A blog is a website, but there are some differences between blogs and the sort of website we think of as "normal". The differences used to be greater, but now they are not so pronounced. To really understand what's going on here, we need to know a little bit about how websites used to be made and compare that to how they're made now. I promise I will not get all technical on you. I will explain everything in plain English.

Somebody figured out that you could use software to create a template for how every page in a site should look: one file can be used over and over again to make all the pages look the same. Then, somebody also figured out that you could take all that information and store it in a database instead of right in the pages. They figured out that all you really needed was the template and the data, and not the pages themselves. Software on the Web server combines the data with the templates to create web pages that would be sent to a web browser "on the fly". Pretty cool, huh?

This whole deal is called a content management system. Once you have one set up, you don't need fancy-dancy software to make web pages. You log in to the CMS and type into a box like with an email. Then you click a publish button and ta-da: instant web page.

A blog is really a CMS that shows the newest stuff first in a big "river" of articles on the main page.

There are many content management systems to choose from. For a small business, they may be overkill: too complicated and technical. In some cases, finding qualified people to create a site using them or maintain one is expensive.

A blog is a "lighter" CMS: it's not as complicated or expensive. It doesn't even have to look like a blog. It can look like a "normal" website, if you want.

Another tactic businesses use is to take the blog posts and remake them into announcements or news stories, which is more comfortable for certain kinds of audiences that may not be familiar with blogs.

Nowadays, people expect that your website to be another way (and in some cases the main way) to interact with your company. The days of your website being nothing more than an online brochure are over.

In other words, this is the new standard. This is par. You want to at least be on par, don't you? If this sounds like I'm trying to scare you, well, I am, I'll not kid you. You should be scared, because we're talking about the success (or not) of your business. But let's take a look at the carrot, as well as the stick. Are there benefits and rewards to using a blog as your business Web site? Absolutely!

• Your web presence will cost you less over the long run
• You are more in control over it
• Blogs and CMSs help you get found more easily when people search online
• Nearly anyone in the company can write or manage content on the site, so your site is current and responsive
• Can be used as an internal-only web site or as a public web site
• Since the content is stored in a database, it's easy to back up and transfer that data
• Changing the design in the future has no affect on the content, and vice versa
• You can tell your kids you have a blog and that you're finally cool, now (OK, just kidding on that one)
• If you use the blog truly as a blog, you can get much closer to your customers and, more importantly, to people who could be your customers
• You will probably one of the innovators in your field--innovators lead, everyone else copies (which one would you rather be?)
• If an ugly crisis rears up, your blog will be the best crisis management tool you will ever have
• Blogs bypass traditional media outlets and advertising--no more misquoting or expensive ad rates that get you nothing
• You may even open up brand new opportunities for your business!