We now have online a free blog system that you will note when in the Forums area of TRAVEL.com. In one of menu bars, you will see the "Blogs" menu selection where members can create their own blogs.

Or just follow this link: http://forums.travel.com/blogs/.

Blogging is open to all Junior & Senior level members. New Users may not blog until they have participated in the forums long enough to earn these higher-level user rankings.

Wherever you are located in the world, your local blog is of interest to others and will get indexed at TRAVEL.com on major search engines. You might want to blog about your favorite outdoor activities or hobby that might be of interest to fellow users. Or, see our forum topics for ideas. But don't just stop there. We're open to a variety of topics in the blog area.

Please be sure to follow the normal system rules. All rules that apply to messaging also apply to the blogs.

Please feel free to post about your travels, local restaurants you might have recently visited, tips about your own hometown, etc. Be sure to invite your friends to participate. You blog address will be in the following format:

http://forums.travel.com/blogs/rik-brown

We currently allow limited "commercial" blogs by small travel companies that do not compete with the companies promoted here at TRAVEL.com. Essentially, those companies will be selling a local travel industry product and thus their websites will not be embedded with advertising.

Blogs by companies may not include any advertising and are limited to one URL link back to their site per blog at the bottom of their blog. Personal blogs are not limited in this respect.

We encourage you to upload a small picture to your user Profile which will be used with your blog. It makes the blog more personable and interesting.

Have fun. -- Rik