The best description I’ve read regarding blogging is that “it’s somewhere between writing a column and talk radio. In that sense, blogging is the first journalistic model that actually harnesses rather than merely exploits the true democratic nature of the web. Blogging is a first generation tool built on, and taking advantage of, the unique attributes of the Internet. Blogging is a way of collecting links to WebPages and sharing thoughts and ideas with people online. For most people, blogging is a career-booster, both in your current job and when you’re looking for your next one. The second is that blogging is a daily activity. And, whether you know it or not, blogging is a big business.

Blogging clearly isn’t going to help that proportion of people who aren’t really up to their job, or who are prone to inarticulate flaming, or both. Blogging is a good way to meet people. Blogging has become something of a big thing in the last few years, and some of the biggest and best known web logs attract the kind of traffic that even big name-commerce sites would be jealous of. Blogging is also dangerous because of its addictive quality, we’re told. I have given several press interviews in recent days, all more or less along the same lines: someone’s been assigned to write a story about people being fired for blogging

Blogs (or Web logs) are basically online journals or diaries which are great for sharing information and ideas. Blogs are not a good place to rest on your laurels. As well as text, blogs often contain audio, music, images and video. I almost fell out of my Aaron chair when the May 2 issue of Business Week arrived featuring a cover story predicting that “Blogs will change your business. What I love about blogs is the authenticity of voice, how they further democratize web publishing, and how they provide more relevant information through contextual links. We’ll create online versions of segmented newsletters with additional archiving and polling functionality, and we’ll finally investigate blogs as a way to increase the level of authenticity for several of our corporate sponsorships.

We’ve seen blogs that: support exhibits, help organize docents, share the museum Director’s vision, conduct direct marketing, re-publish articles from museum publications, help with professional development, explore specific topics or issues, as well as blogs that are used as simple content management systems inside existing sites. I enjoy reading blogs whose creators are passionate about their subject or niche. I grow weary of all the monetization-obsessed and content-free blogs.

What I notice about the present blogging community, however, is that some of those making the most money are the ones who are giving the tips on how to make money.

I feel blogging is very important for a multitude of reasons, all ranging from the personal relief one receives from journaling, to the growth of closeness and understanding between diverse cultures and peoples, and even to an increased awareness of local issues that the mainstream media either chooses to ignore or mistakenly ignores.