What is Web 2.0? -- Lesson 1: Blogs

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.

A blog resembles an online journal or diary because each entry (referred to as a "post") includes the date and time. Blogs are used to share information and they can also foster interaction and community because they allow for comments.

Here is a page from the PBS Teachers website that answers the question: "What exactly is a blog, anyway?" For even more information, here is a general article from the online encyclopedia called Wikipedia on blogs. And here is a short YouTube video on blogs from Commoncraft.

How do you find blogs to read? You can used specialized search tools such as Technorati's Blog Finder or the Google Blog Search. You can also find blogs on some of your favorite pages that you regularly visit, e.g. The Los Angeles Times has a blog called "Jacket Copy" on the book page of their website; a website like CNN has several blogs; and this is a blog you are reading from the Buena Park Library District. There are blogs on practically every subject of interest you can imagine. When you find blogs you like, check if they have blog rolls - a list of their favorite blogs - in the sidebar. Like this blog on knitting: Mason-Dixon Knitting.

So, now for your first assignment:

• Add a comment (a remark, a suggestion, a question, an observation...) to this blog.
• Scroll down to the bottom of this entry and click on the "comment" link.
• You'll then see text that says "Leave a Reply" as well as a large box where you can type text.
  
• Enter your comment.