Defining the term Web Blog

Weblogs may be viewed as an evolved form of personal Web pages, or 'home pages'. The term, coined by Jorn Barger in 1997, refers to a web site that is a 'log of the Web', indicating a record that points to material available on the World Wide Web. A weblog editor is often called a weblogger. The shorthand terms blog and blogger are also commonly used; usage of the word 'blog' has become so common that it has recently been drafted for inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary.

An excerpt from a definitive definition, written for the Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory (2005), by Dr. Jill Walker, Department of Humanistic Informatics, University of Bergen, Norway:

“A weblog, or blog, is a frequently updated website consisting of dated entries arranged in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first (see temporal ordering). Typically, weblogs are published by individuals and their style is personal and informal. Weblogs first appeared in the mid-1990s, becoming popular as simple and free publishing tools became available towards the turn of the century. Since anybody with a net connection can publish their own weblog, there is great variety in the quality, content, and ambition of weblogs, and a weblog may have anywhere from a handful to tens of thousands of daily readers.”

source: http://blog-bib-tools.blogspot.com/