Blossary - a blog glossary

Every hobby develops its own language, and blogging is no exception.

Blossary is my growing collection of blogging terms, web words, and bits of internet vocabulary. Think of it as a living document. I'll add to it as I go.

Something missing? Let me know.¹

A

• Anchor link: a link that jumps to a specific section within a page.
• Atom: a feed format, similar to RSS, used to serve blog content to readers.
• Avatar: a small image representing you across your blog and the web.

B

• Blog: short for weblog, and you're reading one right now.
• Blogosphere: the collective community of blogs and bloggers on the web.
• Blogroll: a list of blogs you recommend.
• Blossary: a blog glossary. This one.

C

• CMS: content management system. Depressing description.
• Cross-posting: publishing the same post on multiple platforms.

D

• Digital garden: a personal website where ideas are cultivated over time.
• Domain: the address of your blog on the web, like robertbirming.com.
• Draft: a post that isn't published yet.

E

• Evergreen: content that stays relevant over time.
• External link: a link pointing to another website.

F

• Feed: a file that publishes your blog content for feed readers.
• Feed reader: an app or service that displays posts from blogs you follow.
• Fediverse: a network of social platforms that can talk to each other.

G

• Gravatar: a globally recognized avatar used across platforms.
• Guest post: a post written by someone other than the blog's owner.

H

• Header: the top section of a blog, usually the title and navigation.
• Hyperlink: a clickable link that takes you to another page or site.

I

• IndieWeb: a movement built around owning your own content and publishing on your own domain, rather than relying on social platforms.

J

• Junited: a June blogging challenge where bloggers share others' posts.
• JulyReply: a July blogging challenge where bloggers reply to others' posts.

M

• Microblog: a blog with short posts and other "micro" content.
• Markdown: a simple way of formatting text using plain characters.

N

• Now page: a page on your blog showing what you're currently up to in life.

O

• Open web: the open, decentralized internet not controlled by a single platform.

P

• Permalink: a permanent link to a specific blog post.
• POSSE: Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere. The IndieWeb philosophy of owning your content first and sharing it to other platforms second.

R

• RSS: a feed format that lets people follow your blog without visiting the site.

S

• Sidebar: a column alongside the main content, often containing links or a short bio.
• Slash page: a page on your blog with a memorable URL like /now, /uses, or /about.
• Syndication: distributing your blog content to other platforms or services.

T

• Tags: labels attached to a post to help organize and categorize content.
• Trackback: a way for one blog to notify another that it has been linked to.

U

• URL: the address of a page on the web.

V

• Vlog: a blog in video format.

W

• Webmention: a modern way for blogs to notify each other when one links to another.
• Webring: a collection of websites linked together in a circle.