RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a very useful tool for people to read updates from blogs that are interesting for them. It saves a lot of time because they do not need to go to each page separately; updates from all blogs are collected in a user’s reader. Google Reader also allows its users to share interesting posts with other people. I think it is great because sometimes you find extremely interesting and useful information and want to show it to your friends/peers/colleges, and instead of emailing to each person all you need to do is to click on “share” button once, and all these people will be able to read this information. It also saves our time and makes information exchange much faster. Moreover, it is possible to add your shared articles in your blog as a clip. It makes the blog more updated for the followers, and they know more about the blogger and his/her interests from this gadget.
There are some different ways to add news feeds to a reader:
• The easiest way to add a feed to a reader is to click on “add a subscription” on the top left corner of a Goggle reader page and type the URL address of the blog you want to subscribe to in the box. Then click on “add” button.
• If you do not know an exact URL address for a blog you can type a topic that interests you in the same box on the top left corner of a page. Google Reader will find blogs that cover your interest. Then you need to click on “subscribe” on the bottom of a blog you want to read and then the word “subscribed” will appear.
• The third way to subscribe to the page is to click on orange square button on the URL address line. The page will be automatically added to your reader.
Blog is a space on the internet where user can publish regularly different thoughts, ideas, news, videos, and pictures. Nowadays, blogging is becoming more popular than it was in the past. What’s the reason? I looked at different types of blogs and bloggers to figure out why people like blogs, to understand what blogging is about and why it is becoming an effective tool for running business.
Computers, the internet and electronic devices are ordinary for most of people. They use it every day and the majority can’t imagine their life without these tools. Blogging is the internet product, and it is becoming more common as the internet is getting more users.
Blogs can be either personal or business; it depends on an author’s goal. Personal blogs are created to express personal thoughts, ideas, hobbies, or talents. For example, I found an interesting one woman’s blog (http://choosinghappinessnow.blogspot.com) where she posts amazing photos of her family and few daily facts. She wrote about the aim of the blog “I am a novice photographer who wants to improve. This blog is where I will post some of my images as I learn”. For now her blog has 49 followers. So, at least 49 people are interested in her pictures and want her to post them regularly. I think every person wishes people like what he/she does. These 49 people might be a good stimulus for the lady to improve her talent and never give up. It is possible that some followers would like to order a photo set by the blog author in the future. Followers get a benefit from the blog, too. For example, they can get new ideas and concepts for their own hobbies from her photos.
As for business blogs, their main goals can be to attract customers or communicate and develop business within a company. Famous book retailer Barnes & Noble, Inc. has its own blog (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/). The company increases the amount of its customers by offering on-line shopping. Nowadays, a lot of people prefer on-line shopping because it saves their time. Moreover, a company does not need to pay rent for a store, high employee’s wages when it is doing on-line business, that’s why goods can be cheaper to buy through the internet than to go to the local shopping center. This blog is nice-designed. Best-deals and categories of offered products are shown on the home page. Internet users do not need to go to different stores to find a book; they can check and purchase it on-line. In addition, users can write comments on goods, services and reviews provided by Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Another example of successful business blog is New York Magazine (http://nymag.com/) blog. Political, sport, fashion and cultural news and stories are posted in the blog. Readers are allowed to comment each post (http://nymag.com/arts/theater/profiles/63419/). People can read news online without paying for it. I think it is the great achievement for the society, because not everybody has enough money to buy different types of newspapers and magazines to know what is going on. Everybody should have an opportunity to be informed. This magazine’s blog is popular between internet users and can be used to promote different products. Therefore, some companies (http://nymag.com/shopping/?f=shop) pay to New York Magazine to use the blog for advertising their products.
There is also another kind of blogging on the internet. Its name is twitter. Twitter user has to limit his text up to 140 words. I created my own account (http://twitter.com/my_chaos), published couple “tweets”, and followed some people (http://twitter.com/my_chaos/following). Twitter is an excellent web-site for people who do not want to write long posts in blog but still want to express themselves through the internet.
Personally, I would prefer to use blogs. You are allowed to write unlimited number of words and can better and more accurately express whatever you wish to say. You can also attach pictures and videos to your post in a blog to make it more colorful, attractive and meaningful.
To sum up, there are different possibilities for people to communicate, work, study and entertain in the World Wide Web. One of the tools for doing is blogging. Children, students, employees, and business owners use blogging to achieve different aims.
