CREATE FREE BLOG |
WHY BLOGS ARE SO POPULAR |
Blogging became a popular web publishing trend in 1999 and grew steadily into large numbers simply by word of mouth or, in this case, word of blog. From the beginning, blogs were on the breaking edge of news, but when news became a lifeline, blogs turned into so much more than simple web publishing.
On the day America was attacked by terrorists, most major news sites like CNN and the New York Times were overloaded and unreachable. Everyone had gone home to turn on the television or sign on to the web. With the big news sites all jammed up, people had to find an alternative. They found blogs. Bloggers were tracking developments as they occurred, and some were logging in with personal experiences from ground zero. When the dust had settled and the media giants were back on track, more press about blogs started circulating. This was serious attention, and it launched a whole new wave of interest in blogs. The popularity of blogging continued to grow and hasn't stopped since.
The popularity of blogging is such that many projects have grown from the phenomenon. In fact, the gurus developing the applications that provide blogging services are usually very supportive of ideas and software that work together and enhance their offerings.
Many blog-related software projects will be covered in this book simply because they complement blogging so well—like user-commenting systems and content syndication. And some of the projects that have stemmed out of the blog phenomenon are just flat-out amazing work by some of the most talented visionaries working with the web today. Blogdex and Daypop, two blog search and statistics tracking sites, are harnessing the power of blogs and changing the way the web works. Google, everybody's favorite search engine, loves blogs and is well aware of their true value to the web.
Many blog newbies are web publishing newbies as well. In other words, they can fill out forms and click buttons online, but the mysteries of actually building and uploading files to the web are beyond them. This is probably why Blog*Spot is such a popular destination for beginners. It's easy to set up and it's free.
Blogger is a leading blog provider that has been making publishing to the web in the form of a blog easy since 1999. Blog*Spot spun off a little later to accommodate the waves of people who wanted to get started without a learning curve. Blog*Spot is a fast and easy way to create a blog. It brings Blogger technology to people who don't already have hosting.
If you're new to blogging and web publishing in general, Blog*Spot is the place to start. So let's get started by creating a blog that doesn't cost you anything and doesn't require you to have web hosting. First, you need to create a new user account at Blogger.com (see Figure 2.1). This is just like creating an account at any site. Simply fill out the forms and click Sign Up.