To use anything new, you first have to understand what it is.  Many people do not know what a blog is, though they have heard the term.

It's just been in the past three years or so that they have really become popular.  A blog is like a journal, only it gets published to the web where anyone can read it.  The applications (or programs) used for blogs are meant to be as easy as using a word processing program on your computer.  Regular websites can take hours to update.  Blogs can be updated instantly.  This is just one of the magical attractions of having a blog.

The next best attraction is that it can be done absolutely free.  If you are trying to establish a business on the Internet, not having any initial investment is a good way to go from zero to profit.  Some of the biggest movie stars and rock band members have their own blogs.  Even presidential candidates have blogs.

The biggest draw for "bloggers" is that everyone likes to talk about their favorite subject - themselves!  Try to think of one person who doesn't like to share their point of view.  Probably not that many.  For some reason, we all think everyone else is interested in what is going on with us.  Blogs offer a unique outlet for someone to express their opinion on any issue.  This brings up another attractive feature of a blog.  You can do this completely anonymously.

As mentioned above, a blog is like a journal and this is the most common use of the application for most people.  You can be as opinionated as you like and as detailed as you like on your life or your business.  Some blogs are used totally for business purposes.  Others appear as personal blogs and use forms of advertisement to make money from their readers.

Blogging helps to create a sense of community.  It's a great way to get to know people.  Families use blogs to keep up with what is happening with each other.  Checking someone's blog is much easier than wading through a sometimes overwhelming amount of e-mail.