Blogs or weblogs are easily updatable websites which can be quickly set up at little or no cost via sites such as www.blog.co.uk, www.blogger.com or www.typepad.com. They provide one very major advantage over a standard website in that they are designed to encourage conversation with simple to use post publishing and the ability to allow your audience to instantly respond.

It’s estimated that there are now over 80 million blogs in existence worldwide with content ranging from all manner of niche interests and personal musings to influential professional interest sites which attract substantial and ever growing audiences.

Blogs at their best share ideas and information and create genuine dialogue. They’ve also provided the platform for the rise of citizen journalism which is having a significant impact on our mainstream media.

There is considerable scope for business use too and many companies and organisations are investigating or already using the opportunities blogs provide to communicate with their target audiences, employees and the public.

The blog you're reading now was created using www.blog.co.uk because I'm used to the set up features as we already host our event management blog eventualities with them.

I'd suggest you visit a number of blog provider sites before making your choice however they do all offer very similar services. You can create a basic blog for free with all the sites listed above although you'll find many of the options are limited.

For a small annual fee (£28 in the case of this blog) you can access considerably greater functionality and simple to use tools to allow you to build your site exactly how you want.

You can choose from a variety of layout templates from which you can customise everything from the number of columns to text sizes and colours.

Your organisation's logo can be incorporated into your header and you can lay out your blog in corporate or complimentary colours. For ideas on the design of your blog check out other blogs to see what you do and don't like. Google's great for this because if you click on more on their front page it takes you to this option page which includes a blog search. Enter your organisation's name and see what people might already be saying about you!

As for content, the possibilities are endless. From a marketing point of view it's a great way to let readers know about forthcoming productions and exhibitions.

You could also invite visitors opinions and seek feedback on your venue and it's programme of events.

I'm sure you'll all find plenty to talk about but why not use the opportunity to provide other kinds of insight into the day to day running of your venue or organisation. You could feature interviews with artists, performers or your own colleagues on the vital roles they play in making everything happen.

Blogs are also a very visual medium and it's easy to upload digital photos to support your text. With a little more technological know how you could even add short videos and podcasts too.

You can set up your blog to have a number of co-writers if you wish and you can also moderate the posts and comments so you receive an e-mail allowing you to approve all items before they're added to the site.

I hope this has been a useful overview and as you can probably guess I'm definitely a fan of the medium! If you have any questions please feel free to ask by adding a comment.