This category is not for blogs, but for blogging platforms and websites that are about blogs. A blog is a web-based publication that shares online journals, consisting of dated entries about various topics.
Until 2009, blogs were usually the work of a single person, who would write about his life or a topic that interested him. However, in the 2010s, multiple-author blogs became popular, featuring the work of several authors, who may or may not even know one another. Then, newspapers and other media outlets, universities, advocacy groups, and other institutions began publishing blogs, often professionally edited.
The term blog is a truncation of weblog, coined by Jom Barger in December of 1997, and has since become a verb as well as a noun, and a person who blogs became known as a blogger.
Before blogging became popular, people discussed issues in digital communities such as Usenet, in online services like GEnie and CompuServe, or in Bulletin Board System (BBS) forums. In the 1990s, Internet forum software was created, allowing ongoing conversations using threads and posts.
The earliest commercial blog platform was part of the first business-to-consumer website, created by Ty, Inc. in 1995, which featured a section called "Online Diary," with entries made by featured Beanie Babies.
Today's blogs evolved from online diaries, where people would keep a running account of whatever was going on in their lives and were largely intended for distant family members. On early blogger was Justin Hall, who began personal blogging as a student at Swarthmore College in 1994. However, early blogs were manually updated parts of common websites, modeled after journals or diaries that people have maintained in written form for years.
Eventually, the software was introduced to facilitate the creation and maintenance of weblogs, generally posted in reverse chronological order, making the process easier and more accessible to people who were less technically inclined. Open Diary, LiveJournal, and Blogger were among the first dedicated blogging platforms. By the mid-2000s, blogs became mainstream.
Blogs can be hosted on regular web hosting services or on dedicated blog hosting services, while some blogging platforms are maintained through the use of downloadable blog software, with updates uploaded to a server.
There are several different types of blogs, differing according to the type of content presented, as well as in the manner in which the content is delivered.
Personal blogs are maintained by a single individual, and generally serve as an ongoing online diary or journal. Group blogs are written by multiple authors, whose topics generally follow a common theme, such as advocacy issues, politics, or entertainment. Corporate or organizational blogs are sometimes available only to employees on a company Intranet, although many companies maintain public blogs for branding purposes, many of which use ghostwriters.
Blogs may also be identified according to their topics, such as education blogs, legal blogs, music blogs, political blogs, and travel blogs.
Blogs that focus on videos are known as vlogs, while those that concentrate on photos are photoblogs.
The community of blogs and bloggers is often referred to collectively as the blogosphere.
As discussed in the opening paragraph, this category is for topics related to blogs, such as websites featuring blog software or blog platforms, as well as those offering guidance or suggestions for blogging, but it is not intended to be a list of blogs. The Aviva Directory does maintain a blog directory, known as the Aviva Blog Directory, which is listed below.
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Supplementing its main web directory, the Aviva Blog Directory sorts listed blogs into several categories and subcategories, which largely mirrors its general directory. A description is offered for each category, subcategory, and listed site. If not already listed, blogs may be submitted for consideration of inclusion in the directory. For a prompt review, an annual or one-time fee is required, although blogs may be submitted for a nominal fee of one dollar. Submission guidelines are posted.
https://blogs.avivadirectory.com/
Azure is a free blog client by Michael Gratton, licensed under the GNU General Public License. It requires a Java J2ME phone, PDA, or another device that supports CLDC/MIDP 1.0, which includes most phones that are Java compatible, an Internet connection that supports that device, and a weblog that supports the Movable Type XML-RPC API. Its features, requirements, and a list of supported phones, PDAs, and other devices are put forth. It may be downloaded from the site.
http://vee.net/projects/azure/
Created and maintained by Scott Chow, who has been giving blog advice since 2002, the author offers tips and suggestions for those who are interested in starting a blog. Topics include getting started, setting up your blog, how to use your blog, customizing your blog, start writing your blog, promoting your blog, and how to make money blogging. Each of these steps includes recommendations, referrals, and recommendations. He indicates a willingness to reply to questions.
https://www.theblogstarter.com/
Developed by Pyra Labs in 1999, and acquired by Google in 2003, Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows for multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. Blogs may be served from a custom domain owned by the user or a free web address hosted by Google and accessed from a subdomain of blogspot.com. Using blogger, users may choose from a selection of designs, monetize the blog through Google AdSense, and view traffic analytics. Video tutorials are included.
