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Bloggers from around the world post their lives, opinions, secrets and passions about anything and everything on their blogs. It is a fast-growing hobby among computer aficionados.

And some remarkable stories have been told through and because of Weblogs. A boy's murder was solved after police read the last entry in his Weblog about his sister's boyfriend acting suspicious at his home. A Congressional intern was fired after her blog containing her sexual exploits with politicians was discovered. A flight attendant lost her job after posting controversial pictures of her posing in her uniform.

Whether it serves as a diary or soapbox, anyone can blog. To get started, here are a few quick tips:

• Choose your blog service provider. There are dozens of Web sites that will host your blog for free, and all of them vary in the features they provide. Some of the most prominent sites include Blogger, LiveJournal, MSN Spaces, Tripod Blog Builder and Blogster.

• Create your profile. In your profile, you need to determine how much personal information you're willing to give out. Avoid posting phone numbers and specific addresses.

• Design your blog. Many sites have templates that you can use which allow you to neatly and easily present your information.

• Update your blog. You can post new entries, upload digital pictures, create links to your favorite sites and much more. Frequent updates often times attracts more readers.

• Jazz it up. Find custom templates and Webskins online and use tools like Blogger's AudioBlogger to put music or recorded messages on the site. Some sites even allow you to update your blog directly from your cell phone.

Contact Nicholas Hrkman at 225-2378.

LINKS OF INTEREST

• DaytonDailyNews.com Blogs — Now your #1 source for local news on the Web is bringing you even more! Only available online, you can read blogs on everything from dieting, comic conventions and even a kid's view of life.

• www.dooce.com — A humorous SAHM's (stay at home mom's) personal Weblog. Covers everything from pregnancy to unemployment. She was fired from her job because of comments made on her blog about her boss.

• http://blogsbyiranians.com — Webring of blogs from English-speaking Iranians who either live within or outside of Iran.

• http://postsecret.blogspot.com — A blog that contains a collection of homemade postcards from people who have "secrets." Some are tragic, some hilarious, all of them very human.

• www.gizmodo.com — Blog of gadgets and gizmos.

• www.technorati.com — Search engine for blogs.

• http://www.samizdata.net/blog/glossary.html — Glossary of blogging terms.