Which came first, the blogger or the blogging site? When the internet began to spread in the 1990s, online communities were already gathering around common interests, using things like email lists and electronic bulletin boards to communicate. But these were "back door" methods not easily connected to the new web pages, and the personal interactions were clunky and mechanical. People wanted something more like a diary which could record their thoughts and allow people to respond. The question was how to make this possible.

It took many forms in its early days in the mid-1990s, often just allowing the blogger to post text entries day by day, still without any response capability from readers. Some of the earliest software did manage to create forums where "threads" could be created, people posting one after another on specified topics. But eventually programs developed that allowed readers to comment on a single diary-type entry, and this was when the real blogs began.

The widely recognized Blogger site was created in 1999, a year after the first blogging site appeared on the internet. The Open Diary made his debut in 1998. The term "blog" was coined around that time as a shortened form of "weblog," term used for the first time in 1997 by Jorn Barger on his "Robot Wisdom Weblog." Later, Evan Williams (Pyra Labs) popularized the use of " a blog" as a noun, and "to blog" become a verb.

WordPress was introduced in 2003, based on open source blogging software. As blogging became more and more popular, the use and value of blogs became more relevant, and in more realms than anyone had imagined of being possible. The so-called multi-member blogging sites were established and the phenomenon took off in great style. 

Blogs are now entertainment sites, gossiping about famous people. Company websites might include a blog for communicating with customers. Blogs spring news that can make or break politicians, the writers functioning as a new type of journalist. The blogger is king, digging for information, giving tips, connecting helpers with those who need them. Whatever type of connection people want, there are blogs to provide it. And more than any of that, they still serve the function that they were originally designed for, which is providing a diary site where people can record their thoughts and hear what others have to say about them.