Have you ever felt the need to express yourself better? Have you ever felt that your opinions must be heard? Well, in truly democratic governance, freedom of writing is a right and is one such right which must be exploited to the maximum for, the pen is mightier than the sword. Blogging allows you to express your thoughts on a more widespread medium of communication, the internet. The content that you write is called blogs. Your blogs can be read by as many as a million people. This is not exaggeration. Blogging has become one of the most popular online activities. With options to blog in your own mother tongue, more and more people are joining the club of bloggers. Let us look at blogging from an amateur’s points of view and briefly describe it.

What is a blog?

Blog is the word used to describe websites, where users post their comments either in the form of an article or just a few lines. The posted comments can be viewed by all users who log in to the website. The topic of discussion of in blogging terms, a thread, may be anything from politics to cookery and cleaning. Blogging sites are amazing platforms to learn and discuss a large number of issues and broaden your horizon of knowledge. Blogs which are short are commonly called micro blogs. Blogging doesn’t limit itself to text blogs alone. You can post your favorite song along with its review or comments; you can post videos (vlog), picture and sketches (photo blog and art blog). Possibilities are many for you to explore them. Originally blogging websites were used by people to maintain an online diary, where they would jot down the musings if their everyday life along with pictures. This was widely read.

Personal blogging gave some users a vent to let out some hidden feelings better. This could be said for no one knew who the blogger was. Most of the bloggers have nicknames which are in no way connected to what their real name. And like all other online communication services which keep your original identity intact, users could be another person (most likely their alter ego) and write on. Blogging also allows uses to post their comments on another person’s blog. This makes it more interactive. For example, when you post a blog expressing your irritation at mobile phone users who scream into their phone in public, you’ll soon realize within few days that you are not the only one. There are thousands who express similar dislike. All or most of them will post a comment on your blog.

Blogs can be rated too. This is usually done by the website after seeing the number of responses you get from other users. Blogging sites will post the latest blogs usually in chronological order. Some sites will also post the blogs based on how many times it has been read or on the rating. Widely read blogs will usually appear on the menu on the homepage itself. Categories or genres of blogging will also be mentioned. If music is you hobby, you can enter the category ‘music’ and view or post blogs.

Some handy tips on blogging for beginners

Step 1: You are all excited to start blogging. You want your articles to be read and commented on. You want to be a part of the system if it is an online environment. You want your little share of online ‘fame and glory’. This is good enough a reason to start off with blogging. When you start, choose a topic which is interesting enough to read and research on. The topic must be something which everyone can relate to. It can be your opinion on latest blockbuster movie or a best seller. Before you tap away on the keyboard, make sure that you are aware of the following things.

• You can blog on anything. Literally! When you are deciding the topic and the content you are going to writing, ask yourself if you are revealing any confidential or personal information which in some way might prove harmful to you? Remember, blog sites are public sites and hence are not secure. Anyone can access the information. In fact, there have been cases of stalking because the blogger revealed some personal information using which he could be tracked. So play it safe.
• Always write about neutral topics when you are starting. Do not show your prejudice against certain religion or political views. Blogging has achieved more or less the same reach as what news channels and other well established forms of media has reached. Your thoughts could provoke someone and lead to unwanted consequences.

Step 2: Writing a good blog: None of the fellow bloggers are looking for a blog written by Shakespeare! All that is asked from you is a blog that is free from grammatical and spelling errors. No one is interested in shabby work. For this, it is important that you enjoy your blogging experience. Your work should have a finished look to be interesting and appreciated.

With these two tips in mind, you should make a good blogger. Quality of blogging comes with practice. You only get better with each blog.

Blogging as a money making profession:

Did you know that you could make money out of blogging? We tell you how.
The basic idea behind earning from blogging is this. You mention certain sites and direct traffic to those sites. This means that your blog should be so interesting that people should visit the links you have mentioned. The more the number of hits those sites get, through your blog, you get paid. Don’t jump into believing that you could feed you family earning through blogs. Pocket money is all that you may get through it at first. With experience, you learn the tricks of the trade and consider turning into a professional blogger.

Having paid advertisement banners on your blogs will help a great deal in making few extra bucks. Google’s Ad sense has revolutionized blogging as a profession. It is a subtle for of advertising consisting only text links. No on the face pictures with blaring background suddenly popping when you are working on something. This endeared advertisements surprisingly to the users and bloggers, google, and the corporate posting the ads made good money!

To start of with the money making business, visit the Ad sense site and create an account for yourself there. Once our account has been approved, you have endless opportunities stretching ahead of you. Choose a catchy topic and intriguing content and blog away.
Blogging has become a widely popular form of expression on par with journalism. It has a good reach among the masses using the internet. In the recent past, blogging has received some criticism too. No service is without its downs. Blogging on certain sensitive issues has attracted unwanted attention. There have been cases of using the information on the blogs for all the wrong reasons. This is when precautions play a vital role. As mentioned earlier in the articles, whether you are planning to take blogging professionally or you are doing it just for leisure, play it safe. Don’t be too aggressive on any issue and steer clear of dicey issues. Enjoy the blogging experience whole heartedly. Till then, happy blogging!