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Online Journaling Becomes a New Platform for Publishing

Bloggers become Blookers as the popularity of keeping web-logs leads to book deals.

Blogging has been a growing internet past time since it started in 1995. The word blog comes from web-log, the term used for keeping journal-like entries on web pages. These entries are usually personal narratives of daily life but can be on any topic.

Blogwebsites.net, which is a tool people can use to create there own blog websites, list everything from wedding blogs to pregnancy blogs to travel blogs.

According to New Media Age, “as the internet users’ media consumption changes, blogs have become a source of gossip, information, interest and news. It’s the last of these that has attracted traditional and online publishers, with them taking a personalized medium and turning it to their own needs.”

New Media Age also says that blogging is becoming commercially valuable, especially for publishers.

Now Blogs are becoming blooks as in blog-books, basically bloggers are getting published. It has gotten so big there are blooker awards called Lulu Blooker Prize sponsored by Lulu.com, a self-publishing website.

Chief executive officer, Bara k Berkowitz, for Six Apart, a blog technology platform provider, told Business Wire,"2006 will be the year that blogging becomes an essential business communication tool. Companies like Berkowitz’s who are supporters of blogs are developing and growing.

One profile social community site called myspace.com enables it’s users to manage blogs, in which those who are members of this site can read unless noted otherwise by the blogger.

Kristina Thomas, a student at Howard University, who blogs regularly said that “blogging helps me to document what is going on in my life and understand the things and situations going on around me.”

“I find that the times that I start writing, I start finding out who I really am and the power I can possess within me. Nonethless, I think blogging helps to just let others know how you are doing and maybe understand something about themselves as well,” she said.

Although Joi Gilliam, also a student at Howard University blogs on myspace, she has a different opinion about it.

“It’s a trend that needs to quit. SO, now all of a sudden it’s cool to be a writer. It doesn’t help me necessarily as a journalist but definitely as a writer. I am a writer first and I don’t do it for anyone’s benefit but my own, I could care less about being a journalist. I think blogs and publishing blogs are merely a way for pretentious writers to impose their smart a** opinions on everyone else.”

Regardless of the writer’s intention, blogging is growing in many different aspects.