Thread: To blog or not to blog?

Are blogs a good addition to sites? We have one, and ost that I visit feature a blog on them, but nothing looks worse than one that hasn't been kept up-to-date.

I think this is the problem with them if you are pushed for time - once you start you have to keep on top of them and make sure you have some good fresh content.

Do you think they are essential for a new site, and which blog software is the easiest and best to install and use? I use wordpress myself, which seems ok.

I think blogs are essential for new site, it could help you ranking and search engines seem to trust blogs for more up to date info than static pages.
You do not have to update it every day, perhaps once every two weeks or even monthly will be good but if once can update it every week that would be perfect.
The entry does not have to be some grand dissertation, some 200-300 character post about new to do about your industry and a link to the new source is adequate.

I also think blogs are a good way to to get ranking , but it`s important to update it with quality content. As about the software , I also think Wordpress is the best, it has some nice antispam plugins .

Blogs definitely have a SEO benefit but probably not the same benefit they had a year or two ago. If you update your blog frequently with relevant info, you will be rewarded by Google. Stop updating and your whole site may be punished by Google.

blogging is a good way to attract viewers especially if it ahs a specific subject that appeals to a certain audeince, if you are using it to promote a website that is definately a great way to attract more viewers

TOP reasons to blog
6. Because it will change your life.

“there is something that happens to a person when they hit that "publish" button - you cross a threshold - you move from consumer to producer - you put your intellectual neck on the line and I really think that you aren't the same person after that.”

5. Because you’ll hook up all over the place.“all learning professionals need to exchange ideas with others, to test their ideas, to question their assumptions, to learn from each other in ways that come with dialog. Blogging is great for forming networks based on weak social ties.”

4. Because learning is conversation and that blogging lets you have more and better conversations

“The lack of formality and the ease of cross-referencing other blog content or references means is great to accelerate discussion and promote broader thinking and understanding.”

3. Because Professionalism is more than consumption, it is contribution.

2. Because it’s “a swap meet for the mind.”

1. Because your job depends on it.

TOP reasons not to blog:
5. Because bloggers are narcissists only interested in establishing a Cult of Personality (saw that in a discussion group) – and you’re so not that way.

4. Because you’ll screw up blogging just like you screwed up using PowerPoint.
Poorly implemented and/or designed learning technologies are an embarrassment to the field (think shovel ware e-learning courses or boring PowerPoint lectures transformed to boring online courses).

3. Because no one really wants to read what you have to say.

“Why should all learning professionals be blogging any more than they should all be presenting at conferences, producing papers, writing books or sharing their views, opinions and knowledge through any other medium?”

2. Because “I know some people that would get nothing out of blogging”

1. Because “my 9 and 11 year old sons have a deeper understanding of the tools” than you do.

Thanks for sharing the brilliant information on advantage of blog .One thing i would like to add is by following the others popular blog on same nichewe can get traffic to our site

I don't like blogs on homepages because it can adversely affect you serps. Despite popular belief pages that don't change alot seem to do pretty well!

Blogs are great! You can get easy traffic out of them to if you have twitter, Download a plugin called twitter tools and everytime you do a new blog post it will post to your twitter telling everyone there is a new blog post. Blogs also let you keep in touch with your fans/custermers by letting them know whats going on!

>>Are blogs a good addition to sites? We have one, and ost that I visit feature a blog on them, but nothing looks worse than one that hasn't been kept up-to-date.

Yes a static site looks ups to date; last blog posts in 2005 looks quite pathetic; even though static site was done in 2003