Blogging Glossary–Common Blog Terms

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So you’re reading up on blogging or you are chatting in a forum or group with other bloggers and they mention something and you have no idea what they are talking about and you are too embarrassed about your lack of knowledge to ask.

Allow me to help you out. Below are some common blogging terms. After looking them over, if there is something you want to know what it means that isn’t covered in the post, let me know in the comments!

This is NOT in alphabetical order but grouped by topic so you can use CTRL-F if you are searching for a specific term. NOTE: Some might seem obvious to you but might not be to someone else.

Feed – A file that has a blog’s latest blog posts in it.

RSS – Stands for Really Simple Syndication, a common way to get a blog feed

Subscribe – adding a blog’s feeds to a feed reader or getting notifications of new blog posts by email.

Blogroll – a list of other blogs you recommend, often on a similar topic as your blog but not always. Often listed in your sidebar or sometimes on it’s own page.

Permalink – Short for Permanent Link. It is the URL of a single post as opposed to your whole blog. When someone clicks on a blog post title from your main blog, it goes to the permalink. There are also permalinks for twitter and Facebook posts (you click on the timestamp to get there.)

Trackback – A way for a blogger to see what other bloggers have written a post (or sometimes a tweet) about their post and linked back. A ping (see below) is sent between the blogs to alert the first blog about the trackback. Trackbacks are often listed below a blog post.

Ping – Used to find trackbacks (see above). Basically Blog A writes a post. Blog B writes a post and links to Blog A’s post in it. Blog B automatically send a ping to Blog A to tell it of the link. Blog A displays a link to this post under it’s trackbacks.

Captcha – Those annoying word and letter combinations you have to type in to leave a comment on some blogs. They are used to eliminate spam but often eliminate commenters too. Stands for Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart.

Jump Break- a way to see the rest of a blog post when only a summary or the first part of it shows on the main blog. Usually a link that may say Read More or something similar.

Platform – The software (program) you use to create your blog. Most popular are Blogger and WordPress. You may have also heard of TypePad and MoveableType. Tumblr is also technically a blogging platform.

Hosting – The company you use to store your blogs files (photos, videos, posts, design files etc.) You only need this if you are not using a free blogging platform (see above.) E.g. Go Daddy, Blue Host, Host Gator etc.

Template – Files in the backend of your blog that dictate how information is presented in your blog (what goes where like where header is, where sidebar is etc.)

Theme – CSS (a computer language) code that is applied to the template to make it look different. Basically your web design (colours, images etc.)

Collaborative Blog – a blog with many contributors (people who add to the blog.) Also a group blog.

Podcasting – Audio and Video content on a blog. The term comes from iPod+Broadcasting although it’s not for iPods only.

Vlog – Video blog. Person who runs it is a vlogger.

NaBloPoMo – National Blog Posting Month. Originally a November event, now the challenge can be done every month but there are prizes available in November. Was created as an alternative to National Novel Writing Month.

Guest Post – Another person or blogger writes a post that goes on your blog. Usually includes a small bio of the author.

Sponsored Post/Advertorial – A blog post written by the blogger about a topic dictated by a company. The company pays the blogger money to do the post.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization. Making your blog posts show up higher in search engine results. Getting more search traffic.

I could include tons more. Check out this extensive list of blogging terms as well which also includes humorous ones such as:

• • Blogstipation - writer’s block for bloggers. Cant think of what to blog about?
  • Hitnosis - Refreshing your browser repeatedly to see if your hit counter or comments have increased
  • GAD - Google Adsense Disorder. Repeatedly checking your adsense earnings.

Did You Learn Something New? Anything You Want to Know About?

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