by Monique Hodgkinson

Blogging. Lots of people are doing it. People are even guest blogging. I confess. I am a blogger. A what? A blogger: Someone who writes blogs.

Sound confusing? Blog is short for Web log — in other words, an online journal. Each blog has its own name and posts. Posts are the articles; each article has its own title, content and time stamp — and, optionally, reader comments. Links to other Web sites, images, video and audio can also be added, making the blog more visually appealing than plain text.

People are blogging around the world. Blogging has become so popular over the past decade that there are search engines that only index blogs. Technorati, a popular blog search engine, is tracking more than 112 million blogs. So what are people blogging about? Everything, from breaking news to strange stories! You can find an assortment of opinions and information on every topic imaginable.

What fascinates me is how blogging has changed the structure of the entire publishing industry. The public platform once available only to trained journalists and selected writers has now been opened up to the masses. Blogging gives aspiring writers the opportunity to self-publish their works and potentially reach millions. For example, the recently released movie Julie & Julia  is based on the real-life story of Julie Powell, who gained notoriety by blogging about cooking the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. For an entire year, she cooked these elaborate French recipes and blogged about it. A blog, a book and a movie: Blogging changed Julie’s life.

Getting started is easy:

1. Decide what you want to write about. I have three separate blogs; I don’t combine them because the subject matter is not related.

2. Choose the blogging platform you would like to use. Hosted sites — such as Blogger.com, WordPress.com and Thoughts.com — offer free accounts, with all of the software installed, ready to use. Self-hosted sites — such as WordPress.org, MovableType.com or Textpattern.com — have software packages that you can download. They also double as content management systems.

3. Schedule time to write your blog. Consistency is very important.

Worried that you might have a mental block? Start out slowly. A  blog doesn’t have to be a dissertation. Write posts that are just a few sentences long. The more you do it, the more comfortable you will become. Before you know it you will find your own voice.

There are numerous benefits to blogging for small businesses. Blogs are an affordable way to provide information about your products and services. They allow you build your brand, demonstrate your knowledge and expertise, and easily receive feedback from customers. Additionally, if you blog regularly, you build up a library of content, which helps improve your search engine ranking.

So what are you waiting for? Give it a try; join the blogosphere and start blogging today!

Monique Hodgkinson is the founder of Screen Caffeen. Her  blogging services include set up, theme customization, strategy development and ghostwriting. Other services include Web site design and maintenance, e-marketing, and newsletter creation. For more information, visit screencaffeen.com or call 650-740-1491.