Blog Basics

Have you ever lived in a foreign country for a few months? Eventually, you learn enough of the language to get around. Yet, every once in a while, people chuckle when you mispronounce a word or look at you funny if you do something out of the norm.

This is what it feels like as people first enter the blogosphere. It is a relatively unexplored world equipped with its own language. This is a world where you can find linky love when people like each other and get flamed when they don't. It's also a new and exciting world where you can find great information, reinforce your brand, or even make some money on the side.

Now, in most countries, you can get around comfortably knowing 15-20 basic words. In the blogosphere, it is much the same. For this post, let's start with five words.

Blog or Weblog

A form of online writing, frequently updated by one or more authors. There are many uses for blogs - in the case of the Caro Blog, it is a form of Internet marketing education.

The great thing about blogs is you don’t have to be a developer to start one. This blog uses Typepad. According to Microcontent News, community blogs use Scoop or Slash. If you're a techy and prefer open source software, you can use Movable Type or Blosxum. If you want free and easy, Google offers a free blogging tool called Blogger.

Post

A blog is populated by posting content. It's not an article, it's a post.

Blogged and Flamed

If someone writes about you, you've been blogged. If someone writes negatively about you, you've been flamed... adding a whole new dimension to crisis management for the PR department.

RSS Reader

And finally, if you would like an easy way to keep track of your top 50 blogs, you can use a RSS Reader. I'll let others explain the technology behind it – All you need to know is you can sign up for Bloglines, or some other reader, and start entering your favorite RSS capable blogs and websites. It will notify you every time there is a new post. Very simple and quite addicting.

There’s a lot still left to learn, but this should give you enough of a head start.