The development of blogging

It always amazes me that when typing in a blog post using the blogger dashboard, my browser spell-check settings always query the word 'blog' - it is not in the spell-check dictionary, yet blogs or weblogs have been around long enough for everyone to have heard of them (even if they don't appreciate or understand them).

Initially blogs were like online 'dear diary' entries - only really of interest if well-written, entertaining or informative in some way. I doubt that, at the beginning, it was possible to chart the success of the weblog.

A few years ago blogs became very popular, still used as an online diary, many companies began to see how well-regarded blogs were by search engines, so company-related blogs popped up everywhere. People began to see the earnings potential of blogs as advertising tools, hence the rise of paid to blog, and it's subsequent crash as the market got overloaded and Google got wise...

Now almost every online enterprise is accompanied with a blog - not JUST to 'game' Google results but more in line with it's original purpose, the blog is used to provide a commentary on current events in relation to that particular enterprise.

Modern blogging consists mainly of a hard-core of online diarists, online enterprise information portals and a core of paid-to-bloggers. There are still trash blogs out there as many 'get rich quick' like to use a free website to promote themselves, and others that cram a blog full of paid posts. In the main, however the rewards of paid to blog are more conservative and the market is a bit more intelligent insisting on good quality, and offering less incentive. Those that have ridden the storm have ended up being able to retain some sustainable income, in some cases maybe even making a living, although many have 'progressed' to other income streams.

In the modern era (an 'era' in internet terms is about two years!), most internet newcomers would now start with Facebook or Twitter rather than a blog, and of course there is little direct earning potential with these particular modes of communication. The blog still has it's place and now is firmly ranked alongside the giants of FB and Twitter as a must-have promotional tool - the main difference is that the latter two are brand-names and although blogger is still probably the leading blogging platform since it is easy and free (and belongs to Google), there are at least other prominent blogging tools allowing something of a free market.