosphere" were occasionally used by the media as a gauge of public opinion on various issues. Because new, untapped communities of bloggers and their readers can emerge in the space of a few years, [[Internet marketing|Internet marketers]] pay close attention to "trends in the blogosphere".<ref>See for instance:
*{{cite news | last = Mesure | first = Susie | title = Is it a diary? Is it an ad? No, it's a mummy blog | work = The Independent | date = August 23, 2009 | page = 11 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/is-it-a-diary-is-it-an-ad-its-a-mummy-blog-1776163.html | access-date = October 10, 2009 | ___location=London |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101229060014/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/is-it-a-diary-is-it-an-ad-its-a-mummy-blog-1776163.html |archive-date= December 29, 2010 }}</ref>
;[[List of search engines#Blog|Blog search engines]]: Several blog search engines have been used to search blog contents, such as [[Bloglines]] (defunct), [[BlogScope]] (defunct), and [[Technorati]] (defunct).
;Blogging communities and directories: Several [[online communities]] exist that connect people to blogs and bloggers to other bloggers. Interest-specific blogging platforms are also available. For instance, Blogster has a sizable community of political bloggers among its members. [[Global Voices Online|Global Voices]] aggregates international bloggers, "with emphasis on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media."<ref>{{cite web | title = About | publisher = Global Voices | url = http://globalvoicesonline.org/about/ | access-date = April 2, 2011}}</ref>
;Blogging and advertising: It is common for blogs to feature [[banner advertisement]]s or promotional content, either to financially benefit the blogger, support website hosting costs, or to promote the blogger's favourite causes or products. The popularity of blogs has also given rise to [[fake blog|"fake blogs"]] in which a company will create a fictional blog as a marketing tool to promote a product.<ref>{{cite web | last = Gogoi | first = Pallavi | title = Wal-Mart's Jim and Laura: The Real Story | work = Bloomberg BusinessWeek | date = October 9, 2006 | url = http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2006/db20061009_579137.htm | access-date = August 6, 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080926103832/http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2006/db20061009_579137.htm | archive-date = September 26, 2008 }}
</ref>
As the popularity of blogging continued to rise (as of 2006), the commercialisation of blogging is rapidly increasing. Many corporations and companies collaborate with bloggers to increase advertising and engage online communities with their products. In the book ''Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers'', Henry Jenkins stated that "Bloggers take knowledge into their own hands, enabling successful navigation within and between these emerging knowledge cultures. One can see such behaviour as co-optation into commodity culture insofar as it sometimes collaborates with corporate interests, but one can also see it as increasing the diversity of media culture, providing opportunities for greater inclusiveness, and making more responsive to consumers."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jenkins|first1=Henry|title=Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers|date=2006|publisher=New York University Press|___location=New York|page=151|isbn=978-0814742853}}</ref>
==Early popularity==
*'''Before 2006:''' The [[blogdex]] project was launched by researchers in the [[MIT Media Lab]] to crawl the Web and gather data from thousands of blogs to investigate their social properties. Information was gathered by the tool for over four years, during which it autonomously tracked the most contagious information spreading in the blog community, ranking it by recency and popularity. It can, therefore,{{original research inline|date=September 2012}} be considered the first instantiation of a [[memetracker]]. The project was replaced by [[tailrank.com]], which in turn has been replaced by spinn3r.com.
*'''2006:''' Blogs are given rankings by [[Alexa Internet]] (web hits of Alexa Toolbar users), and formerly by blog search engine [[Technorati]] based on the number of incoming links (Technorati stopped doing this in 2014). In August 2006, Technorati found that the most linked-to blog on the internet was that of Chinese actress [[Xu Jinglei]].<ref name="Fickling">Fickling, David, [http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2006/08/15/internet_killed_the_tv_star.html Internet killed the TV star], ''[[The Guardian]]'' NewsBlog, August 15, 2006</ref> Chinese media [[Xinhua]] reported that this blog received more than 50 million page views, claiming it to be the most popular blog in the world at the time.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-08/24/content_672747.htm|title=Xu Jinglei most popular blogger in world|date=August 24, 2006|access-date=June 5, 2008|newspaper=China Daily}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2021}} Technorati rated [[Boing Boing]] to be the most-read group-written blog.<ref name="Fickling"/>
<!-- The section below is out of date, but interesting — someone want to follow up on it?
