Series for New Bloggers

Any talk of starting a blog seems to cause feelings of trepidation and uncertainty, so I'm unrolling a series here at 1st Writes aimed towards our members who are currently contemplating whether they want to start a blog. This series will answer the what, why, who, where and how of blogging.

Series 1: Blogging - What is a blog? Why do I want to blog? Who has a blog?

Blog -the official definition

[noun] Formed from the combination of Web and Log, it's an on-line journal or web-zine, which is like having your own magazine but really simple and easy to use, made accessible through the internet. The difference between a blog and a website is that a blog has facilities for reader comments and discussion threads. It's built on the idea of reader and writer interaction.

[verb] To read, write, or edit a personal on-line journal or a shared on-line journal

Blog -my definitions

A blog is a tool for expressing yourself. A blog can be about any topic you want. You can share pictures and video on a blog or not; it's up to you and it's super easy.

A blog is a way to connect with others. It's like having pen pals. I never had a pen pal, but the perk of having a pen pal was communicating with someone in a different part of the world and blogging allows you to have as many friends in as many different parts of the world as you can imagine -all without the charge of postage.

A blog is a way to connect with family and friends that live far away. Share memories of times gone by or share happenings in the present.

A blog is a tool for learning and teaching. Whether you have a blog about writing, crafting, exercising, getting married, having a baby, raising children, or home organizing (to name only a few), you are bound to learn something new and useful from a fellow blogger. And in turn, there's a good chance your sharing of experiences and knowledge will teach a fellow blogger something he or she did not know.

A blog encourages writing and creativity.

Reasons Why You Should Blog:

You like to write.

You would like to write more often.

You have stories to share.

You have recipes to share.

You have tips to share.

You want to learn more about writing.

You want to learn more about anything.

You want to meet new and interesting people.

You want to join other members of First Writes in their blogging journey.

You already have a built in audience of readers who care about what you write.

Who Blogs?

Blogging is for people of all ages. And to show you I'm not exaggerating, here are links to a blog by a little girl and blogs by not so little girls:

Paperdolls Book Reviews

Grandma is a Writer

Blabbin Grammy

Once you've decided you'd like to try and blog (and why not? You have nothing to lose! You don't like it; you delete it), you're ready to move on to the next step and part 2 of the Series for New Bloggers: Where do I blog? And How do I create a blog?

The next step is to create a Google account.

Click Here to create a Google account

Under sign in with your Google account there is a box that says 'Don't Have a Google Account?' 'Create an Account Now' -click on that box.

Follow the simple instructions.

Then come back to First Writes and leave a comment.

You are one step closer to having a blog of your own!