Blog (Technology)

A blog is a website consisting of posts (entries) that are added regularly. The most recent post typically appears at the top, so the structure is chronologically reversed. Each post has a title, date, and a unique web address (permalink).

The term comes from "web log", meaning a record of the web. Initially, blog owners would manually maintain lists of links they recommended. When simple publishing tools became available, people without technical knowledge could create blogs.

Technical architecture

Most blogs are run by a content management system (CMS) that stores posts in a database and displays the blog when someone visits. There are also other approaches, such as static site generators, which convert posts into HTML files beforehand. Common features include tags and categories, search, comments, and an archive organized by date.

Feeds and linking

Many blogs produce feeds in RSS or Atom format. A feed is a machine-readable file containing a list of new posts; reader software can access it automatically. This allows readers to follow many blogs without visiting each one individually. Linking between blogs and citing one another created a network of interconnected writing.

Uses

Blogs are used by individuals keeping diaries of their thoughts, researchers sharing their work, companies describing their products, and journalists. Some are authored by one person; others by teams of contributors. The distinction between a blog and conventional news publishing has blurred, as many news organizations now use the same technology.