What exactly is a blog?

Well, in general terms, a blog is the shorted form of "web log", which is basically an online journal that you make public, or, under certain circumstances, make viewable by only a select few.

Individuals the world over blog for the sheer joy of writing and sharing their innermost thoughts and happenstances with their family and friends, others jot down their frustrations about their jobs, and still others use their blog to cast important news throughout the globe or express their passions with zeal. Businesses and online enterprises use blogs to stay connected with their clients and customers.

The best thing about starting a blog is that you don't need to be a software engineer or have a degree from MIT; an Online4Love blog is extremely easy to setup and maintain. If you're familiar with composing web email-Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo mail, et al-then you'll feel right at home with Online4Love's blogs, as they're even easier than trivial email operations! Our Online4Love technical staff has taken care of all the heavy lifting, leaving the fun part of writing and broadcasting your blog to potential mates and friends all over the world.

Imagine writing down your personal thoughts or the day's happenstances on a piece of paper-you do recall pen and paper, right?-and tacking it upon a tree or lamp post for people to peruse as they stroll by. You've just made your thoughts public, broadcasting them to whomever is interested enough to read them. Subtract the tangible mediums-the pen and paper-and add in some digital matter and the web and you've essentially a blog. A blog is an online journal that's viewable to the world, or, in special circumstances, only viewable by those you deem authorized.

Simply put, your blog is whatever your mind can dream up; your blog is only limited to the periphery of your imagination. How many blogs exist in all shapes and sizes? Perhaps millions, and the number is growing on a daily basis as more and more people commit their passions, hobbies, obsessions, frustrations and ramblings into blog form.

When you get right down to it a blog is nothing more than a collection of web pages that hold your blog's content. Your newest entries bubble up to the top of your blog listings, and older blogs sink towards the bottom. Readers of your blog can express their own thoughts via comment postings, providing feedback and sparking conversations.

Online4Love came upon the digital scene almost 5 years ago, and since then blogs have exploded in popularity. They've shaped and swayed political views, fueled journalism and gave a voice to millions of people the world over, connecting them with other people and viewpoints.

And unlike Darwinian evolution, the evolution of blogging is growing at an amazingly rapid pace. Who knows what other blogging manifestations will spring forth from the status quo?