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Posts Tagged ‘blog entry’

It’s a very broad question to ask, “What is the use of blogging?” There are as many uses for blogs as there are individuals or even businesses. And that’s actually one of the answers. You can blog as an individual for personal interest, or you might blog for business purposes. A small business can make great use of blogs, keeping in touch with customers, while individuals might use their blogs as a diary or a place to store their own writings, or even as a link to a wider community. And of course blogs are used to disseminate news and gossip about public figures and events.

The community side of blogging is when it gets really interesting. What is just a site about your own health woes becomes much more when others with similar health issues gather to it and begin sharing advice and information. Your blog could connect you with others who love cats like you do, or read interesting books. Blogging in connection with a social media site could put you in touch with whole groups pursuing similar interests to you. And this could lead you to communities that are decidedly activist, with regard to politics or other good causes.

A political blog where all the writer does is attack opponents on the “other side” might be what is generally considered to be a mere vanity site, and a loud one at that. Yet political blogs serve as rallying points where information is logged and where strategy is formulated for ousting unethical representatives. People living under repressive regimes have made invaluable blog entries that bypassed government propaganda and revealed the oppressed lives or real people. Blogs have also been used as information and gathering sites for everything from the environmental movement to healthcare and education reform.

What’s blogged under the rubric of “community” can involve these banners under which people rally who are otherwise strangers. Or some might form a literal blog community where several people write on a single blog, or all have linked weblogs hosted on one site. Those involved in this type of community are more likely to know each other in person and be actual friends.

What is the use of blogging then? The answer to that depends on what you need. Whether you’d like to catch up on the gossip about famous people, become part of a community, or just record your own thoughts and reflections, blogs can serve almost any purpose you need. Nobody should be fooled into thinking that blogging is nothing more than placing text, graphics and photos on a web page.

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One of the newest developments in the blogging world is video blogging, which is adding a whole new dimension. It goes far beyond the formerly static blog posts that simply contained photographs, or even the more dynamic entries with active graphics. Blogging with video helps people bring information and opinion alive with more immediacy than simple text, and straddles two worlds that were once completely separate from each other; namely the printed page and film.

With a video blog entry, the primary means of communication is the video itself rather than the written word, although text will label or augment what the viewer sees, and can certainly be used within the video itself. But in many respects, this type of blog works the same as one that is mainly text-based. It is viewable on a regular blog page, will be updated regularly, and still involves the creator choosing what information or opinions to convey. Much of the structure on the website is also the same, with viewers given space for comments and interaction.

There is even blogging software designed explicitly for video blogging, in the same way that software was created for blogging with text. This is important, especially for newcomers who have digital cameras or camcorders and can capture the raw video footage, but are inexperienced in how to edit or post it properly. With the help of this software, a blogger can post clips of a useful length (usually 1-3 minutes long), and add titles, text, sound and music. The software even helps the person upload the final file to the blog itself.

Creating a video blog still isn’t as easy as a text-based blog however, so people also need to be aware of some potential downsides to setting up a blog for this type of medium. Just capturing and storing the clips requires many resources. The camera equipment needs to be good enough to create video that won’t embarrass the creator (or, for that matter, the viewers). Presumably the blogger will want to retain a copy of anything that is uploaded to the blog, and that will require storage space.

And since video files are not small, they may create a conflict between the blogger and their internet service provider. Just uploading these clips takes a lot of bandwidth, and some ISPs object to this high demand on their networks and subsequently put limits on people’s bandwidth usage. A blogger may be restricted, therefore, by what broadband connections are available and affordable.

Still, video blogging will undoubtedly continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Educators in particular have begun recognizing the value of using a blog with video clips in teaching, or using such blogs for classroom projects. Bloggers who want dynamic representation can even create video blogs for their personal portfolios. This sort of blog provides richer content for readers, viewers and the blog creator alike, expanding communication possibilities further than ever before.

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With the rise of new social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, can blogs still help a business in any way? Even if businesses no longer consider blogs their main online PR tool, many believe that they are indeed still valuable. A lot of companies began to alter their websites just a few years ago, changing them from sites that looked like boring, fact-heavy reproductions of their Annual Reports to places where they and their clients could connect. Much of this exchange of ideas took place on a blog, where new products were announced or responses were made to customer input.

It’s well known in the business blogosphere that Dell Computers led the way, being one of the first companies to make such a change. Even as successful a business as Dell was, a barrier still existed between the company and its customers, many of whom had frustrating complaints that weren’t being addressed. When the company set up to receive blog entries, the turnaround in its relationship with customers was remarkable. General Motors, too, had a similar experience.

Blogs can even work in tandem with email newsletters. Many customers of a business will check the website regularly for the latest business info, and appreciate not having their inbox clogged with email. Others might still prefer the emails, so the company will need to use all the different ways of reaching out that are available. But the information on a blog will be less ephemeral than short Twitter updates that quickly vanish from a webpage. And customer replies will remain equally visible.

Businesses do need to be cautious about raising customers’ expectations, however. While an almost one-on-one relationship might be possible between a small business and its customers, larger companies may not be able to respond to all queries or complaints, and this could damage its reputation if it’s not careful.

But another use for blogging, and one that businesses might not even consider at first, is for internal communication. Even though employees can keep in touch via email, meetings or conference calls, an internal blog can focus on one department or a single project, providing a central place for a team to receive regular updates or make an informal record of their progress. This will keep these employees up to date without their own email inbox piling up to an unmanageable level.

Blogs are the elder sibling in the social networking world, and are still better at providing information and feedback in a more permanent form. Once blogging software made it possible for a business and its customers to interact in this way, the lines of communication opened widely. The company can provide up-to-date information about products and services, and customers can respond, thus both sides of the relationship benefit.

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