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00:00Hey Moby, whatcha doing?
00:06You have a blog? About what?
00:11Late night conversations with a giant anteater? Huh.
00:17Let's just get to this letter.
00:21Dear Tim and Moby, I keep hearing about blogs. What is a blog?
00:27Thanks, Aaron.
00:30A blog can be a lot of things, but the shortest answer is that it's a website written in journal style.
00:36Usually, a blog will have many entries, arranged in reverse chronological order, with the most recent at the top.
00:43Oh, and since you're probably wondering, blog is short for weblog.
00:48Some people, and I guess robots, use a blog as a way of keeping a personal journal or diary online.
00:55But a lot of other people have blogs that are almost like news sites.
00:59Blogs can also be started by companies to promote something.
01:03Political or cultural blogs usually provide commentary on political figures and current events.
01:09And some people blog about a special interest or hobby.
01:13Well, a person with a cooking blog might post recipes, stories, comments, and tips about cooking,
01:19pictures of dishes, and links to other cooking sites or blogs.
01:23You can use blogs for pretty much anything you want.
01:26Fashion blogs, neighborhood blogs, music blogs, science blogs, art blogs, you name it.
01:33Exactly. And some blogs function like forums, allowing readers to contribute.
01:41These kinds of blogs are more interactive because users' comments can create an ongoing discussion.
01:48Creating a blog is also a cheap and effective way for people to show their work on the Internet.
01:53Oh, there are a bunch of places on the web you can go to to sign up for a free blog.
01:58Once you've started, you can post pictures, music, or writing on your blog
02:02so that people who come across your page can see your work.
02:08With an audio blog, or mp3 blog, you can upload music or other audio files that anyone can download,
02:14which is a good way for new, unknown artists to get heard.
02:19A photo blog is a blog that features photographs, kind of like an electronic photo album.
02:27A video blog is the same, but for videos.
02:35Well, even though they're all over the place these days, blogs are pretty new.
02:39They first popped up in the mid-1990s.
02:42A college student named Justin Hall, who began writing an online diary in 1994, is often credited as the first blogger.
02:50Today, there are tens of millions of blogs.
02:54Talent agents sometimes scan the blog world, also known as the blogosphere, looking for new voices.
03:01Right, Moby, you should always be careful about what you post on a blog if you decide to start one.
03:06Never reveal any personal information, like your full name or other contact information. It can be dangerous.
03:14You're writing a book and posting the chapters on your blog?
03:18Looks like you have a lot of stuff on there. Let me see.
03:22When did you spend two years living with anteaters in Brazil?
03:27Are you sure they made you their king?
03:31What do you mean, probably?