[[Gartner]] forecast that blogging would peak in 2007, leveling off when the number of writers who maintain a personal Web site reaches 100 million. Gartner analysts expected that the novelty value of the medium will wear off as most people who are interested in the phenomenon have checked it out, and new bloggers will offset the number of writers who would later abandon their creation out of boredom. The firm estimated that there are more than 200 million former bloggers who have ceased posting to their online diaries, creating an exponential rise in the amount of "dotsam" and "netsam" — that is to say, unwanted objects on the Web (analogous to flotsam and jetsam). -->
*'''2008:''' {{as of|2008}}, blogging had "become such a mania that a new blog was created every second of every minute of every hour of every day."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Keen|first1=Andrew|title=The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture|date=2008|publisher=Nicholas Brealey Publishing|___location=New York|isbn=978-1857885200|page=3}}</ref> Researchers have actively analyzed the dynamics of how blogs become popular. There are essentially two measures of this: popularity through citations, as well as popularity through affiliation (i.e., blogroll). The basic conclusion from studies of the structure of blogs is that while it takes time for a blog to become popular through blogrolls, [[permalink]]s can boost popularity more quickly and are perhaps more indicative of popularity and authority than blogrolls since they denote that people are reading the blog's content and deem it valuable or noteworthy in specific cases.<ref>Marlow, C. [http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~cameron/cv/pubs/04-01.pdf Audience, structure and authority in the weblog community] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928143757/http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~cameron/cv/pubs/04-01.pdf |date=September 28, 2011 }}. Presented at the [[International Communication Association]] Conference, May 2004, New Orleans, LA.</ref>
==
Blogs are a form of websites and can therefore be created via the same software as can be used for creating websites. Many people use managed platforms such as [[Medium (website)]] or [[Substack]]. These platforms have built-in support for many features such as previewing posts, [[paywalls]], and [[newsletters]]. Other people self-host their website via [[open source]] software such as [[WordPress]] or [[static site generator]]s such as [[Hugo (software)]] or [[Jekyll (software)]].
==Blurring with the mass media==
Many bloggers, particularly those engaged in [[citizen journalism|participatory journalism]], are amateur journalists, and thus they differentiate themselves from the professional reporters and editors who work in [[mainstream media]] organizations. Other bloggers are media professionals who are publishing online, rather than via a TV station or newspaper, either as an add-on to a traditional media presence (e.g., hosting a radio show or writing a column in a paper newspaper), or as their sole journalistic output. Some institutions and organizations see blogging as a means of "getting around the filter" of media "[[gatekeeper]]s" and pushing their messages directly to the public. Many mainstream journalists, meanwhile, write their own blogs—well over 300, according to CyberJournalist.net's J-blog list.{{citation needed|date=June 2010}} The first known use of a blog on a news site was in August 1998, when [[Jonathan Dube]] of ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]'' published one chronicling [[Hurricane Bonnie (1998)|Hurricane Bonnie]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Blogging Bonnie |website=[[Poynter.org]]|date=September 18, 2003 |url=http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=48413/}}</ref>
Some bloggers have moved over to other media. The following bloggers (and others) have appeared on radio and television: [[Atrios|Duncan Black]] (known widely by his pseudonym, Atrios), [[Glenn Reynolds]] ([[Instapundit]]), [[Markos Moulitsas Zúniga]] ([[Daily Kos]]), [[Alex Steffen]] ([[Worldchanging]]), [[Ana Marie Cox]] ([[Wonkette]]), [[Nate Silver]] ([[FiveThirtyEight.com]]), and [[Ezra Klein]] (Ezra Klein blog in ''[[The American Prospect]],'' now in ''[[The Washington Post]]''). In counterpoint, [[Hugh Hewitt]] exemplifies a mass media personality who has moved in the other direction, adding to his reach in "old media" by being an influential blogger. Similarly, it was ''Emergency Preparedness and Safety Tips On Air and Online'' blog articles that captured [[Surgeon General of the United States]] [[Richard Carmona]]'s attention and earned his kudos for the associated broadcasts by talk show host [[WVOX#Notable Past Programming|Lisa Tolliver]] and Westchester Emergency Volunteer Reserves-[[Medical Reserve Corps]] Director Marianne Partridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsc.org/nsc_events/Nat_Safe_Month/Pages/home.aspx |title=National Safety Month |publisher=National Safety Council |access-date=April 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140616140514/http://www.nsc.org/nsc_events/Nat_Safe_Month/Pages/home.aspx |archive-date=June 16, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/06/21/173419.php|work=Blogcritics|title=Flavor Flav Celebrates National Safety Month |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213223841/http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/06/21/173419.php |archive-date=February 13, 2009}}</ref>
