The ham radio community has been well served by the use of well-defined e-mail reflectors over the years. Each of these reflectors, representing a segment of our hobby, invites discussion about a singular ham radio topic.

Blogs are both different and an extension of these reflectors. They are an extension of reflectors in that they can be about specific ham radio topics, but they are different than reflectors because anyone can make comments about the specific article provided without joining the reflector.

That's a little unusual in the ham radio community. We're used to fairly static web sites like my WriteLog User site or more frequently updated sites like Radio-Sport.net. Or simple e-mail reflectors about a topic.

Blogs, if they are good ones, provide unique content about their subject. They engage the ham radio community in the discussion.

There are multiple ham radio blogs, covering everything from contesting with low power to contesting to specific stories about a particular ham.

Unlike reflectors, blogs evolve over time based upon their audience. While I cover a lot of information on contesting, some of my more popular articles aren't about contesting at all. I've changed my mission on this blog several times to more accurately reflect what the community sees as important to the hobby.

Both the reader and the writer learn through the blogging process.

Well established on the Internet (see my career management site, Cube Rules, for example), blogs in ham radio are still in their infancy. You can learn from the information in blogs because ham radio bloggers are constantly searching for new and unique content -- exactly what you need to help you in your hobby.

Over on Calling CQ, Jeff, KE9V,  in an article called "Can We Talk?" finds a great 3-minute video that explains blogs in general. But you can leave a comment here to ask any question you'd like on what you'd like to know about blogging.

We both learn together. That's what's great about blogs.

Scot, K9JY