A blog (a contraction of the term "weblog") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Many blogs comment on news or a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. But where do they come from? Who had the first blog? Why do I only get 10 hits on my blog when Perez Hilton gets a few hundred thousand a day?
The modern blog evolved online diaries, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most of these writers called themselves diarists, journalists, or journalers. Justin Hall, who began personal blogging in 1994 while a student at Swarthmore College, and Jerry Pournelle are generally recognized as some of the earliest bloggers. Another early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site in 1994 (Trust me, at the time, this was really, really, really cool).
Jorn Barger coined the term “weblog” on 17 December 1997. The short form, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May 1999. Before blogging became popular (yes, there really was a time), digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, commercial online services such as GEnie, BiX and the early CompuServe.
Many of our authors blog, so go to their profiles and check out their blogs! Let’s help them catch up to Perez!