Blogs have also had an influence on [[minority language]]s, bringing together scattered speakers and learners; this is particularly so with blogs in [[Goidelic language|Gaelic languages]]. Minority language publishing (which may lack economic feasibility) can find its audience through inexpensive blogging. There are examples of bloggers who have published books based on their blogs, e.g., [[Salam Pax]], [[Ellen Simonetti]], [[Jessica Cutler]], and [[ScrappleFace]]. Blog-based books have been given the name [[blook]]. A prize for the best blog-based book was initiated in 2005,<ref>{{cite news|title=Blooker rewards books from blogs|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4326908.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=October 11, 2005|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> the [[Lulu Blooker Prize]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Blooker prize honours best blogs|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6446271.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=March 17, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> However, success has been elusive offline, with many of these books not selling as well as their blogs. The book based on [[Julie Powell]]'s blog "The Julie/Julia Project" was made into the film ''[[Julie & Julia]]'', apparently the first to do so.
==Consumer-generated advertising==
[[Consumer-generated advertising]] is a relatively new and controversial development, and it has created a new model of marketing communication from businesses to consumers. Among the various forms of advertising on blog, the most controversial are the [[sponsored post]]s.<ref>Mutum, Dilip and Wang, Qing (2010). "Consumer Generated Advertising in Blogs". In Neal M. Burns, Terry Daugherty, Matthew S. Eastin (Eds) Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Advertising: User Generated Content Consumption (Vol 1), IGI Global, 248–261.</ref> These are blog entries or posts and may be in the form of feedback, reviews, opinion, videos, etc. and usually contain a link back to the desired site using a keyword or several keywords. Blogs have led to some [[disintermediation]] and a breakdown of the traditional advertising model, where companies can skip over the advertising agencies (previously the only interface with the customer) and contact the customers directly via social media websites. On the other hand, new companies specialised in blog advertising have been established to take advantage of this new development as well. However, there are many people who look negatively on this new development. Some believe that any form of commercial activity on blogs will destroy the blogosphere's credibility.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2006/06/30/payperpostcom-offers-to-buy-your-soul/ |title=PayPerPost.com offers to sell your soul |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=June 30, 2006 |access-date=July 18, 2017}}</ref>
==Legal and social consequences==
{{anchor|Legal}}
Blogging can result in a range of legal liabilities and other [[unforeseen consequence]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=ETBG/2008/01/25/12/Ar01201.xml&CollName=ET_BANGALORE_ARCHIVE_2007&DOCID=108812&Keyword=%28%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3EChandu%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3EGopalakrishnan%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3Elibel%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3Eblog%29&skin=pastissues2&AppName=2&ViewMode=HTML |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318062526/http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=ETBG/2008/01/25/12/Ar01201.xml&CollName=ET_BANGALORE_ARCHIVE_2007&DOCID=108812&Keyword=%28%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3EChandu%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3EGopalakrishnan%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3Elibel%3Cand%3E%3Cmany%3E%3Cstem%3Eblog%29&skin=pastissues2&AppName=2&ViewMode=HTML |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 18, 2013 |title=Article Window |work=The Times of India |access-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref>
===Defamation or liability===
Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers concerning issues of [[Slander and libel|defamation or liability]]. U.S. payouts related to blogging totalled $17.4 million by 2009; in some cases these have been covered by [[umbrella insurance]].<ref>McQueen MP. (2009). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124287328648142113 Bloggers, Beware: What You Write Can Get You Sued]. ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref> The courts have returned with mixed verdicts. [[Internet Service Provider]]s (ISPs), in general, are immune from liability for information that originates with third parties (U.S. [[Communications Decency Act]] and the EU Directive 2000/31/EC). In ''Doe v. Cahill'', the [[Delaware Supreme Court]] held that stringent standards had to be met to unmask the [[anonymous bloggers]] and also took the unusual step of dismissing the libel case itself (as unfounded under American libel law) rather than referring it back to the [[trial court]] for reconsideration.<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/delawarestatecases/266-2005.pdf Doe v. Cahill], 884 A.2d 451 (Del. 2005).</ref> In a bizarre twist, the Cahills were able to obtain the identity of John Doe, who turned out to be the person they suspected: the town's mayor, Councilman Cahill's political rival. The Cahills amended their original complaint, and the mayor settled the case rather than going to trial.
