Blog, weblog, it’s all just a bunch of jargon. Here’s a short glossary of blog technology that may either help you sort things out or confuse you more:

Post:

Every time you put an update on your blog, you create a post. In typical computer jargon fashion, this noun can also be used as a verb: You can post to your blog. Posts are also sometimes called entries.

Comments:

Blogs are often referred to as conversations, and it’s the ability of your readers to leave comments on each post you make to your blog that creates the feel of a conversation. Comments are usually time-stamped and identified by the author’s name and perhaps a link to their Web site or blog. On some blogs, comments are threaded so that readers can comment on other comments, but on most blogs comments are simply displayed chronologically.

Comment spam:

Sad to say, spam is a problem on blogs just as it is in email. Comment spam, as you would expect, is left in the comments of a blog. It usually includes a few words and a link to a Web site. The point for the spammer is to get as many links as possible to the Web site, giving it higher search engine rankings.

Categories:

Categories permit a blogger to subdivide content, putting posts about politics into one basket and posts about celebrities in another. Categorization helps readers read only what they are most interested in and is a good tool for those scanning a blog’s archives.

Trackbacks:

Trackback technology helps bloggers link back to other posts on related subjects. Functionally it’s a little complicated: If you’re posting about something you’ve seen on another blog, look for the Trackback URL. Paste that URL into the allotted spot in your own blogging software, and the two pieces of blog software will communicate, building a link from the original post to yours (without the other blogger having to life a finger).

Trackback spam:

Like comment spam, but done via Trackback.

Pings:

There are several blogging tracking Web sites where you can search for other blogs and look for recent posts. If your blog software allows you to ping those sites when you post, that post gets included in the ping site’s index, potentially increasing your traffic.

RSS/Atom feeds:

In the blogosphere, syndication is a big deal. With millions of blogs to read, many consumers use news aggregators, or readers, to pull in posts and read them, rather than visiting 150 blogs every day. RSS and Atom are two flavors of blog syndication.

Blogroll/lists:

Ever noticed those long lists of other blogs alongside the posts in a blog? That’s a blogroll, a list of the blogs read by the blogger whose site you are on. Sometimes lists are also kept to recommend books and other media, as well.

News aggregation:

Many blog software packages allow you to pull in and display the RSS or Atom feed of another blog. This is useful if you want to create a site with constantly updated content fed by blogs. For example, a blogger who posts about politics could pull in the feeds of other political blogs.

Moblogging:

Moblogging is the short form of “mobile blogging.” Lots of blog software lets you post by e-mail from your phone, PDA, or anything else that allows you to send e-mails.

Blacklist:

Blacklists are usually lists of URLs that have been identified as spam URLs, and that are therefore eliminated from comments and Trackbacks on your blog. With most blog software, the software company builds and maintains a common blacklist for all users to which individuals can contribute.

Captchas:

Captchas are an additional security feature for commenting and user registration. By providing an image that includes letters and numbers, and by requiring the user to type in those letters and numbers, blog software can eliminate some of the comment and Trackback spam produced by robot programs.

URL Redirection:

In an effort to render comment and Trackback spam ineffective, links included in comments and Trackbacks are tagged with the NOFOLLOW tag, which indicates to search engines that it shouldn’t be counted when tallying search engine rankings for a Web site.

Skins:

Most blog software includes a set of pre-designed templates that give the blog a certain look and feel. These are called skins or templates.

Post scheduling:

Some blog software allows you to write posts and schedule them to be published at some point in the future. This is handy for vacations and holidays.

Bookmarklets:

A bookmarklet is a link directly to the new post page of your blog software. If you add this small Javascript to your browser toolbar, it’s a shortcut to posting quickly.

Blogosphere:

Blogosphere (alternate: blogsphere or blogdom) is the collective term encompassing all weblogs or blogs; blogs as a community; blogs as a social network.

Possibly related:

This entry was posted on Monday, April 3rd, 2006 at 9:29 pm and is filed under Internet Facts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.