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 How to Create a Unique Blog
Short for Web log, a blog is a website where journals and commentary can be posted. The vibrant content found in blogs differentiates them from other websites known for more consistently static information. You can write about just about anything -- and curious Internet surfers will eat it up.
Want to give it a shot? Creating a blog has been made simple with tools and software dedicated to the process. Have a look at the services offered at sites including blogger.com, wordpress.com and moveabletype.com.
Since going mainstream, blogging has moved beyond the written word. Photoblogs and videoblogs are just as popular today..
So how do you know what kind of blog to put out there? Visit other blogs to get a sense of what materials can be found on these types of sites and which medium best expresses your topic. And once you get started, be prepared to express your opinions often. Your audience will loose interest if your site doesn't have new information or is always "under construction." When your site is constantly being updated, people will return regularly to see what's new.
You and your blog are off and running but is the world responding? Before you revert to those deep, dark secrets lost in a Web diary, here are tips for building an audience:
* Choose categories and titles that best express your topics.
* Use "key phrases" in your posts. Search engines will pick up these from your site automatically with built in search engine optimization (SEO) in the software that hosts your blog.
* Find blogs on similar topics and communities.
* Make friends, post comments and build networks.
Lulu Hoeller, Web & Graphics Coordinator at California Design College and author of numerous blogs says "Finding other like-minded bloggers and websites that will trade links with you brings new readership and helps to increase your blog's SEO".
One of the major attractions to blogs is the fresh air of honesty readers get. The blog is an avenue for independent free speech and information. That doesn't mean that all blogs are all factual, although some do a phenomenal job of winning audiences by being genuine. "Web audiences have become savvy to advertising ploys and gimmicks. Direct, honest connections make long term relationships," says Peter Bill, Interim Academic Director of Web Design & Interactive Media and Visual Effects & Motion Graphics at California Design College.
With the possibility the Web creates to reach people, and that creative notion in the back of your mind, imagine the opportunities awaiting you in the world of blogs. Turn your diary of yesterday into a Web community tomorrow!
To learn more about The Art Institutes, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
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