What precisely is a weblog and how would I go about setting one up

Asks Lord Panda

A. A weblog is a website that can contain personal, newsworthy or non-commercial information. The information is usually organised in a dated log (chronological) format - in a similar way to recording a diary of events - with short spurts of information added every day. Some examples include the following:

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Personal weblogs: There are hundreds of thousands of personal weblogs on the Internet; these take lots of different formats. The most popular is where the person responsible for the site simply talks about themselves (in a what I did today format).

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Other formats include those that comment on a particular subject e.g. gardening and include lots of research links, plus factual tips and resources; or those that have been set up by a family member so that other members of the family (especially if they live in different cities or countries) can keep up to date with news (and add their own), these weblogs are especially popular with parents of new babies, as they can include photos and information on each developmental milestone as it is passed.

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Newsworthy weblogs: These can be set up by individuals or organisations and usually take the format of including lots of headlines or subject headings as links to fuller stories. A good example of this is The Guardian newspaper's weblog (more information at www.guardian.co.uk) - it is a diary of the best online news and analysis - not just from their own newspaper but from all media sources around the world on a particular subject - this is a great way of keeping up to date and well informed with the latest issues on any particular subject, giving you a rounded and unbiased viewpoint.

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User edited weblogs: these weblogs can be set up by an individual or organisation and they invite visitors to the weblog to add their comments and opinions on many different topics - similar to a discussion forum.

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Directories: some weblogs are simply directories of weblogs available on the Internet.

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Q. Why are weblogs so popular

A. They are popular because they offer an attractive, and ever-changing approach to the format and content of a website. They are not bland or corporate, but rather personal, informative and often funny and give a different spin on a subject than you could be used to.

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Q. How would I go about setting up a weblog

A. There are lots of sites that will help you set up your own weblog, some of the most popular in the UK include Blogger, Manila and Groksoup - and each of these caters for a different type of user.

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Blogger

Blogger is free to all its users and allows you to set up your own weblog easily (without any code or script - although this can be used if you want to) so that messages are posted instantly onto your site - and you can add information to a site you have already or get Blogger to set one up for you.

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Adding information is automated, you provide a template of your home page (or use a pre-designed one) and indicate how often you want to update the information on it, then when you want anything published you post it on a special form and click on 'publish' when you are ready for it to go live.

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The Blogger website has an incredibly comprehensive "How to..." section that takes you through the whole process, with support if necessary. This section also gives you loads of tips on how to improve your weblog as you get more familiar with creating them - for example it explains how to troubleshoot errors, use archives, get your weblog in a directory, add members to your team, create a bookmarklet, edit remotely, import graphics and publicize your weblog.

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The site makes money through advertising, licensing and consulting - so at present you don't have to pay for anything, just include a link back to blogger.com on your weblog.

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Manila Sites

Manila is geared towards use by organisations rather than individuals - as it is an Internet server application that allows groups of writers, designers and graphic artists to all contribute to and manage a website through an easy to use browser interface.

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This means that more than one person can edit content (and you don't have to be technically minded) so the flow of information is faster and communication is increased within an organisation. In addition, database storage is automatic through XML-specified templates so that it is easy to find anything on a site.

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Manila employs Userland software to create all of its sites, all you have to do is purchase the software for $899 (approx. �600) and then follow the instructions - all of which are available on the Manila website. Userland is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. Its Radio Userland product is its weblog tool, which automatically builds your site, organizes and archives all postings and publishes the content without having to have knowledge of HTML, FTP, or graphic design.

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Groksoup

Groksoup allows you to create your own weblog - and these ones are usually news/subject oriented rather than personal monologues - or allow you to add content to a website you have already. All its publishing tools are browser based so it is easy to add, delete, edit and syndicate content.

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By syndicating the information (great for journalists) on your site, or using syndicated material to improve your site, you can get access to a lot of facts, resources and other material that has already been researched - which saves you the time and energy of doing all the work yourself when it has been already been done by someone else.

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Groksoup also helps you to increase the traffic to your site, register your domain name, syndicate your work and it will soon be able to monitor how many visitors have checked your site out.

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By Karen Anderson