We've done it! Our first post!

After a bit of prodding and/or encouragement from some family and friends, we decided to finally join in the information age and become bloggers. Wahoo...or should I say Yahoo!? But before I begin anything new, I usually like to research it. According to Wikipedia, which we all know is the most "reliable" source of information out there, a blog is defined as "a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video." Some interesting facts I found out about blogs:

• As of December 2007, there were over 112 million blogs found by the search engine Technorati. Wow! We're the little fish in a large pond.
• The word "blog" is an abridgment of web log. Betcha didn't know that... or maybe I just don't know a lot about this blogging business yet.
• There are several types of blogs, including (but not limited to) personal blogs, corporate blogs, by media type (artlog, vlog, etc.), by device blogs, or genre blog. Ours will mostly be a personal blog, but it might get random.
  
• The most linked-to blog belongs to a Chinese actress named Xu Jinglei. Her page has received more than 50 million hits! There will probably be 2 hits on our little blog...we shall see.
• Scientists have proven that there are therapeutic benefits from writing about personal experiences. Some research shows it can improve memory and sleep, boost immune cell activity, has helped AIDS patients, and helps patients recover quicker after surgery. What health benefits have you seen from keeping a blog?

Thanks to Wikipedia for the information (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/blog). So now you feel like you've been through Blogging 101, you might need to help us, you seasoned veterans. We're just getting started with this, and the blogging world is a big one. Welcome one, welcome all to the Ryerse Blog! We will try our best not to let you down! I, the wife and mother of the Ryerse family, Melanie, will be doing most of the posting and updating for our blog, but my Dave will be a contributing author once in a while. Until next time...