Whenever I tell people I write and manage blogs, the response is always the same.

“What is a blog, exactly?”

Even though there are almost 60 million of them, blogs remain something of a mystery to folks who have better things to do than stare at a computer all day.

Be that as it may, blogs are fast becoming a prominent medium for business and personal communication. You can hardly pick up a newspaper or magazine these days without encountering the word “blog”. This may explain why these same folks are curious to learn more about them.

If you’re curious but have been afraid to ask, you’ll be comforted to know how easy it is to go from blockhead to bloghead.

A blog—short for “Web log”—is nothing more than a type of Web site, and considerably less.

Unlike traditional Web sites, blogs normally revolve around a single, well-defined topic.

Unlike traditional Web sites, blogs are easy to build and launch. A person with no knowledge of computer programming can use one of several idiot-proof hosting platforms and start publishing his blog on the Web in literally a matter of minutes.

Unlike traditional Web sites, blogs are quite uniform and simple in structure. Entries, called posts, display in reverse chronological order (newest posts at the top). Posts often include a “comments” option so visitors can chime in with opinions or ask questions. Popular blogs may amass scores of comments, some of which are more illuminating or provocative than the post itself.

Unlike traditional Web sites, blogs cost little or nothing to set up, and can be updated cheaply and easily.

Fast. Easy. Cheap. And … viewable by the untold millions who surf the Web every day. No wonder blogs are being created at the clip of one per second!

So who the heck is creating them?

Personal bloggers blog about hobbies, vacations, politics, sports, religion, and any other personal passion you might think of, including plenty you would never think of.

Business bloggers blog to promote and support their enterprise. The goal might be to establish stronger customer communication, provide technical support, or something else. Experts think business blogs will be as common as 800 numbers or traditional Web sites within just a few years.

Professional bloggers blog for money. If they capture a large enough audience, advertising revenues can generate a healthy income: Michael Arrington, creator of the enormously popular Fark blog, reportedly brings in $60,000 a month. Not bad!

Want to see some blogs? Go to Google Blog Search. It looks just like regular Google, but searches blog pages only. Type in any search words that strike your fancy, and you’re liable to see thousands or millions of matches come back. If not—maybe you should start blogging about that subject yourself!