Blogging celebrates tenth anniversary

Over the years, blogs have become such a vital part of our online experience and a term so commonly used in print, digital and electronic media, that it is often easy to forget that blogging is celebrating its first decade of existence this year. While the term “weblog” was first used by Jorn Barger—America’s very first blogger—in 1997, the more common contraction used today first appeared in spring 1999, when blogging truly took off among those with a keen interest in online communication. Unlike today, however, blogging was a much more technologically strenuous activity in its early days, than it is now. While many corporate and personal blogs use WordPress technology to ensure quick, automatic updates, as well as an effective platform for reader feedback, all changes and uploads had to be done manually ten years ago.

Veteran blogger Brad Fitzgerald established LiveJournal in 1999, and it was this move that really propelled blogging from a hobby among a small minority of technologically savvy internet users, to a popular activity among people of all ages and backgrounds. Corporate blogs, on the other hand, began to appear five years ago, when companies, political parties and even governments started setting up their first blogs in 2004. Some of the world’s largest companies realized that the benefits of personal blogging could be transplanted into the corporate world, where retaining a loyal clientele, soliciting their feedback on products and services, as well as disseminating industry-specific news are all components of a successful twenty-first century business.