A Brief History of Blogging

Blogging refers to any form of media (e.g., writing or photography) that is self-published online. It has served as an opportunity for businesses, influencers, and content creators, to build awareness for their brands and make sales.

Whether you are looking for news, the latest gossip, or make my essay with professionals writing guides to help you cope with your assignments, anything at all, blogs have got you covered.

In the past, people didn’t use blogging for any of the purposes mentioned above. Rather, it served as a diary, where they shared personal content.

But nowadays, many people use blogging for business purposes and even social and political campaigns. And to understand how it all came to be, let’s go back to the beginning.

What Is the Origin of Blogging?

Justin Hall, a former Swarthmore College student, created the first blog back in 1994. However, people didn’t use the word “blog” then, as he referred to it as his homepage.

In 1997, Jorn Barger coined the term “weblog” to represent Justin’s homepage while Peter Marholz, a programmer, shortened the word to “blog.”

Back then, people had to set up their blogs manually by using a central homepage or archive. This process was tedious for everyone, except for programmers.

Blogging in the Early Days of the Internet

Blogging was hard, and people could not create blogs without the help of a programmer, but all of that changed in 1998 when Open Diary was launched.

This blogging platform enabled users to comment on each other’s posts. Open Diary was the first advancement made toward making blogging accessible to non-programmers.

As heavily coded blogs began to fade away in the late ’90s, so did Open Diary. In 1999, three new and more sophisticated blogging platforms were born — Xanga, LiveJournal, and Blogger.

Xanga

Xanga was short-lived. Nonetheless, it boasted of 300 000 users at its peak. The platform focused on the social aspects of blogging but faded entirely out of the blogging scene as fast as it came.

LiveJournal

LiveJournal, one of the pioneers of blogging platforms, was originally for Brad Fitzpatrick to communicate with his friends. However, it quickly grew into an online journal for different people. The platform remained popular until the mid-2000s when it became a primary social media platform for only Russians.

Blogger

Pyra Labs created Blogger to be a commercial blogging service. In 2003, Google purchased and made it freely accessible to the world. This move pushed the idea of blogging into the mainstream.

Blogging in the Early 2000s

As the popularity of blogging grew, programmers created tools to aid bloggers. Those tools were to help people market their blogs and content. A significant year for blogging was 2002 when BlogAds came out. It allowed people to monetize their blogs, which was excellent news for people into blogging.

As far as defining years in blogging go, 2002 had several notable occurrences. Technorati, the first blog search engine, launched in November of that year, and so were Gizmodo and Gawker. These companies were pioneers in utilizing blogging for marketing.

Furthermore, after Heather Armstrong became the first person fired for blogging about her job, people coined “Dooced” from the name of her blog, Dooce.

Google bought Blogger and introduced AdSense in the year 2003. It meant that people could monetize their blogs without registering on BlogAds. That year two more blogging platforms were born: TypePad and WordPress.

In 2005, Garrett Graff got a pass into the White House as a blogger. The Huffington Post was also created that year. These two moves gave blogging political recognition, which eventually made it a legitimate media source.

Blogging Today

Since its inception in 1994, blogging continues to grow at a consistent pace. In 2012, the blogging scene changed significantly due to the launch of Medium — an online platform for professional and amateur writers.

Fast forward to 2013, LinkedIn released a blogging platform called Pulse, which was similar to Medium. Initially, it was for only select users, but it became open to the public in 2015.

B2B brands and other business professionals are the primary users of Pulse. By 2016, WordPress added the extension of .blog to its URL list, which had other domain extensions like .com, .net, and .org.

In recent times, blogging has become a significant aspect of marketing and content strategy, as companies have leveraged it to reach their target audience through various types of content. Blogs have evolved from websites where people wrote their opinions to platforms for professional communication with users.

Also, social media’s increased use has given way to more forms of blog content like vlogs and podcasts. Furthermore, with the introduction of search engine optimization, bloggers can become easily recognized and grow their businesses.

The Microblogging Phenomenon

There are chances that you have used a microblogging platform because many social media sites are microblogs.

Microblogs are short-form blogs that allow users to share short sentences, single images, and links. The possibilities of microblogs are endless, as it serves both corporate bodies and individuals.

Innovative companies have used them to create awareness and target their audience, while individuals have used them to develop personal brands and become influencers.

Some examples of microblogs include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. Leveraging these platforms will help you create an audience and a possible loyal fan base.

The Future of Blogging

Blogging has a bright future beyond its current state. Here are some predictions regarding the future of blogging.

Firstly, revenue from blogs is expected to increase. These days, blogs make up to $14 million yearly, and blogs like HuffPost can reach a valuation of $500 million by the end of 2021.

Secondly, traditional SEO is likely to fade away. With the advent of AI, Google may no longer need keywords and backlinks to determine if your site is authentic.

Finally, search engines will focus more on top-quality content and reliable sources. So, to remain relevant amidst all these changes, consistently create original content in a specific niche.