Wow…I got a tough act to follow. The stirring wisdom nuggets contained in Craig Berger's last blog post were truly inspirational. If you haven't yet had the privilege of reading C. Berger's take on the need for genuine interpersonal interaction in the 21st Century, go back and enjoy his thoughtful musings in
Beyond The Internet.
My post today doesn't have any existential undertones. Instead, what I offer is a quick look at the history of the blog.
A Brief History Of Blogs
It's not often that a word as unsweet sounding as "blog" travels so quickly from the realm of geek speak to become a term that's instantly recognizable by billions of people. From the bulletin board days of the early web to today's mind-bogglingly massive blogosphere, the shape and scope of web logs have evolved at an extremely rapid pace.
In the early 1990s, as more and more people around the world started connecting to this crazy thing called the Internet, individual methods of sharing information took on many different forms. Different web browsers battled for the hearts and minds of early web users. Directories of links cobbled together by individual web users gradually evolved into search engines. Soon, everybody and their cousin had a personal website, and slowly but surely, individuals who wanted to share their own personal web browsing experiences found a new platform to use.
The Web Log Is Born
Jorn Barger first coined the term "web log" in 1997. According to Wikipedia, Barger invented the term to describe his process of "logging the web" as he documented his surfing experiences. Peter Merholz is credited with popularizing the abbreviated term "blog" in 1999.
As more Internet users sought to individualize their web experiences and share their Internet findings with the world, blogs became more articulate. The blog platform soon became a semi-standardized method of asserting individual perspective into a global community of web users.
Blogs are everywhere now. Some suck, some don't. Some bloggers treat their blogs as personal online diaries, while other bloggers use their blogs to promote businesses, products or services. The rise of the blog has seriously challenged traditional media outlets. Today, a plugged-in blogger can provide more useful, up-to-the-minute content than any print publication out there.
ProFootballTalk Blog
Take Mike Florio for example. Florio, a lawyer by trade, started his
ProFootballTalk.com blog in 2001. Over the years, as Florio built up an extensive network of football contacts, his Daily Rumor Mill evolved into the most up-to-date source of football news and innuendo. Although the occasional error still shows up on the site (like the report that former Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw was killed in a car crash), Florio frequently breaks news stories hours or days before traditional football news outlets. Florio also gathers the most relevant news items of the day and presents them in an easy-to-read fashion, ensuring that football junkies everywhere can get their daily NFL fix in an efficient manner. ESPN has nothing on this guy.
Florio is just one example of an authoritative niche-master blogger who has come to challenge the way that people consume information. Today's bloggers are redefining the transmission of news and ideas in politics, sports, business, entertainment and pretty much any other sphere you can imagine.
So why does the rise of the blog matter so much? How can the power of blogs help your
SEO efforts? Tune in next Friday for the stunning conclusion to this marathon post!
