Open Blogs

Many people are still confused when you ask this question : “What is a blog ?”. But it’s not very complicated. The simple definition of a blog is : a type of website that is usually organized chronologically with the most recent posts at the top of the page, and the older posts at the bottom of the page, and it’s usually, but not always, written and updated by one person, and is written on a particular topic.

However, there are a few things that the internet users should know about blogs, especially if only used as a source of information, and as a reader.

The first thing that people need to know about blogs, is that, what you see is not all!

What I mean is that there is way more information on the blog sites that you are visiting than you might see at first glance because there is just a limited amount of comments visible on one page. So, very often, people are taking a look at a blog, and think that it is ridiculously short, and that the amount of information was not worth taking a look at. The truth is that, when you click on archives, you have access to the entire blog, and can go back to where it started. Some of the pages of the blogs might seem light in term of information, but some comments are way more explanatory than others. It can take a little bit of time to read a blog, but it can be very informative.

I recently found a site that is promoting a new approach to tackling alcohol abuse.
Consider all the advances being made in medicine today. One of the areas positively affected by new research is in the treatment of alcoholism. Think of the number of people you know who have a drinking problem that is serious enough so they ended up in rehab or are trying to follow a 12 step, abstinence free program AND have failed. Doctors in Europe have been prescribing baclofen as the primary treatment for people who drink excessively. Unlike 12 step programs in the US that require abstinence such as AA, doctors in Europe are trying a new approach. They say that alcoholism is not a disease, but a symptom of a larger psychological issue. LifeBac, the site I found, combines medication (baclofen), a medicine to prevent alcohol abuse
by removing cravings, along with behavior changes via psychotherapy to rewire one’s habits. From my understanding, the site is pretty new. However, I think they should add a blog component to the site. The medication they use in their program is called baclofen. It’s a fascinating drug that is primarily used to treat muscle spasms, stiffness, and other back conditions caused by multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, or other spinal cord disorders. It is given intrathecally (directly into the spinal cord) or orally (by mouth). Researchers have also found that Baclofen’s action on the GABA receptors in the brain may help lessen cravings and withdrawal symptoms for alcohol. The studies exploring the effectiveness of baclofen have come up with mixed results and it has not yet received approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as a safe and effective treatment for alcohol or drug use disorders. HOWEVER, doctors in Europe have been prescribing baclofen as the primary treatment for people who drink excessively. I think a blog about baclofen and its use to treat people who drink excessively would be informative, to say the least. I think reading comments of those who have used baclofen for their excessive drinking would be helpful. I hope LifeBac does create a blog soon.

Blogs are often used as a source of income (albeit typically an alternate and low-level source, unless you’re really luck or really really good at it). Our personal focus is on various financial tools, from the ones that are more geared towards entertainment and amusement (namely, how to play slots online and other such fun stuff) to more considered ways to save and make money (like auto loan refinance, debt consolidation, and more).

The other thing that is important to know about blogs is that some of them can be a monologue, where only one person is writing information about a specific subject, or with very little participation from other people. However, most of them are a conversation, which makes them quite often very interesting. The point of view of many people can enhance the subject on one hand, but on the other hand it gives to blog a “non-official” character due to the fact that most of the people participating to a blog are not professional about the subject, and are very often giving a point of view, and nothing else.

You can learn a lot from blogs, but you can also spend a lot of hours reading posts so pace yourself.