Blogs are changing the world

When I think about the word "blog" I think about Star Trek:

Remember the scenes in Star Trek where you hear Captain Kirk's voice in the background while the Enterprise zooms through space: "Captain's log, Star Date twenty nine fifty ten. The infernal Klingons suddenly appeared on the starboard bow..."?

Ok, it's not a Blog, it is a captain's log. Point is: all ships need one - even ships that don't sail in water. Or have no sails at all.

Like your own (proverbial) ships.

"Blogs" or "blogging" are one of the fastest growing phenomena on the internet. It is a concept that is changing the world.

The term "blog" refers to a "web log" - an online journal of sorts. Like Captain Kirk's ship log...but on the web.

A blog is a mini-web site where you post articles or ramblings in chronological order. People can comment on your posts. Or not. You post regularly to your blog. Or not.

It can be open to the general public or a select view of your followers, staff members or clients. It can be about a specific topic - or it can be about your view of the world. Your business plan for the next month or so. Your ideas on better customer support. Your best recipes. Your worst movies. Your plan to take over the world. Your thoughts on Zuma.

It is your letter to whoever you decide whenever you decide.

People subscribe to newsfeeds generated by blogs to build their own custom online "news papers". (We covered newsfeeds and newsreaders in detail in a previous newsletter, here...)

Before we look at the nuts and bolts of a blog (and how you can easily make your own) let's consider why blogs are so important and why it is not a fad that is going to go away:

It is said the pen is mightier than the sword. (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1839 in the play "Richelieu")

It means that great ideas are more powerful than any physical weapon.

When we invented writing (and reading) we developed a way to capture our knowledge and ideas and pass them on to the next generation. In a printed book, an idea survive longer than it's author's lifetime.

In order to get a book published, you had to either have the money yourself or convince a publisher that he will be able to sell it. A kind of passive censorship was built in: your ability to publish your ideas depended on your wealth or the opinion of other people.

Then the internet came. Now anyone could publish a book. But not quite: you still had to have the technical know-how on how to register a domain name and how to publish content to the web. You also had to pay for the web hosting space. Once again, there was passive censorship in the form of your wealth and your technical know how. This "censorship" was almost non-existent compared to pre-internet days, but nevertheless still a factor preventing many people from publishing their ideas.

Today, with the advent of free blogging servers, anyone with zero technical knowledge can publish a blog. Several sites offer this service, but my favorite is Blogger. It is owned by Google and it is also the biggest on the internet. It will take you about 5 minutes to set up your own blog and to post something. Set your own blog up here...

Zero censorship. Power to change the world.

Humans are the dominant life form on earth because we learn. We do not rely on instinct alone. Each generation deposits it's knowledge and experience in a written form that can be used by generations after. Newton explained the universe. Einstein learned from him and explained the very nature of matter and energy.

My or your blog might not change the world in a Newtonian way, and we probably won't add any insight to Einstein's theories, but it will change our own personal world. By sharing and communicating with our peers, customers, staff or the world as a whole, we exchange ideas and collaboratively form new points of view. Your blog might help your customers or staff understand problems or processes better. Your insight into a topic might pop up on a Google search and win you a new customer or a new fan.

For instance, I recently started this blog. The idea behind the blog is to post things there that I learn: cool software I found, new things I figured out - ideas that will make my reader's internet life just a little bit easier or better. I spend literally days online at a time, scouring all kinds of blogs, news sites, online newspapers, etc - does it not make perfect sense to share what I've learnt? (My most recent blog posting is about backing up the software drivers that make your computer work. (See here...) A perfect example how 5 minutes of reading can save your many, many hours of frustration.)

A blog gives you (or your company) your own voice on the internet. To share, inform and influence. To listen, learn and adapt.

Scientia potentia est. Knowledge is power. (Wikipedia rocks.)

All of us have something to learn, and all of us have something to say.

Blog on.