If you've spent any time on the internet, chances are you'll have come across the term 'blogging' and you may have been unsure as to it's meaning.  Not only is blogging a major method of communication on the internet, but it is fast becoming a legitimate form of publishing for journalists, musicians and other people in the public eye.  So what exactly is 'blogging' and why is it so popular?

Blogging is a term derived from the word 'web-log', which was the original description given to websites which followed a diary format or which used web-log publishing software.  'Web-log' quickly merged into the word 'blog', which is the common term used to refer to the types of sites which revolve around regular 'posts' or updates.  Blogging is the act of updating a blog.  Quite literally, 'blogging' means writing and publishing your thoughts on a particular topic or event.  Blogging can be personal – it can be a published form of the sort of diary you would normally keep private, in which you talk about your thoughts and feelings – or it can be subject-driven.  Subject-driven blogs can be on any topic imaginable, such as politics, the environment, sport, music, art, health, family, IT and so forth.