I can’t give you a simple, unambiguous definition of a weblog. Weblogs, also known as “blogs,” come in many different flavors. One man’s (or woman’s) weblog can be an entirely different concept than another’s.
In general, though, weblogs are regularly updated online journals — websites where commentary, original reporting, links to other content on the Web, etc. are sorted in reverse chronological order (newest items up top). Items posted to weblogs typically are very short. Most weblogs are a quick read.
Weblogs are really online newsletters. Take the content of most weblogs and put it in newsletter format and it wouldn’t seem out of place. But the typical weblog is more like a journal — where a single writer or a group of writers contributes items on an ongoing basis. In other words, we’re talking about a writer’s “log,” which he or she posts to frequently.
One characteristic that separates weblog from newsletter is that weblogs typically have a feedback mechanism built in. Most good weblogs allow readers to click a button, fill out a form, and comment on an item that the weblogger has written — for all to see.
Weblogs also are frequently updated. With a newsletter (print or electronic), the editors tend to think in terms of publishing one time; an edition is filled with content and “published.” Not so with weblogs; they are never “finished,” as the weblog writer continually updates and adds to the weblog.
