Web 2.0 in Business  Tags: business web2.0 web course_guide mba rss social_bookmarking social_networking blogs blogging tagging careers  

Blog - Web page that has short, frequent posts made to it; short for Web log.

Watch this video remix of opinions on what a blog is and what it means to different people.

Use one of these search engines to find either blogs or blog posts on a certain subject:

• Google Blog Search
• Technorati

The active blog universe is estimated to be over 13 million, with 40,000 new blogs popping up each day. And while most blogs are completely irrelevant to you, that leaves at least 40 new ones every day that could be revealing job opportunities, talking about your business, discussing your competitors or looking for deals and partners.

As your employers, customers and rivals are figuring blogs out, mastering this channel is no longer a business elective, it's a prerequisite. Read more about how "Blogs Will Change Your Business" in a 2008 BusinessWeek Report.

The easiest way to get started is a hosted blogging platform. Here are the most popular choices that are free to use and require minimum setup:

• Blogger.com
• Wordpress.com
• TypePad

This "How to Blog: A Beginner's Blog Publishing Guide" gathered all of the essential resources you'll need to get started. Chapters include detailed information on how to:

• Choose a niche
• Decide where to host your blog
• Set up a desktop editing application
• Decide what to write
• Find images
• Promote your blog