https://www.blogger.com/
Blogs are featured in this unique global blog directory, appearing in topical categories so that they can be easily found. For each listed blog, there is a dedicated page with details about the blog. Submissions to the directory require the payment of a fee, and other promotional options are also included, including links to five blog posts, and being featured on the directory’s homepage. An internal blog is also available, covering a variety of topics related to blogging.
https://www.bloggeries.com/
Zac Johnson offers blogging tips, beginning with a discussion of what it takes to start a blog today, as well as how to go about creating content for the blog and monetizing it. For example, the three steps for starting a blog are selecting the right platform, setting up a domain name and hosting, and creating a blog with a purpose, and he goes into details on each of these. If desired, he also offers blog setup services, full site development, social media branding, and several others.
https://blogging.org/
Through this blog, Jessica Knapp offers social media and blogging tips. An introduction to the author, citations, and testimonials from site visitors are featured. Arranged in the nature of a blog, and using a WordPress platform, the site includes a guide on starting a blog, choosing a blogging platform, deciding on a blogging niche, boosting success as a blogger, and how to monetize the blog, as well as noting mistakes that new bloggers often make. Blogging resources are included.
https://www.bloggingbasics101.com/
Registered in 2006, Blogging Fusion is a human-edited directory of blogs, each of which is validated by editors prior to being included in the database. Free and paid blogging options are available, and the directory is SEO friendly. Free listings are nofollow and require a link-back, and both annual and permanent fee-based options are available. Listed blogs are sorted into topical categories, while sponsored links are featured on the front page, along with blogging news and other resources.
https://www.bloggingfusion.com/
Designed to be a social network for web designers, graphic artists, and bloggers joined to share blogging resources, the membership site features layout designs for MySpace, Friendster, Xanga, Blogger, and LiveJournal, as well as templates, layouts, graphics, and scripts. Tutorials for HTML, CSS, Javascript, Flash, Paintshop Pro, Photoshop, and others are included, along with affiliate resources, and tracking tools. An interactive discussion forum is also available.
https://www.createblog.com/
The Drivel blog editor is a GNOME client for working with blogs, offering support for LiveJournal, Blogger, Movable Type, Advogato, and Atom, as well as WordPress and Drupal. Using Drivel, users can post, edit, delete and view recent entries, and have access to integrated spellchecking and HTML syntax highlighting, offline composition and editing, automatic recovery in case of a crash, and journal system extensions. A free download is available.
http://drivel.sourceforge.net/
Founded in Australia in 2005, Edublogs has offices in Austin, Texas and Victoria, Australia, and is a project of Incsub, a prominent WordPress company. Intended for individual teachers, two packages are available, both allowing for student and class management, and regular blogging features, in an ad-free and student safe format, one free, the other with a monthly or annual fee, which offers other features and amenities. Features and prices are displayed, and questions are answered.
https://edublogs.org/
Developed by the John O’Nolan in 2013, Ghost is an open source blogging platform written in JavaScript under the MIT License, and originally financed through a Kickstarter campaign, its original intent being to simplify the process of blogging for individuals and online publications. Stewarded by the non-profit Ghost Foundation, the open source code can be self-hosted without charge, but there are three plans for the fully hosted Ghost Pro infrastructure.
https://ghost.org/
Created by two people, one of who was a Kickstarter contributor to the Ghost project, and who helped to beta test it, while the other became one of the core members of Ghost. For those who are self-hosting the Ghost blogging platform, this guide is intended to provide the information needed for someone to get started with it, covering setup instructions, hosting, theming, and development issues. An e-book is available for those who subscribe.
https://www.ghostforbeginners.com/
The open source blogging platform creates a flat-file blog, without the dependency on databases. Written in PHP, HTMLy can also be considered a flat-file CMS platform, since it also manages your content. The full-featured blog platform is highlighted, and its features are identified and described, and the installation files may be downloaded for free. Besides the default theme, other free themes may be downloaded from the site. Documentation and a demo are available.
https://www.htmly.com/
Written in Ruby and released in 2008, Jekyll is a simple, blog-aware static site generator. Distributed under the open source MIT license, the blog publishing system does not use databases or comment moderation but creates static pages which include permalinks, categories, and pages, with custom layouts available. Links to themes, plugins, editors, and guides are posted, along with a gallery of sites created with Jekyll. The software can be downloaded from the site.
