Web logs (aka "blogs" to spare all us fast talkers and slow typers that extra syllable) have been around since Tim Berners-Lee was a pup. Berners-Lee, in fact, is given credit for the first Web log with his World Wide Web News pages. Starting in January 1992, Tim BL kept the cognoscenti up-to-date with what was happening with the W3 project with a periodically updated log, including hypertext links to new content available on the still-a-borning Web. Was WWW News an online newsletter or blog? Hard to say, but because Tim BL was keeping it, the bloggers tend to point to his work as the granddaddy of blogging. When the masses first began appearing on the Web, the self-indulgent and/or information-packed Web site was the dernier cri. Some who had more Webmeister skills than others (or more time and patience) kept Web logs, but web logging was a tedious process, needing some technical skills, and was not for the newbies. In the last year or two, several purveyors have developed software to make web logging easy. Rough estimates are that there are hundreds of thousands of Web logs, either on user sites or batched together on sites that provide blogging services. Articles about Weblogs began appearing in mainstream publications like the Chicago Tribune and the NYT (not to mention Wired and Salon) more than two years ago, when having a Web log became a (relatively) easy thing to do and the latest dernier cri. Web logs come in several types: [+] the personal diary/musings of someone who may or may not be entertaining. For "entertaining," I like Not-A-Webring , a collection of blogs from SFF writers, meistered by Vera Nazarian. Mary Soon Lee and Erin Cashier Denton, who used to post here, have their blogs as part of Not-A-Webring as do Neile Graham, Paula Fleming and a score or more of others. Mary Anne Mohanraj also has one, with entries going back six years. Another excellent "personal" blog that I wrote about earlier this year belongs to Jessamyn West . Jessamyn's blog goes back to January 1997. Are her self-indulgent musings interesting? I think so. Jessamyn writes about this and that ... and along the way you find out her dad, Tom West, was featured in Tracy Kidder's /Soul of a New Machine/. Kidder stashed himself on the couch at the Wests' on weekends while he was writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning book back when she was a kid. [+] a collection of links to other Web content with commentary - not necessarily a "personal musings" log. Some blogs are chock full of information . Others are little more than one person's (and sometimes that person's acquaintances) rants, screeds and commentary on current happenings with links to content elsewhere on the Web. Is an online newsletter with periodically-updated content a Weblog? The line between a "publication" that is a personal hobby and a blog is a blurry one. Usually the only difference is that the blog has date-stamped entries and periodic archiving while a hobby publication may actually have "issues" archived. The SJMN carries Dan Gillmor's column as well as his blog: . I've already mentioned Bruce Sterling's blog at Infinite Matrix . [+] a collection of musings on a given subject with a give-and-take to-and-fro with the readers. One of my favorites in this category is Overheard In Passing by a UCBerkeley student. The blog consists of snippets of overheard conversation and, sometimes, writings on the bathroom wall. Readers add their comments. e.g. "I was thinking about calling John-John and asking him out for coffee." "You were thinking... about John-John? I think we need to have a talk, here. He's not the kind of man you think about." --Two women, walking along Solano Ave Add a comment, or view the 23 (as of this instant) responses. another e. "I couldn't believe what she said. I asked, half serious, how long she thought it would take for me to get a boyfriend, if I actually wanted one. She was giving me this skeptical look, and suddenly she's all, 'how long do you think it'll take you to grow your hair out?' Ew, ew, ew, I hate her." --A girl outside Lewis Hall Need a slice of life for that WIP? Need to get some understanding of life in Don's hometown? Here's your chance. [+] a collection of links to content on a given subject, with or without commentary. The Berners-Lee blog was this type. Our local fishwrap has a blog covering news about the events of September 11th and the aftermath: Blogs come in all sizes and shapes. Some are useful. Some are self-indulgent. Some are both. Some are drear. Some are smug and self-congratulatory. Guess you could say that blogs are like Web sites in that manner, eh? Some even come with flashy tiki lamps and pictures and poems. Sal