In January 2007, two prominent Malaysian political bloggers, [[Jeff Ooi]] and [[Ahirudin Attan]], were sued by a pro-government newspaper, The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Kalimullah bin Masheerul Hassan, Hishamuddin bin Aun and Brenden John [[Malaysian names#Indian names|a/l]] John Pereira over alleged defamation. The plaintiff was supported by the Malaysian government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20489|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608220312/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20489|archive-date=June 8, 2008|title=New Straits Times staffers sue two bloggers
|publisher=[[Reporters Without Borders]]|date=January 19, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> Following the suit, the Malaysian government proposed to "register" all bloggers in Malaysia to better control parties against their interests.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21606|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611025330/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21606|archive-date=June 11, 2008|title=Government plans to force bloggers to register|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|date=April 6, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> This is the first such legal case against bloggers in the country. In the United States, blogger Aaron Wall was sued by Traffic Power for [[defamation]] and publication of [[trade secrets]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Kesmodel |title=Blogger Faces Lawsuit Over Comments Posted by Readers |url=http://wsj.com/news/articles/SB112541909221726743 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=August 31, 2005 |access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> According to ''Wired'' magazine, Traffic Power had been "banned from Google for allegedly rigging search engine results."<ref>[[Wired Magazine]], [http://archive.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/09/68799?currentPage=all Legal Showdown in Search Fracas], September 8, 2005</ref> Wall and other "[[white hat (computer security)|white hat]]" [[search engine optimization]] consultants had exposed Traffic Power in what they claim was an effort to protect the public. The case was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, and Traffic Power failed to appeal within the allowed time.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Danny |url=http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060413-084431 |title=SearchEngineWatch |website=Blog.searchenginewatch.com |date=April 13, 2006 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204155628/http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060413-084431 |archive-date=February 4, 2009 }}</ref>
In 2009, [[NDTV]] issued a legal notice to Indian blogger Kunte for a blog post criticizing their coverage of the [[Mumbai attacks]].<ref name="hootbarkha">{{cite news
|title=Barkha versus blogger
|url=http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=3629&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=6&valid=true
|work=The Hoot
|access-date=February 2, 2009}}</ref> The blogger unconditionally withdrew his post, which resulted in several Indian bloggers criticizing NDTV for trying to silence critics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abhishekarora.com/2009/02/chyetanya-kunte-vs-burkha-dutt-ndtv.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212101311/http://www.abhishekarora.com/2009/02/chyetanya-kunte-vs-burkha-dutt-ndtv.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 12, 2009 |title=Indian bloggers criticizing NDTV |website=Abhishekarora.com |date=February 8, 2009 |access-date=April 21, 2013 }}</ref>
===Employment===
Employees who blog about elements of their place of employment can begin to affect the reputation of their employer, either in a positive way, if the employee is praising the employer and its workplaces, or in a negative way, if the blogger is making negative comments about the company or its practices.
