What’s a Moblog?

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A moblog is a combination of the words mobile and blog. As internet connectivity has become increasingly mobile through the use of mobile devices such as PDAs, cell phones and the like, some dedicated bloggers upload pictures or text on the go, instead of just sitting at home and blogging about their topics of interest. One of the most popular moblogs today is Twitter, which allows people to blog via mobile phones and instantly monitor what others are doing on their social network.

The ability to upload photos and text while you’re not at home can give a blog immediacy. If you write about fashion, for example, you might take pictures of people wearing clothes you like (or hate) and upload them almost immediately to sites like Twitter or to sites like Facebook. A good birding website gets even better if you take photos and blog about rare birds while on a birding excursion, or even just spotting an unusual bird while grocery shopping.

Of course, creating a moblog means having access to a portable device that allows you to blog on the go and a way (such as wireless Internet) to instantly stream new material to your blog. Cell phones and PDAs, or even a good digital camera plugged into an Internet-connected laptop, can make mobile blogging easier. Programs like 3Guppies, a widget that can be used to connect cell phones to the Internet, to post to MySpace pages, are leading the charge in helping people quickly download what’s happening right now.

Moblog not only allows people to post almost instantaneously on their blogs, but also allows others to keep track of their favorite moblogs and be notified when these blogs are updated. Even if you’re simply a fan of other people’s blogs, mobile widgets like 3Guppies let you follow your favorite blogs from your cell phone or PDA. Essentially, even when you’re not online at home, you’re hooked on social networking sites and following the blogs of your choice.

There are some who resist the moblog and the 24/7 internet connection. Some wonder whether it is necessary to stay connected to a network all the time and whether mo-blogging is another symptom of growing Internet addiction. Perhaps people who are constantly blogging or receiving blog updates will interact less with close, physical people. Just as cell phones initially brought changes to social interaction in public places, mobloggers could do the same. Yet it is also true that the ability to create a moblog can result in more interesting blogs, especially visually, and a large “hooked” network can create tremendous buzz on a blog, increasing its visibility and usage.

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