What is a blog?

To my surprise yesterday, I found out that a colleague of mine at my firm will be sharing her experiences from the IPDI conference held at our illustrious institution. The specific topic of her discussion.....blogs. I know we were asked to discuss more about blog application to political and issue campaigns, but I had to write about this. It was interesting to see my fellow colleagues - some of whom have never even read a blog - ask questions of our IPDI conference participant about what they may be used for and what was the point. I chimed in when I could and entertained my colleagues with bits of information I have read and learned from our course. On participant asked a very good question. Can a blog be called a blog if there is no ability for others to comment? This was a simple question, but it caused me to contemplate. What is the fundamental definition of a blog? If others are not allowed to comment - thus creating dialog - how is a blog any better than a website? Additional questions concerning the control of negative information from critics on personal or campaign blogs was touched upon. Again, another great point to ponder, especially when developing my own strategic plan for class. Would it be better for my hypothetical client to not have a blog? If there is any semblance of censorship being conducted on blogs, the purpose of the blog would be defeated; although, at the same time, no one wants inflammatory comments on their blog. How does one deal with this dilemma?