How to tell that it's a blog?


There are numerous signs, both in layout and in "behind the scenes" encoding that distinguish between a standard personal web site and a blog, but perhaps the most obvious and the most visible is dating. The fact that blog entries carry dates, that they're primarily organized via the dates of entries, is, however, much more than an identifying sign. It's a statement.

A site organized via dated entries (and particularly so when the latest entry is the first one we meet) is telling us, without the need of an animated graphic, that it is always (or continually) under construction. Actually, this is taking "under construction" to a different level. It gives expression to the site's true identity. True to Dylan's classic line "he not busy being born is busy dying" (okay, why not listen to it as well), blogs take the "always under construction" idea of web sites, and make them essential parts of the blog. If it isn't always under construction, it isn't a blog.



Go to: On completing a web site