When pitching the benefits of blogs to my clients, the most common question they ask me is “What is the difference between blogs and forums?”. I’d like to take some time today to discuss the answer to that question and talk about the positives and negatives of both.
Definitions according to Wikipedia:
A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
An Internet forum is a web application for holding discussions and posting user-generated content. Internet forums are also commonly referred to as Web forums, message boards, discussion boards, (electronic) discussion groups, discussion forums, bulletin boards, fora (the Latin plural) or simply forums.
While similar, blogs and forums have some key differences. Some of these main differences include:
- Blogs generally have only one or just a few approved posters
- On a forum, everyone can post a topic or comment on another topic
- Forums have moderators but generally only exercise control to prevent chaos
- Users may comment on blogs, if comments are allowed
- Blogs inherit the personality of the blogs owner
- Blogs have a dedicated set of aggregators or search engines dedicated soley to them
Some examples of forums are:
Some examples of blogs, other than the one you are on:
I’d like to network with you. Click the LinkedIn box for my profile:
Would you like to learn more? You may:
- Fill out our information request form.
- Review information found on our Web site.
- Or contact me directly at 216-674-1600 x 120
Tags: blog • bulletin board • forum • message board • weblog
Copyright © 2008 by IdeaStar. All rights reserved.
July 28th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
[...] writing a blog (Hey!) so that your customers or future clients can learn about not only the company but also the [...]