You may have heard that Google recently purchased Pyra, the company responsible for Blogger.com, and BlogSpot.com, a “push-button publishing tool for the people…”
Now it’s time for the obligatory “blog” definition (you’ve probably read several of these recently). I’ll quote Jackie Rosenberger from DevWebPro: “the word ‘blog’ is short for ‘web log.’ A blog is a daily journal that appears on a Web page. All you need is a site, some writing talent, and something to say every day.
“Why start a blog on your own site? Well, blogs are a great way to increase your Web traffic.”
Pyra was a smart buy for a number of reasons, but page views is certainly there at the top of the list. Blogger.com claims 50-60,000 page views a day, from 30,000 unique viewers. Blogspot.com (a Pyra subsidiary), where anyone can host a personal blog for free, is home to “over 100,000 blogs, [and] serves more than 60,000 unique visitors per day…”
Watch for those numbers to rocket, as Google advertises their blog service to their massive audience, and the media spreads this blog idea virus. Blogspot.com is home to 100,000 blogs now (each with a banner ad), and 1,000,000 is not far away as blogging grows in popularity.
So there’s the traffic, but Blogger.com and BlogSpot.com are also a perfect fit for Google’s image. Google prevents search engine tomfoolery – those little tricks that make your site appear higher in the engines without necessarily having relevant content. Their rigorous attention to relevance creates a search engine that is, like Blogger.com, “for the people…”
As Blogger.com says, “many blog publishers are trendsetters and early adopters. Demographically, they span the gamut, but tend to be young and tech-savvy.” Google bought the internet’s underground scene, and they’re going to launch in the mainstream.
I spoke with Rich, murdok CEO, about his predictions for the buy. Here are some of the things he said to watch for:
Here’s a real live blog (not hosted by blogspot…) that covers some of the possible outcomes of the buy: “Google/Pyra: Winners and Losers.” It’s a pretty entertaining blog. http://rands.jerkcity.com/archives/000089.html
Here’s a blog from Blogger: http://www.computer-vet.com/weblog/blogger.asp. “Scott Schrantz is a computer and Web professional living on the sagebrush-y outskirts of Carson City, Nevada. This weblog is my place to point out what I think is good about the Web, or just spout off about whatever I’m thinking.”
I went into the archive to find some blogging articles. Here’s what we had:
Blogging for Dollars: Giving Rise to the Professional Blogger
https://murdok.org/articles/1024mhourihan.html
Blog Design: Show Some Restraint
http://www.devwebpro.com/2002a/1108.html
The Biz Stone Guide to Independent Publishing
https://murdok.org/articles/1024bstone.html
It’s the blog era, folks. Visit Blogger.com and start your blog today!
Garrett French is the editor of murdok’s eBusiness channel. You can talk to him directly at WebProWorld, the eBusiness Community Forum.
