What is a blog vs. a message board?

I’ve seen things like the Obama blog or comments areas for various sites, and they mostly look like this one, only not as well spelled or moderated. (Yes, I’m a suck-up).

Now, I thought blog was short for Web Log, so someone keeps a diary or “Log” on a website, and then I guess other people comment on it. Here, anyone can start a discussion on anything. Is that the only difference - that we (the SDMB) are an infinite number of blogs? Because it occurred to me that I would have no idea how to answer if someone were to ask me if I blogged or not.

Thanks for the info.

Works for me.

My interpretation is a blog is a public diary, where the owner may or may not allow others to comment on their posts. OTOH, a message board is akin to a bar/restaurant where folks come together and share what’s on their minds. The bar/restaurant owner plays no role in directing the conversations per se, but may contribute as any customer. The owner tries to maintain a level of decorum (moderating) and may charge for the cost of drinks and munchies.

Thanks. For some reason, it never occurred to me that those terms would be on Wiki. :smack:

There are also ‘community blogs’ like metafilter and reddit, which are for sharing links, and have comments on the links.

Thanks!