In general, attempts by employee bloggers to protect themselves by maintaining anonymity have proved ineffective.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/catherine_sanderson/2007/04/blogger_beware.html|last=Sanderson
| first=Cathrine|title=Blogger beware!|work=The Guardian|date=April 2, 2007|access-date=April 2, 2007 | ___location=London}}</ref> In 2009, a controversial and landmark decision by [[David Eady|The Hon. Mr Justice Eady]] refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of [[Richard Horton (blogger)|Richard Horton]]. Horton was a police officer in the United Kingdom who blogged about his job under the name "NightJack".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6509677.ece |title=Ruling on NightJack author Richard Horton kills blogger anonymity |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829142604/http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6509677.ece |archive-date=August 29, 2011}}</ref>
[[Delta Air Lines]] fired [[flight attendant]] [[Ellen Simonetti]] because she posted photographs of herself in uniform on an aeroplane and because of comments posted on her blog "Queen of Sky: Diary of a Flight Attendant" which the employer deemed inappropriate.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3974081.stm|last=Twist|first=Jo|title=US Blogger Fired by her Airline|publisher=BBC News|date=November 3, 2004|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-09-08-delta-blog_x.htm|title=Delta employee fired for blogging sues airline|work=[[USA Today]]|date=September 8, 2005|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> This case highlighted the issue of personal blogging and freedom of expression versus employer rights and responsibilities, and so it received wide media attention. Simonetti took legal action against the airline for "wrongful termination, defamation of character and lost future wages".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/03/airline_blogger_sacked/|title=Queen of the Sky gets marching orders|website=The Register|date=November 3, 2004|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> The suit was postponed while Delta was in bankruptcy proceedings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Twelfth Omnibus Claims Objection|url=http://themarketingheaven.com/Twelfth_OmnibusClaimsObjection.pdf|access-date=July 8, 2014}}</ref>
In early 2006, Erik Ringmar, a senior lecturer at the [[London School of Economics]], was ordered by the convenor of his department to "take down and destroy" his blog in which he discussed the quality of education at the school.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1766663,00.html|newspaper=The Guardian|title=Lecturer's Blog Sparks Free Speech Row|date=May 3, 2006|access-date=June 5, 2008|___location=London|first=Donald|last=MacLeod|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612093856/http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0%2C%2C1766663%2C00.html|archive-date=June 12, 2008|url-status=dead}} See also {{cite web |url=http://ringmar.net/forgethefootnotes/ |title=Forget the Footnotes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060413192035/http://ringmar.net/forgethefootnotes/ |archive-date=April 13, 2006 }}</ref>
Mark Jen was terminated in 2005 after 10 days of employment as an assistant product manager at Google for discussing corporate secrets on his personal blog, then called 99zeros and hosted on the Google-owned [[Blogger.com|Blogger]] service.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.cnet.com/Google-blogger-has-left-the-building/2100-1038_3-5567863.html| last=Hansen|first=Evan|publisher=CNET News|title=Google blogger has left the building|date=February 8, 2005|access-date=April 4, 2007}}</ref> He blogged about unreleased products and company finances a week before the company's earnings announcement. He was fired two days after he complied with his employer's request to remove the sensitive material from his blog.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.plaxoed.com/2005/02/11/the-official-story-straight-from-the-source/ |title=Plaxoed! » the official story, straight from the source [Mark Jen's life @ Plaxo] |access-date=September 10, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725003614/http://blog.plaxoed.com/2005/02/11/the-official-story-straight-from-the-source |archive-date=July 25, 2008 }}</ref>
In India, blogger Gaurav Sabnis resigned from [[IBM]] after his posts questioned the claims made by a management school.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=152721 |title=Bloggers join hands against B-school |work=The Indian Express |access-date=January 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051214164021/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=152721 |archive-date=December 14, 2005 }}</ref> [[Jessica Cutler]], aka "The Washingtonienne", blogged about her sex life while employed as a congressional assistant. After the blog was discovered and she was fired,<ref>
{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48909-2004May22.html|title=The Hill's Sex Diarist Reveals All (Well, Some)|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 23, 2004|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> she wrote a novel based on her experiences and blog: ''The Washingtonienne: A Novel''. {{as of|2006}}, Cutler is being sued by one of her former lovers in a case that could establish the extent to which bloggers are obligated to protect the privacy of their real life associates.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16366256|title= Steamy D.C. Sex Blog Scandal Heads to Court| publisher=NBC News| date=December 27, 2006 | access-date=June 5, 2008 }}</ref>
Catherine Sanderson, a.k.a. [[Petite Anglaise]], lost her job in Paris at a British accountancy firm because of blogging.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/19/france.blog/index.html?section=cnn_tech
| title=Bridget Jones Blogger Fire Fury |publisher=[[CNN]]|date=July 19, 2006|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> Although given in the blog in a fairly anonymous manner, some of the descriptions of the firm and some of its people were less than flattering. Sanderson later won a compensation claim case against the British firm, however.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/Sacked-petite-anglaise-blogger-wins-compensation-claim/2007/03/31/1174761793390.html |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | title=Sacked 'petite anglaise' blogger wins compensation claim|date=March 31, 2007|access-date=February 6, 2015}}</ref>
On the other hand, [[Penelope Trunk]] wrote an upbeat article in ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' in 2006, entitled "Blogs 'essential' to a good career".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/04/16/blogs_essential_to_a_good_career/ |title= Blogs 'essential' to a good career|work=The Boston Globe |date=April 16, 2006 |access-date=April 21, 2013 |first=Penelope |last=Trunk}}</ref> She was one of the first journalists to point out that a large portion of bloggers are professionals and that a well-written blog can help attract employers.
