This week I’m continuing to define basic blogging terms. My goal is to compile a glossary of key terms that will help new bloggers navigate their way through the blogosphere. Every time I think I’ve defined all the basic terms, I come up with a few more that have stumped my readers in the past. Once I’ve finished with basic blogging terms (maybe one more post), then I’ll start on social media and Twitter terms. (And yes, I know that Twitter is technically social media, but it has it’s own set of terms that warrant it’s own list.)
Category: A blog category is a topic you address on your blog; your list of categories is like the table of contents for your blog. Categories are broad and can encompass smaller, more defined topics (i.e., tags). A category title should be descriptive and can be several words long. Categories go hand-in-hand with tags Article for more help: Understanding and Using Blog Categories and Tags Effectively
Hosted: Refers to a blog that resides on the host’s server (e.g., Blogger, TypePad, or WordPress.com blogs). A hosted platform is housed on the platform’s server — in other words, if you have a Blogger blog, your blog is hosted on the Blogger server; if you have a TypePad blog, it’s hosted on the TypePad server. Articles for more help: How We Communicate: FAQs for Beginning Bloggers, WordPress? Blogger? TypePad? How to Choose a Blogging Platform
Meme: First things first: the pronunciation of this word rhymes with dream and theme. According to Top 10 Internet Memes, a meme is “an [online] image, video, phrase or simply an idea that spreads from one person to another seemingly for no logical reason at all.” A few years ago, the most popular memes were lists of questions that people answered about themselves. These days memes include everything from LOLCats to viral videos to Facebook statuses (e.g., the ones that ask you to post specific information in your FB status as a show of solidarity for a specific cause). If you invite someone to play along with a specific meme, that invitation is called a tag, as in “Tag! You’re It!” When you first start blogging, memes are an easy way to overcome writer’s block and share information about yourself. However, it’s important that you don’t get your feelings hurt if you tag someone for a meme and they choose not to play. Many bloggers don’t dig the meme. Article for more help: The Daily Meme
Non-hosted: Also referred to as self-hosted. A self-hosted blog is hosted on your own server or web host, usually a third party you pay to host your site. You can use WordPress.org or Moveable Type as a self-hosted blogging platform if you set up an account with a web hosting company. Articles for more help: How We Communicate: FAQs for Beginning Bloggers, WordPress? Blogger? TypePad? How to Choose a Blogging Platform
Tag: 1. A tag is a word or short phrase attached to your post that helps make the post findable. It addresses items you discuss in a particular blog post and is usually only a word or two and reflects the keywords or points of your article. If categories are your blog’s table of contents, tags are your blog’s index. Tags go hand-in-hand with categories. Article for more help: Understanding and Using Blog Categories and Tags Effectively. 2. An invitation to participate in a meme.
Please feel free to leave some ideas for other terms you’d like to see defined or add your own definitions in the comments section.
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This is great information there is a lot of frustration out there and this helps the newbies out there understand better..thanks i would like to put your button on my blog…suzanne