Aha. You don't know either? This morning, I am having doubts and questions about what a blog is. I know, as you probably do, that the word is a contraction of the two words "web log," but in a practical, every day sense what is it, really? 

During this heated political season, I have learned the we now have political bloggers who are getting Press credentials for political functions. I suppose the next step will be for bloggers to have seats on Air Force One if they don't already. 

So, here I am, talking with and to myself with my fingers about a subject that interests me hoping that someone would find me and this blog through Google and then click on an ad so I can make money and retire. Whew!

Now that I have that off my chest, I believe that a lot of literary talent exists and blogging is a way to unleash that talent. At the very worst, a blog is a place to vent or to experiment with writing in preparation for the Great American Novel. Or, it may be a place where people can see their footprints in the sands of the internet. I have to admit that I get a kick out of seeing my name and what I have written appear on this website. It's also a kick to know that I have a blog on the internet where complete strangers might see what I have written about something that interested me at the time

- like this question.

I have decided that a blog is like the village oak where anyone can nail a piece of writing for the village to see only this oak is gigantic and the village is worldwide. A blog is the name for anything you write and post on an internet site for others to see and read. The PNP spin on blogging adds the possibility of even making some money with your blog site. (Is that a new techie term?) It is a free form forum (now I'm a poet). I suppose in its truest sense a blog is a place of personal pride and pleasure where you see what you wrote and gave life to your thoughts for all to see. Now that's self-confidence to think that other people would want to read your thoughts. After all, how many times have you tried to inject your thoughts in a conversation at the dinner table or on a coffee break at the office only to receive less than a nod and immediately hear about last night's hockey game?

So here I sit, fingers at the ready, thinking out loud and feeling a little like Damon Runyon giving life to the mundane and realizing there are interesting things happening all around us. I now feel that a blog is a place where you can pump up your self-esteem, polish your writing skills, give vent to your attitudes, express your opinions without interruption, ignore Political Correctness, bask in the glory of seeing your words in print, and just have a good time inside your head like you used to do as a kid playing with an oatmeal box. My blog is my oatmeal box.