====Business owners====
Business owners who blog about their business can also run into legal consequences. [[Mark Cuban]], owner of the [[Dallas Mavericks]], was fined during the 2006 [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] playoffs for criticizing NBA officials on the court and in his blog.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2440355|publisher=ESPN|title=NBA fines Cuban $200K for antics on, off court|date=May 11, 2006|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref>
===Political dangers===
{{see also|Political repression of cyber-dissidents}}
Blogging can sometimes have unforeseen consequences in politically sensitive areas. In some countries, [[Internet police]] or [[secret police]] may monitor blogs and arrest blog authors or commentators. Blogs can be much harder to control than broadcast or print media because a person can create a blog whose authorship is hard to trace by using anonymity technology such as [[Tor (network)|Tor]]. As a result, [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] and authoritarian regimes often seek to suppress blogs and punish those who maintain them.
In Singapore, two ethnic Chinese individuals were [[imprisoned]] under the country's [[Sedition Act (Singapore)|anti-sedition law]] for posting [[Islamophobia|anti-Muslim]] remarks in their blogs.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kierkegaard|first=Sylvia|author-link=Sylvia Kierkegaard|year=2006|doi=10.1016/j.clsr.2006.01.002|title=Blogs, lies and the doocing: The next hotbed of litigation?|journal=Computer Law & Security Report|volume=22|issue=2|page=127 |issn=0267-3649}}</ref> Egyptian blogger [[Kareem Amer]] was charged with insulting the Egyptian president [[Hosni Mubarak]] and an [[Islam]]ic [[Al-Azhar University|institution]] through his blog. It is the first time in the history of Egypt that a blogger was prosecuted. After a brief trial session that took place in [[Alexandria]], the blogger was found guilty and sentenced to prison terms of three years for insulting [[Islam]] and inciting sedition and one year for insulting Mubarak.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6385849.stm|title=Egypt blogger jailed for insult|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=February 22, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> Egyptian blogger Abdel Monem Mahmoud was arrested in April 2007 for anti-government writings in his blog. Monem is a member of the then banned [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. After the [[2011 Egyptian revolution]], the Egyptian blogger [[Maikel Nabil Sanad]] was charged with insulting the military for an article he wrote on his personal blog and sentenced to three years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/hunger-strike-egyptian-pr_n_963916.html |title=Maikel Nabil Sanad, On Hunger Strike in Egypt, Is Dying |work=HuffPost |date= September 15, 2011|access-date=December 29, 2011 |first=Saki |last=Knafo}}</ref>
After expressing opinions in his personal blog about the state of the Sudanese armed forces, [[Jan Pronk]], United Nations Special Representative for [[Sudan]], was given three days notice to leave Sudan. The Sudanese army had demanded his deportation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/10/22/sudan.darfur.un/index.html|title=Sudan expels U.N. envoy for blog|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=October 22, 2006|access-date=March 14, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = UN envoy leaves after Sudan row | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6076022.stm | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = October 23, 2006 | access-date = October 24, 2006}}</ref> In [[Myanmar]], Nay Phone Latt, a blogger, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for posting a cartoon critical of head of state [[Than Shwe]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7721271.stm | publisher=BBC News | title=Burma blogger jailed for 20 years | date=November 11, 2008 | access-date=March 26, 2010}}</ref>
===
{{See also|Cyberstalking|Internet homicide}}
One consequence of blogging is the possibility of online or in-person attacks or threats against the blogger, sometimes without apparent reason. In some cases, bloggers have faced [[cyberbullying]]. [[Kathy Sierra]], author of the blog "Creating Passionate Users",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://headrush.typepad.com/ |title=Headrush.typepad.com |website=Headrush.typepad.com |access-date=April 21, 2013}}</ref> was the target of threats and [[misogynistic]] insults to the point that she cancelled her keynote speech at a technology conference in San Diego, fearing for her safety.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-internet31mar31,0,4064392.story?coll=la-home-headlines | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625081401/http://www.imsafer.com/images/LAtimes_3_31_07.pdf | archive-date=June 25, 2008| title=Abuse, threats quiet bloggers' keyboards|last=Pham | first= Alex |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=March 31, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> While a blogger's anonymity is often tenuous, [[Troll (Internet)|Internet trolls]] who would attack a blogger with threats or insults can be emboldened by the anonymity of the online environment, where some users are known only by a pseudonymous "username" (e.g., "Hacker1984"). Sierra and supporters initiated an online discussion aimed at countering abusive online behaviour<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6499095.stm | title=Blog death threats spark debate |publisher=BBC News|date=March 27, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2008}}</ref> and developed a [[Blogger's Code of Conduct]], which set out a [[code of conduct|rules for behaviour]] in the online space.
