What is Blogging? Definition, History, Benefits and Blog Types

In this era of digitalization, the term blogging must be familiar to your ears. This activity is quite popular among many people worldwide and in the country. But do you really understand what is blogging?

This activity, which is identical to the world of writing, has in the last few years become an activity that is widely carried out. If, at the beginning of its appearance, the function of blogs was only limited to hobbies and personal pleasures, then, for now, there are many benefits of blogs.

For those interested in the world of blogging, below will describe in depth what is blogging. In addition, it will also discuss various things related to the world of blogging, blogs, and bloggers, along with the platforms used.

Get to know What is Blogs, Blogging, and Bloggers?

What comes to mind when you hear the terms blog, blogging, and Blogger? At first glance, these three terms are similar, but there are fundamental differences in each of these terms. Want to know in detail? Please check the description below.

A. What is a Blog?

Before entering into a discussion about what is blogging, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the term blog. By knowing and understanding what is meant by a blog, it will undoubtedly be easier for you to understand what is blogging.

In simple terms, a blog is a container in which it contains various things (content). For example, some blogs contain various information about the world of tourism, health, personal experiences, or various other types of content.

If you can make an analogy, you can imagine a blog is a shop. Inside the store are many shelves with various products (content). If you also hear the term URL, that URL is your shop’s address (Blog).

Like a shop, a blog must also be filled with good content. This is to spur the interest of readers or information seekers on the internet to visit the Blog.

At first glance, you might think that the existence of a blog is more or less the same as a website. Your thoughts are not wrong because both blogs and websites contain exciting content such as images, photos, videos, or informative writings.

It’s just that blogs have a dynamic nature because all information in the form of content will be updated regularly and regularly. That’s what makes a difference between a blog and a website.

B. Then what is meant by blogging?

So what is blogging? So blogging is all activities intended to manage or organize the content on a blog. Many activities can be done in the blogging process.

Activities ranging from writing an article to posting it to a website can be called blogging.

Making photos or videos as additional data in blog posts or providing links can also be called blogging.

Even updating content that has been posted is one example of blogging. Updating these articles must be done regularly so that the writings on the Blog still follow the conditions of the most recent times.

In addition to an explanation of the question of what is blogging as described above, an explanation of what is blogging can also be seen from an economic perspective.

Why? Because at this time, writers widely used blogging activities to load their work to generate financial benefits through the internet.

C. So, what is meant by the term blogger?

After understanding the meaning of blogging, then the next term that you usually hear and is still related to the terms blog and blogging is Blogger. So what is a blogger?

Blogger is a nickname for individuals who run a blog by doing blogging activities. Individuals referred to as bloggers will usually carry out blogging activities regularly and continuously.

The primary purpose of a blogger blogging is so that his Blog always contains a variety of exciting and up-to-date content.

The goal is only one other than to spread information. Of course, a Blog can grow and attract many visitors.

The History of Blogs In The World and In The Country

It seems that only knowing what is blogging will not be enough if you don’t know the history of blogs worldwide and the history of blogs in Indonesia. For a more intense discussion, please refer to the description below.

A. Development of Blogs in the World

The term blog as it is today was born in April 1999. At that time, Peter Merholz separated the word we from Blog by accident, so the term blog was born.

Whereas the Blog itself was initially a weblog that was used by Jorn Barger at the end of 1997. At that time, there were only 100 weblogs worldwide, and Xanga was the first weblog to exist.

After the term weblog became a blog in 1999, the existence of blogs became very popular worldwide. However, this cannot be separated from the history of making blog tools, namely Blogger by Eans William and Meg Hourihan.

A blogger’s presence makes creating a blog very easy for anyone who wants to have a blog. People are increasingly interested and ask what is blogging.

Then in 2001, blogs grew in popularity along with awareness of the benefits of blogs that can be used to spread various information.

Then in 2002, Google took over Blogger, so blogs’ development was sped up even more. This situation was triggered by the emergence of many applications from open sources.

For now, the most widely used blog platform is WordPress, which can dominate up to almost 50%. Meanwhile, Blogger, a pioneer, only gets a share of 2%.

B. Blogs in Indonesia

The fundamental question that was born out of curiosity about what is blogging also hit the country. In general, the presence of blogs in the country can be divided into 3 periods, namely:

a. Early Generation

This period occurred from 1998 to 2001, when writers used personal blogs. Here what is meant by a personal blog is a blog that contains the personal journal of the blog owner.

The platforms used at that time were livejournal.com and blogger.com.

b. Second generation

Subsequent developments occurred from 2001 to 2002 when various blogger communities began to appear in the country. Meanwhile, the content presented is still about personal journals. Currently, the widely used tools are pMachine, MT, and Blogger.

c. Third Generation

This period began in 2004 when the theme of the content presented was no longer about personal journals. Instead, almost all bloggers have started filling their blogs with a variety of general information that many people look for on the internet.

What are the Benefits of Blogs?

The term blog is an abbreviation of weblog, a web application containing many posts on a web page. The type of content or content in the Blog is determined by the blog owner.

Even so, with each Blog’s function, it is also determined by the owner himself, although there are also blog functions in general. Here are some of the benefits or functions of a blog.

1. Hone Writing Skills

The main benefit of blogs is initially as a means for bloggers to hone their writing skills. These bloggers who are also writers will make many different types of writing to improve their writing quality.

2. As a source of income

Through various informative writings in a blog, a blogger will be able to make money. But of course, the main requirement is that the content on the Blog must be a topic that is currently trending, so that visitor traffic is high.

3. As a means of promotion

Apart from being a means to hone writing skills and a field to dredge rupiah coffers, a blog can also be used as promotional advice. Publishing through this Blog is proven to be practical and very economical.

4. Branding Means

The last function or benefit of a blog is that it can be used as a tool to build personal branding.

How not? By filling his Blog with writings containing various exciting information on a unique theme that is mastered, a blogger will become easily recognized as someone who is an expert in that field.

Blog Type Ideas

The question of what is blogging cannot be separated from the types of blogs. This is because blogging activities are closely related to the type of Blog that will be built. In general, here are some types of blogs that you should know.

1. Personal Blog

As mentioned above, one type of Blog is a personal blog. As the name implies, this personal Blog is a blog used for the blog owner’s personal interests.

This personal Blog’s content is usually in the form of various articles about the owner’s experiences, stories, portfolios, or personal opinions. However, even though it is a personal blog, anyone can enter the Blog to access its contents.

2. Company Blog

This type of Blog is a blog that is owned by a particular company or business owner. This type of Blog is emphasized as a promotional medium for the business being managed or the company profile of the blog owner.

3. Niche Blogs

The next type of Blog is a Niche blog. This Blog has content that contains various posts that only focus on one subject. The main requirement for this type of Blog, in addition to specific content, is that the information shared must be attractive, valuable, and informative.

4. Reverse Blog

A reverse blog is a type of Blog in which the content is filled by several authors at once, where the authors are also joint owners of the Blog. Sometimes this type of Blog also invites guest writers to fill the Blog.

5. Affiliate blog

An affiliate blog is a type of Blog used as a means of affiliate marketing. It promotes a third-party product or service through online media.

So now you have a better understanding of what is blogging, including its types, functions, and history. So are you interested in getting involved in the world of bloggers?