So what is a blog exactly? The best way to describe it is probably as an online journal or diary. Just like a traditional journal, a blog normally has a single author and contains whatever the author feels like writing about at the time. Unlike a traditional journal though, a blog is for public consumption, and is in no way private. Also, entries in the blog are in reverse-chronological order, with the most recent entries at the top.

A blog usually has a single focus - a main subject in which the author is interested in. You will find blogs on the Web that have, for example, a political, sports, or technology focus. You will even find one on the joys of being a househusband (http://www.househusband.blogspot.com/).

Many bloggers like to write and like to share their thoughts. A blog gives them the perfect way to do this. Others don't care whether anyone reads the blog or not. To them their blog is the perfect way to store and archive information that is of interest to them - a pile of post-it notes and a filing cabinet to put it another way. As the blog is on the Web, it is available from any Internet-connected computer in the world, and is searchable. So, the information they have collected is always accessible.

Blogs have become very popular and the more well-written and interesting blogs have large audiences. These audiences include various political aides and media hierarchy. A recent TIME Magazine article highlighted the incredible influence some blogs and bloggers are having on the media and politics, particularly in the United States.

On occasion blogs have been responsible for breaking news stories. A story which may not seem big or important, or which may be ignored for other reasons by mainstream media, but which is posted on a blog and read by thousands, can take on a life of its own and force the mainstream media and politicians to take notice.

How have blogs become so influential? Many bloggers are actually great writers. They are smart, insightful, and often very witty. They also don't have the same constraints as journalists, for example, accountability, objectivity, pressures from advertisers, etc. Blogs are meant to be biased. They are solely the opinions of their author. And that makes them fun and refreshing.

Of course many blogs out there are not well-written or smart or witty. Many of them are also only of interest to a small fraction of the population. However, the authors of blogs have many different reasons for blogging, as discussed above, so they're not all meant to be funny, or interesting to everyone, or influential.

If you would like to share your thoughts with a potential worldwide audience, there are several sites out there where you can go to create your own blog for free. One is blogger.com. You will need an email address and to follow the instructions on the site to create and then edit your own blog. Blogger.com will also host your blog for free. However, as they are providing this service at no cost your blog will contain ads at the top of the screen. You should always read the Terms of Service before proceeding. Other options for creating and hosting your blog are available and you should investigate these if you are interested.