Byte Marks
Blogging can be worthwhile experience

By Burt Lum

To blog or not to blog? That is the question. Judging from the numbers, the answer is, without a doubt: to blog. Lately I've seen articles touting the popularity of Web logs, more affectionately referred to as blogs and not to be confused with Web diaries. The differences between online dairies and blogs blur but, generally speaking, the Web diary is an online chronicle of life, whereas the blog consists of shorter log entries.

Probably the single most influential force behind the popularity of blogging is the Web site www.blogger.com. With this free online service, you can create your own blog without any prior knowledge of html. It's as simple as typing your journal entry in a text window and clicking the "post" button. The only thing you need besides Internet access is a Web site to upload your blogs to.

As I explored the world of blogs, I was amazed at the size and popularity of this community. Fueled by the youthful desire to be heard, many bloggers use the service as a means to sound off. The more sites I visited the more random the musings. The crescendo of voices became almost unbearable. I found myself withdrawing into my own thoughts and asking myself why.

I found a moment of respite when I stumbled on to Rebecca Blood's site at (www.rebeccablood.net). Through the cacophony of noise, Rebecca restored my sanity by shedding light on the Web log craze in her online essay titled, "Weblogs: A History and Perspective" (www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html). It gave me much needed understanding in this rising tide of blogging.

Many would claim that blogging is one of the purest forms of self-expression. And IMHO, when insight and enjoyment can be derived from this expression, it is all worthwhile. A few additional gem links from Rebecca's site include "The Exploding Dog" (www.explodingdog.com), "The Flying Cow" (www.flingthecow.com) and my favorite, "A Study of the Effect of Celery on Loose Elastic" (www.lileks.com/institute/frahm). Enjoy. ;-)

Burt Lum, cybercitizen and self-anointed tour guide to the Internet frontier, is one click away at burt@brouhaha.net.