So you’ve heard that writing about your business online can increase your profitability, but you don’t know where to start. Or, perhaps you have a hobby or topic and are interested in engaging with an online community with similar interests. In that case, you need to start reading blogs. Blogs are a great way to meet people, to share information, to get new business, and keep up a lively dialogue on topics of interest to you.

What is a blog?
A blog, short for “weblog”, is an online journal created using special software that allows authors or “bloggers” to post entries online as frequently as they like. The most recent entries are placed at the top of the Web page. Blog software automatically creates dated archives of old postings and provides people the ability to comment on the postings. It also allows the blogger to show a list of links, notifies the blogger when someone links to their site, allows them to create categories or topics for each post, and allows visitors various ways to search through the posts. Blog software often allows bloggers to quickly and easily add special functions, such as Google ads, spam-proofing software, or photo galleries, just to name a few.

Blogs have advantages over typical Web sites. First of all, blogs are truly content-driven and thus are easier for search engines to pick up, provided the blog software is set up to be search-engine friendly. In addition, blogs are typically created around a central theme or topic, such as parenting, marketing, politics, etc., and thus by nature are more likely to generate targeted keywords—the core of any search engine optimization campaign. Such blogs can be submitted to specific directories or blog engines under those topics.

How do I find blogs on topics of interest to me?
As mentioned, blogs are very search engine friendly, so the easiest way is to use your favorite search engine and type in the topic you are looking for and the word “blog”. Google and Yahoo both have their own blog search engines—so you can skip typing the word “blog”. Check them out at www.blogsearch.google.com and www.ysearchblog.com.

There are also blog directories. Blogexplosion.com and Technorati.com are two very different examples. Blog Explosion shows you only the blogs that belong to their members. You can search through the list of categories that they utilize. Technorati searches for links to and from any blog out on the Internet and lists all of these blogs. They have an extensive database with over 90 million blogs and advanced search capabilities. These are good places to start. If you search the phrase “blog directories,” you can find many more blog search services.

You can also try searching a free, online blogging service like Blogger.com, LiveJournal.com, or WordPress.com. You will only find blogs that use these services, but they have great tools. Wordpress.com, for instance, lists a “Blog of the Minute” on its homepage. Below that, it lists “Today’s Hot Blogs” and “Today’s Hot Posts.” On the far right, you will see “Right Now in Tags,” which allows you to click a category of interest, such as “Travel,” and see featured blogs on that topic. Of course if you like, you can also get started with your own blog while you are there but it’s not required.

Once you have found a blog on a topic that interests you, it will normally have a list of related links (called “blogrolls”) in its side column. This is a quick way to find even more blogs related to your interests. In addition, as you read a blog, the blogger may quote or review other blogs. The more you read, the more you will find.

How do I keep up with new postings on blogs?
In order to keep up with the latest posts on a blog you like, you will need to subscribe to the blog and to do that, you have to use a feed reader or news aggregator. These are services that pull the latest postings from a blog and list it live on a Web page or in the reader software for you to view. You will either need to install software or register for the service. There are many free services, such as Google Reader, which is easy to use if you have an existing Google or Gmail account. Some other examples are Bloglines or NewsGator.

After you have enabled such a reader, look for a button indicating “Subscribe” or a link that says “RSS”. Then check your feed reader and you will see the blog listed in some format such as tab or box, and it will generally list a blurb from one or more of the most recent posts. That’s it!

Here’s an example showing how to subscribe to Women’s Lunch Talk. Under “Subscribe” in the left hand column, find the links for “Bloglines” and “Add to Google”. Click “Bloglines” to set up the Bloglines news feed. Click “create an account”. You will need to sign up for a free account. Meanwhile in your browser you will display the Bloglines default page and the Women’s Lunch Talk feed, as well as a list of feed options. At the bottom of the options, click “Subscribe.” Once your account is activated, your Bloglines page has a “Feeds” tab. Under that, you will see that you are automatically subscribed to the Bloglines News feed and now to the Women’s Lunch Talk feed as well.

If you’d prefer to use Google Reader, go back to Women’s Lunch Talk and click the “Add to Google” button. You will get two options. You can “Add to Google homepage” and have an automatic page homepage created by Google without creating an account. Or, you can select “Add to Google Reader.” Google Reader requires you to have a Google or Gmail account. If you already have one, all you need to do is login, or else you can create one. On your Google page, you will see the feed.

