Weblogs, commonly called Blogs, have caught the public internet imagination as nothing else over the last few years.
They have largely replaced the old-fashioned private diaries and journals people kept at home to record their thoughts and feelings and have become a very public means of expression with content ranging from personal thoughts and opinions through to Citizen Journalism with all of its facets.
They can be very time-consuming but also satisfying, especially when the public at large visits a website and comments on a post or entry.
For many people, however, whether writing for themselves or for a wider audience, the question of how often a Blog should be updated, how often a new post should be written and offered to a wider public raises its head from the very beginning.
It is generally thought that writing a new post three or four times each week is enough to keep a Blog active and interesting, although this last depends more on the content than simply writing something and publishing it on a Blog site.
There are two factors which need to be considered above all others when deciding how often to post.
The first is the amount of time a writer has available and their personal dedication.
For many writing is a new experience which needs to be learned and experimented with.
Anyone can write, but not everyone has the ability to write something of interest others, will create a spark in their imagination and which will motivate them to comment.
Any form of writing, whether it be a Blog post, a letter, a report or schoolwork demands forethought and planning.
It isn't enough to simply sit down in front of a computer and type words into the compose screen.
An idea needs to form, to be refined and edited before it can be published, before it is ripe for the eager gaze of a largely anonymous reading public.
The budding Blog writer should be prepared to set at least an hour to one side for each post, and that in addition to the initial planning time when thoughts and ideas mature inside their mind.
The second is nature of the Blog itself.
A writer who has picked out a niche market for themselves - be it collecting tin soldiers, local politics or personal experiences - needs to know their potential readership and how great the interest in a specific subject is likely to be, or whether they anticipate an audience at all.
Constantly rehashing the same information or reiterating the same opinion will quickly become boring for both reader and writer and may lead to eventual disillusion.
A Blog which concentrates on very narrow subject areas can survive and maintain a high level of interest with fewer posts than one which has a constantly changing subject matter or where the course of events is permanently on the move, such as with politics or current events.
A large percentage of Blogs fail within the first three months of their existence either through a loss of continuing interest on the part of the writer, expectations set too high which cannot then be achieved or through a lack of available time.
When considering how often to post a new Blog entry, the budding writer should take their personal situation into account as much as their aims and desires for the Blog itself.
Generally a daily entry for most normal Blogs is unnecessary, but new content posted regularly, perhaps three times a week, will help keep the interest alive and prevent the ideas for subject matter from drying up and, at the same time, give potential readers something to look forward to.