Blogging is becoming more popular every day and more people are taking it up for various reasons. First of all, let us take a look at what blogging is all about. Blogs (acronym for web logs) are basically online journals or collection of articles that are updated regularly. They cover various topics such as sports, fashion, entertainment, technology and food. Blogging is more than just placing thoughts, opinions and information on the web; it is about connecting with one’s audience and receiving feedback from anyone who reads the posts.
Anyone can start up a blog and there are various options, most of them free that can be used. Some of the more popular sites include WordPress (www.wordpress.org), Blog.com, Blogger (www.blogger.com) and Myspace (www.myspace.com). Blog sites have various features which include:
Archives: The area on a blog where old posts are stored and accessible to visitors. Archives are typically listed by date, but they can also be accessed through links, labels, and categories.
Comments:A section in blog posts (typically immediately following the post entry) where readers can provide their reactions to the content of the post.
Categories: A great way to divide up blog posts and make the site easily navigable. Categories tend to develop naturally on some blogs, creating new ones when the need arises.
Tags: Unlike categories there is no limit to the number of tags. It gives your readers more choice and it may turn out that posts you didn’t expect turn up in the same place. Some blogs also contain a tag cloud, a great way of presenting your tags in a searchable manner.
Can you believe that, overall, 6,7 million people publish blogs on blogging websites, and another 12 million write blogs using their social networks. What is also interesting is that, globally, the majority of bloggers are women, even though in Zimbabwe, there are more male bloggers than female. No guesses for what kind of topics most of these women cover! Most are mothers and wives, whether working or stay at home, who blog about their experiences.
Blogging has grown substantially in Zimbabwe with quite a number of popular blogs which include the following:
Business Setup (http://<http://bizsetup.wordpress.com>)—Max Soutter, the blog owner, is the founder of the Business Setup Group, which is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs start up and grow their businesses.
Candid Consumerism (http://consumerizim.com) — Zimbabwe’s first consumer complaints and activism blog, a grassroots movement to change the culture of impunity prevailing in Harare’s corporate climate.
The Quartz Effect (<http://www.thequartzeffect.com>) — Helps companies develop a strong brand presence through developing marketing plans and running simple and effective marketing programmes and campaigns.
Zimbojam (<http://www.zimbojam.com>) — Showcases Zimbabwean entertainment, entertainers, showbiz and lifestyle.
Defzee (<http://www.defzee.com>) — This is a site primarily targeted at the young people and looks at all aspects of their lives including entertainment, career advice and social issues.
Technology Zimbabwe (http://www.techzim.co.zw), Technomag and Tech Unzipped — News blogs focusing on information technology news, views and reviews about products/services in Zimbabwe and the surrounding region. They explore new technologies, ICT services provision and products as well as ICT and other technologyorganisations.
Three Men on a Boat (<http://www.3-mob.com>) — Zimbabwe’s leading cutting edge social commentary site.
As you can see, the blogs span different topics, and each have managed to capture followers as according to preference. Blogging not only happens in Zimbabwe, but internationally as well.
The following are the most followed blogs globally (http://www.ebizmba.com).
This is as of 01October 2015.
1. The Huffington Post (<http://www.huffingtonpost.com>) — This is an online newspaper which covers all topics.
2. TMZ (<http://www.tmz.com>) — A leading entertainment and celebrity news website.
3. Business Insider (<http://www.businessinsider.com>) — A fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals.
4. Mashable (<http://mashable.com>) — a leading source for news, information and resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world.
5. Gizmodo (<http://www.gizmodo.com>) — A blog about gadgets and technology, specialising mainly in electronics and any other gadgets that may be of interest.
Other notable blogs to check out include Her Zimbabwe (www.herzimbabwe.co.zw <http://www.herzimbabwe.co.zw>), Fungai Neni (<http://fungaineni.wordpress.com>), The Everywhereist (<http://www.everywhereist.com>) and The Truth about Cars (<http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com>). These are examples of how blogs can actually be different depending on the writer and style.
All this talk about blogging may have inspired you to set up your own. Ideas now running amok, as topics that can be covered are so many. If so, below are some of the issues to consider:
Decide what you want to write about.
Commit to writing in your blog once a week, minimum.
Set up a blog hosting account. Options include Blogger and WordPress.
Allow comments and make your pages findable by search engines, unless you want your blog to be a private one and restricted to a few people.
Allow people to subscribe to your blog.
List other blogs that you like.
Start posting!
Tag your posts.
Let blog search engines know when you update your blog.
Read other blogs.
Have Fun!
And what better connection or internet service can one have other than ZOL Fibroniks — whether it is for starting up and updating your own personal or business blog or just for you to access, read and enjoy the blogs that are already there. Come on and ZOL ON! You deserve to live like this.
— ZOL Zimbabwe