They are personalized web pages containing links to other sites, but more than that they are a place for users to leave their comments, opinions and witty statements concerning many issues, including sports, politics, current news, TV and internet. The reason they have become so popular and well used is that they offer people the opportunity to express themselves and get their points of view across freely, without restrictions of age, gender, sexuality or social class.

To post to a blog site you must have a (often free) login membership, but these sites can be viewed by anyone anywhere in the world, which goes to show its worldwide appeal and reach. Blogging sites are not particularly technically difficult to create, and contain images, audio and video content, which can be updated and made instantaneously available to a global audience.

As blogging has become an increasingly well used form of media, many people, including politicians, TV broadcasters, and of course businesses have begun to incorporate it into their marketing campaigns. It is a great way to reach people they otherwise would not be able to get hold of, especially with the younger generation. The internet is becoming a hugely important tool within marketing and this free, simple and effective method is therefore ideal to help organizations move forward with the times.

Such is the vast array of blogs out there; blog search engines have started to appear, to help surfers to move between all of the different topics and types of blogs that are available, such as legal, fashion, travel etc.

Issues have also been raised with the idea of freedom of speech - do people have the right to their own opinions, however farfetched and potentially explosive? Should they be able to hide behind fake personas? Or do those the blogs are aimed at have a right to legal proceedings due to defamatory of character? The legal side of blogging is unclear, and legislation may need to be brought in to help clarify what is and isn't acceptable.

Blogging is a great way to increase Search Engine popularity, and using this technique enables the likes of Google and Yahoo to pick up on links and refer browsers to your sites more effectively.