==See also==
{{Portal|Internet|Journalism}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Blog award]]
* [[BROG]]
* [[Chat room]]
* [[Citizen journalism]]
* [[Collaborative blog]]
* [[Comparison of free blog hosting services]]
* [[Customer engagement]]
* [[Glossary of blogging]]
* [[Interactive journalism]]
* [[Internet think tank]]
* [[Israblog]]
* [[List of blogs]]
* [[List of family-and-homemaking blogs]]
* [[Mass collaboration]]
* [[Perzine]] <!--personal magazine, hard copy equivalent of a personal blog-->
* [[Sideblog]]
* [[Microblogging|Social blogging]]
* [[Think aloud protocol]]
* [[Webmaster]]
* [[Web template system]]
* [[Web traffic]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* Alavi, Nasrin. ''We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs'', Soft Skull Press, New York, 2005. {{ISBN|1-933368-05-5}}.
* Bruns, Axel, and Joanne Jacobs, eds. ''Uses of Blogs'', Peter Lang, New York, 2006. {{ISBN|0-8204-8124-6}}.
* Blood, Rebecca. [http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html "Weblogs: A History and Perspective"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530144950/http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html |date=May 30, 2015 }}. "Rebecca's Pocket".
* {{Cite journal |author-link=Sylvia Kierkegaard |doi=10.1016/j.clsr.2006.01.002 |title=Blogs, lies and the doocing: The next hotbed of litigation? |date=2006 |last1=Mercado-Kierkegaard |first1=Sylvia |journal=Computer Law & Security Review |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=127–136 }}
* Kline, David; Burstein, Dan. ''Blog!: How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture'', Squibnocket Partners, L.L.C., 2005. {{ISBN|1-59315-141-1}}.
* [[Michael Gorman (librarian)|Gorman, Michael]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150407161907/http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2005/02/ljarchives/backtalk-revenge-of-the-blog-people/ "Revenge of the Blog People!"]. ''Library Journal''.
*Heriot, Gail, [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=898176 Are Modern Bloggers Following in the Footsteps of Publius (and Other Musings on Blogging by Legal Scholars...)], 8 Wash. U. L. Rev. 1113 (2006).
* Ringmar, Erik. [https://archive.org/download/ABloggersManifestoFreeSpeechAndCensorshipInTheAgeOfTheInternet/ErikRingmarABloggersManifesto.pdf A Blogger's Manifesto: Free Speech and Censorship in the Age of the Internet] (London: Anthem Press, 2007).
* [[Scott Rosenberg (journalist)|Rosenberg, Scott]], [https://archive.org/details/sayeverythinghow00rose ''Say Everything: how blogging Began, what it's becoming, and why it matters''], New York : Crown Publishers, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-307-45136-1}}
* {{citation |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/08/30/why-blogging-still-matters/JkzFdTxoySZZwsyrFw7yMI/story.html |date=August 31, 2015 |author=Weinberger, David |title=Why blogging still matters |author-link=David Weinberger }}
{{refend}}
==
<!-- These links should go to sites that extend this reference about weblogs. -->
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{{Wiktionary}}
{{wikiquote|Blogging}}
{{commons category|Blogs}}
* [https://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/ Legal Guide for bloggers] by the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]
* [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/lcwa/html/lawlb/lawlb-overview.html Law Library Legal Blawgs Web Archive] from the U.S. [[Library of Congress]]
{{Web syndication}}
{{Computer-mediated communication}}
{{internet slang}}
{{Journalism}}
{{Journalism roles}}
{{WebManTools}}
{{Authority control}}
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