kids-in-biz.com

There are several blog scripts available for use, including:

• Wordpress – Free to use, can have a blog on their site (wordpress.com) or grab the open source script (wordpress.org.) for use on your own hosting account.
• Blogger – Free to use, can have a blog on their site (blogspot.com) or publish the content to your own hosting account.
• Squarespace – Paid service (squarespace.com)
• Typepad – Paid service (typepad.com)

Bloggers are often loyal to their blog. Your needs will vary, so check out the options and let your choice be a personal one.

For a business blog, Wordpress is a common choice. Wordpress is feature rich. It is an Open Source script. This means that anyone can take the source code and edit it. Creative and talented people are constantly improving the code and releasing updates for free. There are hundreds of free templates available, too!

Wordpress is flexible. It works with a variety of ‘plug ins’ which add functionality and fun to your blog template.

For a more professional template, The Revolution themes are widget-ready, customizable themes that provide ideal solutions for online magazines, online newspapers, and other websites that wish to use WordPress as a content management system.

What makes a Blog different from a ‘regular website’?

Assuming that a ‘regular website’ is referring to a static HTML site, it is the database driven content that really sets it apart.

There are many websites that have been built using a similar script/database (known as a Content Management System or CMS) and these sites have a lot in common with the blog since a blog script is essentially a CMS.

The lines between blogs and other types of websites are blurring as more business owners choose to build their site with a CMS. While many blogs are designed to look like a web journal, more and more are being designed to look like a regular website.

Because the content you enter into the blog is stored in a database, it can be distributed as a data feed. RSS is the feed that most blogs employ. (RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.) With RSS, your content can be viewed through any RSS reader or aggregator on another website or on a computer or portable device. RSS, ATOM and XML are often used interchangibly.
Another benefit to being database driven is that the script can accept and display comments on specific posts and can detect when other sites link to one of your blog posts. By using an RSS feed, you can get search engine readable link backs on all of your blog posts. You can get notified of each Kids-in-Biz post by entering your email address subscribing to our feedburner. It’s much easier than bookmarking and returning to sites you like to see if anything is new.

Happy Blogging! Now that some of the technical stuff is over with, look for Part 3 “What Kind of Blog Should I Use?” coming soon!

What is a Blog?

The term blog comes from two words: ‘web log’.

The strange little word is used in a variety of ways.

• “I blogged today’ means that you posted to your web log.
• “I’m blogging” could mean that you’re actively working on a blog post or that you blog on a regular basis.
• “I’m a blogger” may be used to let someone else know that you run a blog.

Technically, a blog is an online journal driven by a script and a database. The blog script provides you with an online dashboard for typing in your journal entries and the database stores your words.

Don’t worry about technologically intimidating terms like ‘script’ and ‘database’ – it’s not as bad as it sounds. If you have ever used a web based email system like yahoo.com or hotmail.com or if you’ve ever created an ebay auction or signed up for Myspace.com – you’re technical enough for a blog.

If you’ve never done any of these things, don’t worry! It’s not hard to learn.

Leave the tech terms behind us. What exactly is a blog?

It’s whatever you want it to be.

It can be an online journal. It can be your web based diary. It can be your monthly web article archive or weekly newsletter repository. A blog can include whatever you would like it to include: words, sound, video, pictures, etc.

It can be very personal or it can be quite businesslike.

Words like ‘journal’ and ‘diary’ have a private feel, yet a blog is public. This creates a unique culture among bloggers. People tend to be more personable on a blog, even if the topic is business.

Blogs are a great way to start your online business journey. They are fairly easy to set up. You can get one for free. They are flexible enough that you can easily make changes, and the more you play with your blog, the more valuable your skillset will be. Who knows? Before you know it, people will pay you to create a blog for them!

More blogging info coming! Stay tuned!