• by Jessica , September 14, 2010

Today, I write my first post for this blog hosted by MediaPost. Look out, world. I am joining more than 146 million blogs in the 2010 blogosphere, according to BlogPulse - they tracks statistics through machine learning and natural-language processing techniques (I'll reference BlogPulse statistics later on as well).

I have done a bit of blogging before. One of my journalism professors required it for a class, so we set up WordPress accounts and were happily blogging about graphic design principles in no time. I am amazed by the ease with which anyone can set up a blog today. It’s free. It’s convenient. You can even add photos, audio and video. The HTML barrier has been thoroughly exploded, and virtually anyone can add input to the World Wide Web.

As I sit down to write my blog, I wonder what I should discuss. I’m stuck for a bit; what do I have to say that’s different from the 61,653 other blogs that have been started in the last 24 hours?

BlogPulse says some of the most-blogged about topics on the Internet today are Lady Gaga, tropical storm Hermine and Labor Day. I could write about something in the news and link my post to a news site – perhaps Google News, which is currently the top news source cited by bloggers. The New York Times site is second.

Seeing as I don’t want my blog to fade into the abyss of recycled cyberspace, I had better pick a different topic. While I’m thinking about it, I might as well get some help from Google, my favorite trusty search engine. Google’s logo is fantastic today; it’s made of small colored balls that ricochet with my cursor before settling into the familiar six-letter word.

Searching for “blog tips” on Google churns up more than 410 million results. Hmm. That’s almost as many users as Facebook has nowadays, give or take 90 million. Speaking of Facebook, I’m going to take a break and check it. And once I figure out what to write about, I can link my blog to my profile. The connectivity with which I can share my blog is almost ridiculous. I can post it on Facebook, where others can read it on their mobile phones, post it to their own blogs, send it to a friend or comment with their own two cents.

Should be interesting. Should be fun. Now, if I could just find something to write about, I’ll have this post done before you can Tweet about it.