Some browsers already have news reader functionality. Firefox 2, for example, has its own called “Live Bookmarks” and so does Internet Explorer 7 (IE7). These functions are already enabled. All you need to do is click “RSS” or an icon that looks like this: in the navigation bar. You will be shown a box or a page that asks if you want to subscribe. Click the subscribe link or button. In Firefox, the default location for the Live Bookmarks is at the very front of the Bookmark Toolbar on top. You will see the orange icon and a list of Live Bookmarks there. Be careful—if you’ve moved the Live Bookmark link, they may move further down the toolbar and into the drop down at the end. In IE7, click the yellow star in the upper left hand corner to get a list of feeds and recent posts.

How do comments on blogs work?
One of the joys of blogging and reading blogs is that you get to meet other people online with similar or opposing interests. This is because you can comment on other people’s blogs. In fact, if you have a blog, making an interesting comment and sharing your link is one of the best ways to generate traffic back to your blog.

At the end of the post, there will be a link to “Comments.” Some of the more witty bloggers have changed it to read a little differently, with an invitation to comments such as “Speak Up!” When you click this link, you will be sent to a page or a popup box that lists all the preceding comments on that post and brings you to the bottom, so that you can add your comment to the end. You can add your name, email, (both typically required) URL, and comment. Many free blog hosting sites like Blogger prefer you to login to a Blogger account—others allow you to post anonymously. Sites that don’t use free services may not require registration and a login, but some bloggers have configured their sites for added security. Some comments sites employ a “CAPTCHA”, which is an image with a series of letters and/or numbers that you are required to enter. This is to discourage automatic spam submissions.

Some bloggers moderate their comments, which means you must wait for the blog owner to view and approve your comment. There is proper blog etiquette, especially if you a new visitor. Don’t use all caps unless making a point or joke and don’t flame (or insult) anyone. You could get banned from the site. Some sites censor out certain words so that profanity is discouraged. You might also want to stay away from making inflammatory or hot-button topics in subjects such as politics or religion—unless it’s that kind of blog. In general, follow proper email etiquette when posting comments to a blog.

Is it difficult to do my own blog—or one for my company?
You may find after time that you’d like to have a blog of your own. There are many options, from completely free blogs (Blogger, WordPress, LiveJournal), to installing and hosting a blog on your own site. Free blogs are great for personal family sites, to keep friends and family in touch and to share family photos. If you have a business, you should consider installing a blog on a separate URL and IP address from your own Web site (this is helpful in link generation). Keep in mind that you will need to pay for monthly hosting, annual domain name, and you may want to have maintenance for your blog.

One very good blog software system that is user-friendly is WordPress. Everything you need to know about installing WordPress on your own URL is here. This software and its extensive functionality is free—making this a popular choice. Depending on your business or industry, you may also want a customized look for your blog, either to match your business site or something unique, to stand out from all the other blogs.

Before deciding to start a blog, think about the time you want to invest in creating posts, fighting spam, moderating and responding to comments, submitting to directories, backing up, creating blogrolls, and so on. You should post at least once a week, but if you find you cannot commit to posting to the blog on a regular basis, it may not be worth the time and effort to set up. Readers want blogs that they can regularly visit with new information of interest to them. The time commitment does not have to be extensive, but it should be regular.

Check out blogging now!
There’s no reason not to get started reading blogs right now. Not only you can learn more about a great topic, blogs can help you update your knowledge on technology, current events, science, education, and a whole host of issues. Be careful, though—bloggers are passionate about their interests, and you should always check their credentials and resources before citing them as fact.

Blogging is a powerful and useful resource for anyone on the Web. Go ahead and start reading blogs—and see if you’re not hooked right away!

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Gina Badalaty’s acumen for both creative and technical work led her to a professional background that included retail, business communications, advertising, film and television production, and telecom engineering. In 2000, she combined her artistic and technical skills and launched Art By Tech Web Design, specializing in custom Web development, Web site maintenance, and CMS customization. Her client base includes financial and engineering firms, small businesses, non-profit organizations, and entrepreneurs.

Ms. Badalaty's new business, Designs for WordPress, features custom design packages for WordPress driven blogs. She will also be hosting Toddler Talk Radio starting in September, 2007.