This being the first post of this blog, I will start of with a subject, that has a close relation to blogging - its history, something that many overlook. Actually, the answer to the above question is not definite or precise.
I presume that the reader has the knowledge as to what is a blog. Otherwise, please visit any of the following links before you read on.
Blog Basics
When I started researching for this post, I came across many articles all over the web. If you are a blogger then some of them deserve to be read and respected. The following is a summary of what I gathered.
Pinpointing the origin of blogs is impossible, we can only guess. Take for example, Tim Berners – Lee. He was a member of CERN. He began keeping a list of all new sites as they came online when internet had just came into the world. You can also give NCSA’s oldest archived “What’s New List “of sites as an example of early blogs. The point is, blogging is an old concept, which did not have a name. This did not happen until early 1999 when Peter Merholz coined the word “blog”.
Before Peter could coin the word “blog”, the concept of blogging was gaining popularity mainly due to people like Justin Hall and Cameron Barrett: Justin Hall who had launched “Justin’s Home Page “is recognized as one of the earliest blogger and Cameron Barrett who was the first to publish the list of blog sites on Camworld in November 1998. There was an increase in number of people referring blogs for information, as it was easy to read all the weblogs in Cameron’s list.
Early blogs were updated like common websites. Therefore, number of bloggers was limited because of the technological prerequisites. All this changed due to the introduction of Pitas, the first free build-your-weblog tool. The growth curve took a steep upward turn as people rushed to create there own blogs. This sensation was helped by the release of blogging platforms like Blogger by Pyra and Groksoup. These free tools aimed to enable individuals to publish their own blogs quickly and easily and boy! They achieve what they aimed for. The following snippet “Weblog: a history and perspective” by Rebecca Blood will give you the extent of activity in the blogosphere after the release of the mentioned software’s.
“I believe it has to do with the introduction of Blogger itself.While weblogs had always included a mix of links, commentary, and personal notes, in the post-Blogger explosion increasing numbers of weblogs eschewed this focus on the web-at-large in favor of a sort of short-form journal. These blogs, often updated several times a day, were instead a record of the blogger's thoughts: something noticed on the way to work, notes about the weekend, a quick reflection on some subject or another. Links took the reader to the site of another blogger with whom the first was having a public conversation or had met the previous evening, or to the site of a band he had seen the night before. Full-blown conversations were carried on between three or five blogs, each referencing the other in their agreement or rebuttal of the other's positions. Cults of personality sprung up as new blogs appeared, certain names appearing over and over in daily entries or listed in the obligatory sidebar of "other weblogs" (a holdover from Cam's original list). It was, and is, fascinating to see new bloggers position themselves in this community, referencing and reacting to those blogs they read most, their sidebar an affirmation of the tribe to which they wish to belong.”
One might ask - What did platforms like Blogger have to create the huge spur of activity? Rebecca has answer for this also.
“ Blogger itself places no restrictions on the form of content being posted. Its web interface, accessible from any browser, consists of an empty form box into which the blogger can type...anything: a passing thought, an extended essay, or a childhood recollection. With a click, Blogger will post the...whatever...on the writer's website, archive it in the proper place, and present the writer with another empty box, just waiting to be filled.
Contrast this with the web interface of Metafilter, a popular community weblog. Here, the writer is presented with three form boxes: the first for the URL of the referenced site, the second for the title of the entry, and the third for whatever commentary the writer would like to add. The Metafilter interface instructs the writer to contribute a link and add commentary; Blogger makes no such demands. Blogger makes it so easy to type in a thought or reaction that many people are disinclined to hunt up a link and compose some text around it.”
Personally, I totally agree with Rebecca. A blogging if done correctly can help in
1. Improve your written English.
2. Express your views and opinions for the world to hear
3. Increase your interest in a subject or develop new interests
and so on.
That sums up everything. Here is something that confirms what I have been saying. It is a video from Blogumentary, which shows that the roots of blogging are deep.
The following are the sources from which I have done this compilation. Please visit these links for more comprehensive account on blogging history.
Weblog: a history and perspective
Chronological classification of Blog history
As to the question “Where was blogging began?” , I have a simple answer: The Internet.
If you have any other answers or any other resources other than, the above resources feel free to mail at writewithmeblog@gmail.com . Comments and criticisms are taken positively. Remember, help yourself and help me. This Harravi signing off.
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