A blog is a blend of the terms web and log. It is a type or part of a website maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events or other material such as graphics or video.

Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even send messages to each other and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. As of February 16 2011 (2011 -02-16)[update], there were over 156 million public blogs in existence. Here we take a look at two blogs that are focused on the timeshare industry.

Phil Watson, the Timeshare Lord:

With timeshare, we came to the realisation that many people are perhaps nervous about taking the first step towards becoming an owner or are looking for as much information as possible before making any sort of decision.

Nowadays, any company that is not only looking to survive, but to thrive, has to be willing to adopt new ways of communicating with its customers both new and old.  Just look at the proliferation of company Facebook and Twitter accounts nowadays and even our Timeshare Guide iphone app!

What we wanted to establish, with our blog, was a single, central source of news, advice and reviews for anybody interested in the world of timeshare.  The blog is aimed not just at potential customers, but also at the industry itself and can be useful for developers, resort committees and other timeshare professionals as a way of keeping abreast of industry news.

We were keen that it should not just be a news site so we will continue to include reviews of holiday destinations and explanations of how timeshare works.  These are in both the form of written articles and video features.  This makes it a far more user friendly experience and therefore worth following regularly.

Our team at Worldwide Timeshare Hypermarket has a great deal of knowledge about timeshare and therefore the blog is a great way to pass on some of that knowledge and expertise.  It is also a good way for our guys to be kept up to date with the happenings within the industry.

As a key feature of the site, we have set up an ‘Ask the Lord’ submission form where anyone can ask questions about timeshare and get a personal response.  To date we have had questions from pretty much all corners of the globe and covering topics from “how do maintenance fees differ” to “how can I best use the timeshare points I own.”

The blog was relatively straight forward to set up and there are a number of easy- to-use and free blog systems available nowadays (Wordpress, Blogger etc).  The hardest part was deciding on a layout and what features to incorporate. 

We do daily searches about timeshare news articles and decide which ones to include.  Our aim is to cover a range of topics so that there should always be something on the blog of interest to people.

Blogs and why I write one by Lisa Anne Schreier

We all know what a blog is and some of us read blogs.  A smaller number of us actually write them and an even smaller number of us have readers!

Let’s face it, part of blogging smacks of narcissism.  Even more so than Facebook.  Many of us at one point or another kept a journal or diary; however, most of us never thought or, much less, wanted anyone to ever read it.

Putting a blog “out there” in the blogosphere does require a healthy dose of self-importance.

I’ve had the incredible good luck to come into the timeshare industry as a total “newbie”, progressed to actually selling timeshare, successfully transitioned to writing about timeshare for a now-defunct on-line publication called ‘The Timeshare Beat’, to now working full time to writing about the industry with a slant towards helping consumers.

My blog serves two purposes.  One is totally self-serving - in much the same way ‘journaling’ was for me many years ago.

It allows me to get my thought out, gets me thinking creatively and, perhaps more important, allows me to vent about what I perceive to be the major challenges timeshare faces.

Some of these issues are:  the outdated sales and marketing techniques still employed, the lack of transparency, the continued issues of timeshare ‘valuation’ and the growing re-sale issue.

The other reason I blog is that I read other blogs and I firmly believe that the best way to be a catalyst for positive change in the industry is for people to share information without the fear of retribution or worse yet, stealing of ideas. 

Today’s timeshare owners and prospective owners are very different today than they were in 1986.  Yet timeshare in 2011 is still too similar to timeshare in 25 years ago.

Sharing information, sharing best practices, uncovering scams and working together to make timeshare better and more readily accepted are a perfect fit for blogging.

So, keep reading, keep commenting and maybe even start one yourself. Together, we can accomplish great things!

Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader, is the founder and director of Timeshare Insights (www.timeshareinsights.com).  She is the author of two consumer books on timeshare and her blog can be found at www.thetimesharecrusader.blogspot.com)

Taken from Sharetime magazine issue 6