An Internet without blogs. It’s hard to imagine these days. The blog has become a staple item for regular Internet users, and in many situations has replaced more formal news outlets, or at least supplemented them.

There still seems to be a stigma attached to the term “blog”, as though reading or writing one downgrades your social status to the level of “nerd” or “loner” – when really we blog readers and writers can affectionately refer to ourselves as “geeks” (because geeks are cool) or “advanced Internet users”. The “others” don’t know what they’re missing out on.

If you can think of something to write about, there is probably a blog about it – a soldier’s view from the frontline in Iraq, sustainable gardening, Polish ping pong – you can find a blog about anything!

Blogs aren’t just text based either – they can be composed of photography and creative artwork too.

• This Is Indexed – very clever diagrams about life
• Flickr Blog – some breathtaking photography

1. Select A Blog Service
Find an easy to use blog provider such as Blogger, Wordpress or Movable Type. These online services provide an easy to use interface for you to get started with. Within minutes of signing up you’ll be able to write blog “posts”, add pictures and choose a theme for your blog.

2. Keep It Simple
In the beginning, don’t worry if your blog isn’t exactly how you would like it to be. There’s plenty of time to customise colours, menu items and other details. Focus on keeping it simple and turning some ideas into blog posts. After all, if something is easy, you’re more likely to do it often.

3. Produce Valuable Content
At first, concentrate on producing some content – but make it valuable. If you have found a solution to a problem, post a description of how you found it. Make your posts count. Visitors will know to return if your blog content provides them with knowledge they cannot obtain anywhere else.

4. Blog Often
Rather than saving up ten ideas for a weekly blog post, try posting more often. Aside from encouraging your visitors to return more frequently, you may just find that putting your words down on paper (or in this case, in a blog post), produces subsequent ideas which may not have otherwise occured.

5. Promote Discussion
Encourage your visitors to leave feedback and discuss issues via the use of comments at the end of your blog posts. The comments, whether good, bad or inbetween, will provide you with some idea of what others in cyberspace are thinking of your writing. Who knows, perhaps your posts will spark a micro community related to your topic!

Finally, and most important of all, write about something you are passionate about. Best of luck!