Blogs, what why and how, thoughts from RaceDriven and AutoBloggers

RaceDriven and Dave at AutoBloggers both discuss different aspects of Blogs and blogging.
What is a blog, how do you get started and how do you conduct yourself are discussed in these articles.

My two cents is this; a blog or web log/journal is supposed to be your thoughts on a subject that interests you. Many people are inspired by what they read online or in the mainstream media, and comment on what they read. If you comment on someone else's work, it's only right that you acknowledge their work. It's suggested that you link to the original work and give a "hat tip" to that author. Much of what I write is just that, inspired by other blogs, magazines, televison shows or even emails from readers. If I am inspired by someone else, I will acknowledge that, and link either to their main page or the article in particular. In the least I will mention a reader's name, like Philip who recently wrote me about Ford in Europe and his Ranger. Under US law, once you hit the publish button on your blog, it's considered copyrighted material, which means that it may be copied only under guidelines of fair use or under lisence from the author. Some blogs are professional as is the case for www.autoblog.com or www.mph-online.com and www.jalopnik.com , others are just enthusiasts like www.theautoprophet.blogspot.com , www.tapscottbehindthewheel.blogspot.com or www.racedriven.com . Brian has some great advice for those new bloggers who want to get exposed and Dave of MPH brings up issues that I and Brian have discussed in the past. Splogs are blogs in name only, where they harvest other people's blogs and repost. Many splogs are set up for financial gain, through the use of advertising. These splogs skirt the law, and in some cases blatantly spit in the face of the law and decency.

I say this, if you enjoy a hobby, like automobiles, and feel you want to have your say, do it.
Blogging is free and easy. Services like Blogger make it easy to get started, and you don't have to be a tech guy to use them, I'm not. The more the merrier, but check out Brian and Dave's articles and my archives for some background on blogging and the dark side splogging.