In theory, blogging is an online dairy which contains posts (likes articles in a newspaper) the author can submit when they have something to say. It is a space anyone can setup on the internet, so that people all over the world can read about their views on either a dedicated subject or a variety of topics. In a blog, the posts are in a reverse chronological order. This means that the bloggers (authors) newest entries will always be at the top of the page, and the oldest entries will appear at the bottom. Typically, people will create blogs to publish their views without having to write a book. They can be found in a variety of formats, with subjects varying from personal news (e.g. family life) to political soapboxes. Furthermore, blogs are interactive which means the public and viewers of the blog can discuss the posts in a form of a comment.
Blogging has increased considerably in popularity over recent years, making the news environment a lot more personal rather than the professionally state (reported only by journalists and editors) it was in during the 20th century. During this time, news was also one-way - meaning only the journalist’s views would get heard, and the public and people in other kinds of work wouldn't have the opportunity to publish their views.
In my opinion, blogs are a very efficient way of publishing your views. I personally would prefer to read news online in a blog format because I am provided with the option of, not only reading the news, but also discussing it; agreeing or disagreeing - rather than simply reading the news and accepting it, like you would in a newspaper.
My personal experience of setting up this blog was fairly straightforward and easy. It only took a matter of minutes to create my blog and I didn't necessarily require any assistance from anybody. Moreover, maintaining the blog is just as easy because all it requires is a username and password (you choose) for logging in, and from there on, there are a wide variety of features allowing you to edit, add, or delete your posts.
There are many advantages of using a Blog as a communication channel. Because the blog is online, the viewer can interact with the news on the blog page. This makes news dynamic and two-way; not only can anybody publish their views but entries already published can be commented, also by anybody. Furthermore, the publisher can say whatever they like - there are no filters and no limits. Blogs can also be found easily using blog-dedicated search engines such as Technorati and Google Blog Search.
Nevertheless, there are also some disadvantages and even dangers to using blog as a communication channel. Some blogs purposely try to convince people to agree with their views, in the form of propaganda. People who also submit posts or even comments anonymously may say something nasty - this is called defamation of character, where someone will disrepute someone else’s character, making their reputation look false.
