What the heck is a blog for anyway?

Imagine the internet as a solar system with a bright sun at the center named Google. Google is hoping its system will hold together as one, but is very nervous. That’s because the bonds that hold it together are mere tenuous strings we all pay for on a monthly basis, like cable or DSL, and don’t always inspire the confidence needed for such a huge responsibility.

A little further out is yahoo.com, amazon.com and youtube.com—all circling Google madly. Beyond them is IBM.com and CNBC.com and way beyond them is everyone else.

Everyone else is we the little guys, small businesses orbiting Google in pretty circles, vying for her undivided attention. Millions upon millions of orbiting websites trying desperately to get closer to the center, because the closer we get, the more people will visit us and spend money on our goods and services. The more people that visit and spend money, the closer we will get to the sun godess Google.

I understand that all this seems very different from our own real solar system where getting too close to the sun is a very bad thing, but for now, just deal with the differences and let’s move on.

There are blogs in the .com universe too. Blogs are just websites, of course, but they are not so obviously interested in being sources of revenue. That’s because they are often incognito advertising vehicles for websites that do make money. I know many bloggers think this is impure but, sorry folks, it’s the cold, hard, capitalist truth.

Yes, it’s true. Blogging has become a new method of advertising. It’s a way to share what we know, what we have learned and how well we can help others learn it too. It’s a popularity contest structured in a way neverseen before except on grade school playgrounds across America.

And wow, is it ever effective! I will explain why in the next entry.