For those of us just beginning to familiarize with the art of blogging the term blog carnival is something that holds great significance in the field. This is yet another term to be stemming out from the blogging phenomenon. So where does this term come from? Actually when we trace back the roots of this term we find that the first time the word carnival was used for such a practice was in the year 2002. The carnival as it was held back then was known as the “Carnival of the Vanities”. There is a big reason behind the name that was coined for the event. Basically blogs used to be online journals where writers would share their opinions, ideas, feelings and thoughts on a daily basis. The term “vanities” was actually a sarcastic remark on the nature of the ego-driven writings found in most blogs. Nonetheless the name caught on and remains the same even till date.

So then what exactly is a blog carnival? Basically it is an event held every now and then, which is centered on one universal theme. Participants are required to write articles on the one theme and load them up with links to articles on other blogs which are related to the same subject of the carnival. Blog carnivals will sometimes consist of a whole list of articles on similar or related subjects submitted by various readers.

Just like there are participants in the carnival there is a host. Each time a carnival is held one person has to be the host and it may also be that the host keeps changing for each carnival. Today we find that blog carnivals have developed their own culture. Whereas in the good old days blogs were maintained as personal diaries today they have become more of a platform for various people to interact, contribute and develop relationships. This is the reason why blog carnivals have been known to give birth to internet communities. These communities grow around blog carnivals like wild grass. Then the members of these communities continually post articles on the main theme to the carnival.

At this stage you may be wondering whether blog carnivals have any benefits or are they really “carnivals of the vanities”. The truth is that the importance of blogging has greatly increased in recent years and hence blog carnivals can play a significant role in getting people to know about your business. This is achieved by submitting an article that has a resource box at the end. This resource box contains a summary of the kind of business you are in and a link that will lead the readers to your blog. Bloggers that are part of that niche will be able to follow that link to your blog where they can learn more about your business and give their comments as well. Similarly you will be doing the same thing on their blogs. Basically people in the same niche get to know each other through submitting articles with resource boxes in these blogs. Visitors are generally free to follow your link in the resource box and to arrive at your website.

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