What are Blogs? (1 of 3)

17 Apr

Blogs

What is a blog?

You’ve no doubt heard about blogs recently and some of you may even have personal blogs that you keep up with. For the uninitiated, blogs are basically websites that can be changed easily and frequently with the most recent content staying at the top of the page. Blogs began in the ‘90s and were officially called “blogs” in 1999. Wow, blogging was born less than 10 years ago!

When they first started, blogs were mainly a place where tech-savvy teens kept an online diary, divulging to the world – or anyone who would read – the intimate details of their lives. However, in the past several years, blogging has become much more mainstream. So much so, that even corporate CEOs (like Craigslist.org‘s Craig Newmark) and enormous companies (Delta Airline‘s – Beneath the Wing Blog) have their own blogs now.

Blogs have evolved into a medium where you can connect with your customers in a much more personal way than standard advertising or even your current website can. Blogs represent the opportunity for two-way communication between you and your customers. You begin by posting about a certain topic and your customers can respond back to you. This kind of open and honest conversation can give your customers a deeper knowledge of your organization and you might even walk away with a good idea or two that has come from your customers.

Below are some examples of travel-related blogs that you should check out:

My next post will talk more about different blogging platforms as well as how and why YOU should be blogging!

  • http://holidayworld.com/holiblog/holiblog.html Paula Werne

    Thanks for the plug! :0)

    We’ve been blogging for just over 3 years … in fact, we were the very first park to host its own blog. It’s fun — especially when we hear back from our readers. …although they tend to nag when several days go by without a new post. :0)

    We actually have two blogs; Shared Memories (www.holidayworld.com/feedback/feedback.html) is a place to post stories our Guests send us about their visits.

    Thanks, Paula Werne, Holiday World PR

  • http://holidayworld.com/holiblog/holiblog.html Paula Werne

    Thanks for the plug! :0)

    We’ve been blogging for just over 3 years … in fact, we were the very first park to host its own blog. It’s fun — especially when we hear back from our readers. …although they tend to nag when several days go by without a new post. :0)

    We actually have two blogs; Shared Memories (www.holidayworld.com/feedback/feedback.html) is a place to post stories our Guests send us about their visits.

    Thanks, Paula Werne, Holiday World PR

  • http://www.visitindiana.com/ jwtourism

    Paula,

    Thanks for the post! You’re the first one to post on the Tourism Tech Corner. It sounds like you’re doing a great job at the blog. I just posted this about an hour ago, but you seem to be on the ball. I’ve always been impressed with your blog and really liked the fact that you announced your new ride on YouTube and your blog this year. Great use of new media!

  • http://www.visitindiana.com jwtourism

    Paula,

    Thanks for the post! You’re the first one to post on the Tourism Tech Corner. It sounds like you’re doing a great job at the blog. I just posted this about an hour ago, but you seem to be on the ball. I’ve always been impressed with your blog and really liked the fact that you announced your new ride on YouTube and your blog this year. Great use of new media!

  • http://www.columbus.in.us/ Cindy

    State Tourism hosted an outstanding event on Cultural Tourism PR last week. One of the takeaways for me was the need to monitor blogs to see what your customers are saying about you. Thanks to Jessica Di Santo at the Indianapolis Museum of Art who suggested we sign up for blog alerts on Google, I found a blog by a visitor from Cincinnati who took our architecture tour just a few weeks ago. It was interesting to hear what this visitor had to say about her experiences in our community. Google Blog Alerts are a great tool.

  • http://www.columbus.in.us Cindy

    State Tourism hosted an outstanding event on Cultural Tourism PR last week. One of the takeaways for me was the need to monitor blogs to see what your customers are saying about you. Thanks to Jessica Di Santo at the Indianapolis Museum of Art who suggested we sign up for blog alerts on Google, I found a blog by a visitor from Cincinnati who took our architecture tour just a few weeks ago. It was interesting to hear what this visitor had to say about her experiences in our community. Google Blog Alerts are a great tool.

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