With Web 2.0 no longer a cryptic name, blogging is as popular as it ever was. Thanks to social media tools like Twitter, users  seem to have got past the final remnants of web shyness and blogs are blooming.

Blogs were first published in the mid 1990s, but it was the introduction of simple blogging tools a few years later that really triggered the masses to join in.

According to BlogPulse, there are currently over 126 million blogs in the world. Some of these have gone from humble roots to being fully fledged, authoritative news websites. Blogs like Tech Crunch, Huffington Post and Perezhilton can all be found in the top 10 of the Guardian’s listing of the 50 most powerful blogs in the world.

That’s all great, but what really interests us is the grass-roots level. Why do ordinary people and small companies start blogging? Where does the time come from to update them and is it worth all the trouble?

Real value from the community

Steve Boneham, a Consultant Trainer at staff development organisation Netskills, teaches about the social aspects of the web – and does what he teaches.

Steve updates his blog regularly but blogging is something he sees as a personal reflection and a clarification of ideas – writing is something that forces you to format your thoughts.

He said: ”The blog is a key part of my online presence – a place where I can aggregate and curate content, both my own and from around the web, for discussion with people in my network or community.”

According to Steve, the community is also the thing that generated the value of the blog.

He said: “It’s certainly nice to see stats that show people are visiting, but real value comes from those who contribute to the conversations through their comments.”

Online presence is something Steve sees as vitally important. However, a fully fledged blog can be a big commitment, especially on top of a number of other social media activities.

But there are ways to tackle this, Steve reminds us. Aggregation services such as Flavors.me,  FriendFeed and Tumblr help in creating a website from personal content across the web.

Full control of content

Jason Falls, US social media expert points to a key difference between blogs and other social media outputs.

He writes: “You can control your blog completely. Focusing that content on winning search results is easier to execute than on Facebook or Twitter.”

Controlling your online reputation is something that makes social engagements less attractive for companies. However, Falls also points out, that blogs can be a hub for connecting with customers and therefore they are an opportunity not to be missed.

He writes: “The more search traffic you can drive, coupled with the social media traffic you move from your outposts, the more your efforts are optimized.”

Case Study:

The Huffington Post – Blogging turned into a (multimillion!) business

What started as a project for a few enthusiastic writers is today a social hub with, according to the co-founder Ariana Huffington, an active community of over 20 million web users. Read more…