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What Constitutes a Blog?

While reviewing entries on the Pinoy Top Blogs, I noticed that some of them might seem like a plain web site rather than a blog. The question still remains, what constitutes a blog?

In my presentation during the iBlog Summit last May, I referred to a blog as:

Yugatech 728x90 Reno7 Series
A weblog, web log or simply a blog, is a web application which contains periodic time-stamped posts on a common webpage.

These posts are often but not necessarily in reverse chronological order. Such a website would typically be accessible to any Internet user. The format of weblogs varies, from simple bullet lists of hyperlinks, to article summaries with user-provided comments and ratings.

Individual weblog entries are almost always date and time-stamped, with the newest post at the top of the page, and reader comments often appearing below it.

Because links are so important to weblogs, most blogs have a way of archiving older entries and generating a static address for individual entries; this static link is referred to as a permalink.

A weblog is edited, organized and published often through a content management system or CMS.

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

Source: Wikipedia / Blogger.com

Sean emailed me this:

That would raise an interesting question, actually. What constitutes a blog, and what doesn’t constitute a blog?

Take Citizen Watch, for example. Is this a blog? At first glance, this seems to be a journalistic blog that’s much like the Inside PCIJ site – only that it contains news and updates regarding the Arroyo political debacle. A closer look, however, notes that the articles on the site are apparently submitted by independent users to an editorial board before being published online. “Citizen Watch”, with its “Sun.Star” affiliation, feels more like an online newspaper than a blog to begin with.

Or, for that matter, how is an online newspaper NOT a blog? It clearly reflects the opinions of multiple people on a single site.

Check his blog later for a more indepth discussion.

The C at replied back with this:

Good, you brought that up.

ENCANTADIA is not a pinoyblog. it is a blog for channel 7 shows. Citizenwatch is a Sunstar newspaper. The pinoy blog is being used for their adverstisement.

Now there’s another thought. Does motive count when considering if a site is a blog or not?

Although I believe I have the last say on Pinoy Top Blogs, I’d really appreciate it if the Pinoy Blogging Community do a self-check.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

33 Responses

  1. Avatar for hogan hogan says:

    You can if you want to,that’s your choice.

  2. Avatar for Andy Smith Andy Smith says:

    Long live the bloggerss!!

  3. Avatar for TV Wall Mounts TV Wall Mounts says:

    LCD TV’s are good, but I prefer plasma. The picture quality is superior and the unit’s seem to last longer. Plus they look cool.

  4. Avatar for Funny Sayings Funny Sayings says:

    I dont think blogs are any different than forums. It has the same look and feel except the back end to add the content is a little different and slightly more managable. The true vaue is in the forums because it gets views involved in the process and the layout are entirely different.

  5. Avatar for bio bio says:

    Hello, i have a site about music, can i place a link to your website?

  6. Avatar for praetorian praetorian says:

    You posted “how is an online newspaper NOT a blog? It clearly reflects the opinions of multiple people on a single site.”

    A newspaper is a collection of factual events. Only a Liberal would define a newspaper as a collection of opinions.

  7. Avatar for vern vern says:

    The definition of blog has changed since it’s inception. It has swallowed up traditional homepages, community, and commercial websites under it’s wing. What all blogs do have in common is commenting directly on the article whether they be commercial blogs, tech blogs, community blogs.

    OT: Your gravatar sign up code doesn’t seem to work.

  8. Avatar for berdeng makina berdeng makina says:

    sa dami ng blog sa mundo, adhikain ni yuga ang pagsasamahin ang mga blog na gawa ng pinoy hindi isyu ang kung gaano karami ang bumibisita sa bawat pinoyblog. basta pinoy, tungkol sa pinoy, may relasyon sa pinoy, nakadikit sa pinoy, puwede natin ito isama sa pinoy blog.

    pinoy muna bago blog…

  9. Avatar for Perry Valdez Perry Valdez says:

    I think that the term “blog” refers to a broad and still-evolving concept. Just like many of you already mentioned, there are personal blogs, corporate blogs, community blogs, etc. Some features that are today considered “standard” (like RSS and even trackbacks) are not even present on many blogs a few years ago.

    That’s the reason why it’s pretty hard to define what is a blog and what isn’t.

    For our own purposes, I think we have to define a *pinoyblog* (not just “blog”) as a blog which has *all* the following characteristics:

    1. It has the technical characteristics mentioned in the definition of the term “blog” in the Wikipedia.
    2. It is authored by a Pinoy individual or members of a Pinoy community.
    3. It is *not* a corporate blog.
    4. ( Add more criteria here… )

    Then we go further and declare that only *pinoyblogs* (not just any blog) are allowed in the Pinoy Top Blogs. (And maybe rename it to “Top Pinoy Blogs”).

  10. Avatar for Abe Olandres Abe Olandres says:

    Thanks everyone for the inputs.

    When I started Pinoy Top Blogs, I had the individual Pinoy Bloggers interest in mind. With PinoyBlog.com, we were successful in making the pinoy bloggers’ presence felt. With Pinoy Top Blogs, I hope we can make our numbers matter and our cummulative traffic something to reckon with.

    If we concede on a technicality, almost every site there can be, in the minutest sense, considered a blog.

    Thus, I’d like to return back to my original intent and exclude those that does not seem to fit with the goals of this project.

    I have started off by removing Pinoyblog from the Community/Group blog category.

  11. Avatar for Marc Marc says:

    Karla: Ah talaga? Didn’t know that hehe I think I should sign up for one…NOT ;)

  12. Avatar for karla karla says:

    on 22. Hi Marc, friendster blogs are powered by Typepad hehe.

  13. Avatar for Marc Marc says:

    OK, I agree. For the sake of objectivity, two of the “safest” criteria would be the content format and the tool used to publish the content. With that said, I guess most websites created with these tools qualify as blogs then.

    OT: counted ba yung mga Friendster blogs? hehe jk :)

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