What is a blog?, That's what a friend asked me the other day and although I tried to explain what a blog is I don't think I was able to explain it clearly enough. So I told him that I would publish an article explaining what a blog is in words that everyone can understand.
It is said that what one does not know how to explain well is because he does not know it, but I think this statement is somewhat relative. Who can clearly define what life is? And yet we can differentiate what has life from what does not, at least almost always.
Thinking about this I think the best way to understand what a blog is is seeing what is a blog and what is not a blog. To differentiate them we will see what they are, in my opinion, the two differentiating elements of a blog and finally an extensive compilation of definitions of what a blog is by Victor (Blog in Serious).
As an example I will take two pages of cooking recipes, one is a blog, my recipe blog, and the other is not a blog. Now we see why.
What is a blog?
Javi Recipes it's a blog of recipes and the rationale What differentiates it as a blog is that a blog must always have a sequential posting of posts (news, articles, post, etc) so that whoever visits the blog knows which entry was published before and which after.
I have also taken this blog as an example because its header (the top of the page) has characteristic elements of web pages that are not blogs, as is the graphic menu that gives access to different sections of the page (in this case recommended dishes).
What is not a blog?
The Kitchen and Home page is a good example of web page, also from recipes, which is not a blog. You can see that in a sense the header of Javi Recipes It is very similar to the cover of this page, with the images that give access to the different sections.
One is a blog and the other is not because one lacks the differentiating element that every blog has, the sequential presentation (in chronological order) of the entries (recipes).
No matter how much you search, you will not find the recipes (entries) on the cover, arranged chronologically, and therefore it lacks the basic element necessary to be a blog.
Is this a blog or not?
There may be cases in which despite the above you have doubts about whether or not a page is a blog. This usually happens when you come across a page that is not a blog on the front page, but that later has a blog installed inside. A good example is the gastronomic portal Chefuri.com that as its name indicates it's a portal (that is to say it is not a blog) but inside you can find a great recipe blog as an integrated part of that portal.
This same portal (web page with access to several sections with differentiated content and structures) can get us out of another question that may arise when determining whether a page is a blog or not.
En chefuri.com we can also find a recipe forum that features a sequential posting of posts (just like blogs) but is not a blog. The difference between the two lies in a second differentiating element, which is who bears the weight of the publication of the entries (recipes, articles, etc). On blogs entries are written by one or more people (bloggers) but in limited number. In the forums the entries can be published by lots of users who can freely register in the forum, the publication does not depend on one or two people, it is the users, and not the blog owners, who publish most of the articles.
Of course there are mass collaborative publishing blogs, but they are the exceptions and in no case will they have a user number equal to that of the forums that can reach thousands of registered.
So now you know, when you find a site and see that it has sequential publication (one after the other in reverse chronological order), that it is run by one or two people and that user registration is not allowed by default you should have no doubts that you are in front of a blog.
Anyway, if you want to have more formal and correct definitions about what a blog is, go to Victor's blog (Serious Blog) and read what is a blog for WeblogsSL, what is a blog for Blog and even the definition of what a blog is for the Wikipedia. A great article from Victor that you should not miss. Vinegary greetings.
PD: By the way, and in case you haven't found out yet, this is a blog 😉
Very good clarification !!
I believe, in my opinion, that you have forgotten the most important factor to define a blog, and therefore differentiate it from a website.
I'm talking about feedback, an element that occurs in blogs, in each of their posts and articles, and that is not given, normally on a website.
I think that with the comments you open the need for exchange that we bloggers have.
That's why I don't understand people who have a blog and have closed comments, without this feddback, they turn their blog into a static website.
First of all, thank you for taking my website as an example to illustrate the article.
Basically my blog is a complement to the web, one more section where we put articles and other things that do not fit on the front page of the portal. Even so, I realize that just as visits to the web are always stable, those to the blog are always growing. Although I am not very happy with the number of subscribers: D. A few years ago I had a newsletter that was registered by about 3000 users and now the blog does not even reach 100 ...
Now the "competition" no longer makes portals, they directly create blogs that can be done in even hours. And they get great relevance in a short time due to how agile the blogging system is. With just a few lines you can make an entry on any topic that ranks very well. It is because you receive many more links having a blog than not.
In summary, right now it is better to have a blog farm of many topics, which are linked to each other. And the more tickets you have, the better. Than to have a portal with sections.
Well it is my opinion today.
By the way, for the record, I'm not against blogging, on the contrary I see it as a great advance because it simplifies having a website significantly. : D.
@Sin Fear, I agree that it is a fundamental element, like many others, but it is not differentiating from a blog, although it is characteristic. There are video pages like YouTube where you can leave comments and it is not a blog.
@Chefwww neglects that I already know that you like blogs, what you have to keep in mind is that nowadays a blog is the best way to publish if you want to get along with Google, so if you want to reach a large audience the best is a Blog.
A vinegary greeting to all.
Very good your clarification on what a blog is, anyway I have also looked at the links and especially the one from (Blog seriously), very good.
By the way, I wanted to thank you for having music on my blog today thanks to the easy explanations you gave us.
I have installed Ivoon, and I am delighted.
Thank you very much Javier, for making it so easy for those of us who do not have great computer knowledge.
Kisses
It is well explained, and put the big differences between a blog and a website that is not. In short, and when he asks me, I answer, that it is a web page, where I publish articles. (in a very short summary)
But I think the article still got a bit confused, thinking that it could be read by a person who does not know what we are talking about. You could do the test to see if your friend after this description has been clear What is a Blog ?. That is the rebuttable proof that it is a super article.
Greetings mate.
@Lisebe I stopped by your blog and you have an exquisite taste with the music you put on your blog.
@komoloves I'll have to do the test 🙂
@Cheffwww, the blog you are commenting on has, let's say, acceptable traffic but nothing exaggerated, that is, they can have 5.000-7.000 unique daily visits and in that range of visits the benefit is discreet. It is not necessary to pay too much to maintain that transfer fee but it is another thing to do or not.
I believe that a blog can be as profitable as a web page, but always if we equate it in number of visits and themes.
My website is not a blog, but you can use it as an example whenever you want 🙂 First it is not a blog because it does not present the recipes temporarily, but it has the advantage of being able to find the recipes in a much more orderly way, by their categories, and through its own search engine, which searches directly in the database.
And with regard to profitability, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the blog loyalty to readers much more, and that traffic is much less profitable in pay per click, but it can be very profitable if we charge per thousand impressions.
@Recipes thank you for your contribution 🙂
Hello,
I do not clarify much what a blog is, sorry.
hello I want to create a blog