https://jekyllrb.com/
Created by Brad Fitzpatrick in 1999, LiveJournal was sold to Six Apart in 2005, after which it was sold to SUP Media, a Russian company, in 2006, and development operations were moved to Russia in 2009. It is currently operated by Rambler Media Group, a Russian search engine, and web portal. LiveJournal is a social media platform, something between blogging and a social network. The software, themes, and paid services may be purchased from the site.
https://www.livejournal.com/
The weblog publishing system was first made available in 2001 by Six Apart, the developer. Movable Type is proprietary software, although Six Apart made a version of it available under GPL from June of 2007 to July of 2013. Its versions, licenses, and costs are featured, along with its fees for standard technical support, partnerships, and online product registration. Product announcements are posted to the site, and a brochure and support documentation is downloadable.
https://movabletype.com/
Founded in 2004, the blogging platform is the first European blog platform, and is intended to serve as the blogger’s online home, and to include everything that you publish, regardless of the form that it comes in, not only displaying blog posts and other blog content, but linking to all of a blogger’s social media. With Overblog, blogs may be created for free, but three levels of premium options are also available. The site also includes a blog list, which is sorted by topic.
https://en.over-blog.com/
Postach.io is a means of using Everest to create a blog and to use Disqus to allow comments to blog posts. The help center offers instructions for getting started, creating posts, posting embeds, add-ons, theme codes, domains, and account maintenance. The site’s team blog offers additional suggestions and other information, and also demonstrates things that can be done through Postach.io. After a 30-second setup on the Postach.io site, the blogging can be done through Everest.
https://postach.io/
The PHP-powered weblog engine gives users an easy way to maintain a blog, designing its default package for casual bloggers, but also offering an expandable framework with the power for professional applications. Featured is a documentation file, a blog announcing new releases and other information, an active community support forum, frontend, backend, and anti-spam plugins, and a gallery of themes, with demos and downloads.
https://docs.s9y.org/
Founded in 2013, Silvrback is intended to provide a distraction-free, minimalist writing experience for bloggers. An overview of the blogging platform is put forth, along with a summary of its features, and several informational articles on setting up and operating a blog, writing effective posts, and promoting the blog. Other information is available on the site’s own blog. Monthly, quarterly and annual payment plans are featured, along with a 14-day free trial.
http://www.silvrback.com/
Online since 2013, a full guide to starting a successful blog is available in printable format upon request, while the site offers a step-by-step guide to starting a blog, from deciding what to blog about, choosing a platform, picking a web host, setting up hosting, choosing a domain name, and building the blog’s design. Essential plugins are noted, and suggestions for creating the base pages for the blog, deciding on blog categories, publishing blog posts, and promoting the blog are included.
https://startbloggingonline.com/
TBT publishes blogging tips and other resources for bloggers and participates in various affiliate marketing programs through referral links found on the site. Its resources begin with a primer on starting a blog, finding a web host, or hosting your own blog. Food bloggers and travel bloggers are highlighted, and several hosting reviews are published to the site. Jobs may be posted, or reviewed on the site, and other informational articles are found in its own blog.
https://www.thebloggingtips.com/
Founded in 2007 and owned by Verizon Media, Tumblr is a microblogging and social networking site that allows registered users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog, and to follow other users’ blogs, although bloggers do have the option to make their blogs private. Its program is described on its site, and several examples are given. User-created blogs may contain text, photographs, quotes, links, chat, audio, and video. Downloadable apps are also available.
https://www.tumblr.com/
Owned by Endurance International Group, Typepad is a blogging service launched in 2002, and based on Six Apart’s Movable Type platform, but marketed to non-technical users. Available in several languages, Typepad is available through four monthly payment options, based on the featured desired. A 14-day free trial is available. A gallery of sites created through the Typepad platform are displayed, and the features and options of the platform are described.
https://www.typepad.com/
Developed by the WordPress Foundation, WordPress is a free, open-source content management and blogging system based on PHP and MySQL. Although generally associated with blogging, it is a full-featured web content platform. The software can be downloaded from the site, along with several free themes, and a mobile app. Its features are listed and described in detail, several sites created with WP and available themes are shown in separate galleries.
https://wordpress.org/
Specializing in hosting WordPress sites, five monthly options are available, beginning at $3 a month, and including blogs, websites, domains, e-commerce sites, and self-hosted solutions. Each of its plans is described in detail, and prices and policy information are included. An overview of its products and services are highlighted, including themes, plugins, and Google apps, as well as its support services, guides and tips. User experiences are included.
https://wordpress.com/
