Early blog-like websites are traced back to as early as 1993, but blogging as we know it currently probably did not get real traction until 2000. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that corporate or business blogging is only now starting to get serious consideration.    Although increasingly popular as small business blogging, these platforms have become enormously powerful web publishing platforms. This quickly blurs the lines between corporate blogging, small business blogging, and personal blogging. At first glance you may have trouble drawing distinction between Real Clear Politics and the Fox News, Blogging Stocks and Marketwatch, or Gawker and Yahoo! Entertainment. Business blogging now takes on meaning in both small business blogging and enterprise web publishing.

With the rise of free platforms like Blogger and Wordpress, everyone can have a business blog. The trick was to make them interesting and valuable. Most likely the catalyst for blogging gaining traction in 2000 was the dotcom bust. Power on the Internet shifted from big companies to nimble individuals and small teams leveraging simple tools. Web 2.0 was emerging. Technologies like blogdex (an MIT research project) and later Technorati helped raise the visibility of these new publishing venues--tracking and ranking blogs. This created benchmarks and built popularity. These services also increase awareness and revealed blogging tips that effected blogs popularity and value to readers. Meanwhile, the business of blogging and their citizen journalist began hitting the front page of traditional media--sometimes the front page media was even the target. Blog pressure to report on Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's racial comments at a celebration for Senator Strom Thurmond, ultimately unraveled Senator Lott's political career. Equally hard hitting was bloggers putting traditional media in their cross-hairs and toppled a media icon in the Rathergate scandal, a story of forgery and flawed reporting.

All of this publishing power and increased credibility is surging the opportunity to make money business blogging. Nothing demonstrates that clearer than the recent acquisition of Bankaholic. Far from corporate blogging, one person and Wordpress, yielded this hardworking blogger $12 million in a sale to Bankrate.com. New business blogging has evolved into serious web publishing. Small business blogging is now a main line marketing strategy. A few simple blogging tips can launch you into big success, whether it is through corporate blogging or monetizing the blog itself.

image credits to Sebastian Waters