Blog is short for Weblog. A Weblog is a journal (or type of newsletter) that is updated often and intended for the general public. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site owner. In July 2006, the Pew Internet & American Life Project estimated that the U.S. "blog population has grown to about 12 million Americans," some 8% of U.S. Internet users. The number of U.S. blog readers was estimated at 57 million (39% of the U.S. online population). If you have a product, service, brand, or cause that you want to market inexpensively online to the world, you need to look into starting a blog. It is an ideal marketing vehicle. You can use it to share your expertise, grow market share, spread your message, and establish yourself as an expert in your field for virtually no cost. A blog helps your site to rank higher in the search engines because Google and other search engines provide references to blogs and their content. Tiny one-person part-time businesses and mega companies like Microsoft, Apple, Nike, General Motors, Amazon.com, and Yahoo! use blogs as well as. Most Fortune 1000 firms are using responsible blog marketing as well as advertising on blogs for one simple reason: it works! It generates profits immediately and consistently! In addition, many blogs earn additional revenue by selling advertising space on their niche-targeted blog.