Origin and history of blog

"record of observations, readings, etc.," originally "record of a ship's progress," 1842, sailor's shortening of log-book (1670s), the daily record of a ship's speed, progress, etc., which is from log (n.1) "piece of wood." The book so called because it recorded the speed measurements made by means of a weighted chip of a tree log on the end of a reeled log line (typically 150 to 200 fathoms). The log lay dead in the water, and sailors counted the time it took the line to pay out. The line was marked by different numbers of knots, or colored rags, tied at regular intervals; hence the nautical measurement sense of knot (n.). Similar uses of the cognate word are continental Germanic and Scandinavian (such as German Log). General sense "any record of facts entered in order" is by 1913.

It [the log-book] is a journal of all important items happening on shipboard, contains the data from which the navigator determines his position by dead-reckoning ... and is, when properly kept, a complete meteorological journal. On board merchant ships the log is kept by the first officer: on board men-of-war, by the navigator. [Century Dictionary, 1897]

"the public spaces of the internet collectively," by 1992, shortened from World Wide Web (attested by 1990), from a specialized extended use of web (n.1).

World wide computer web is attested by 1987 in descriptions of the works of science fiction author William Gibson. The phrase world wide web was used by 1985 to describe telephone networks (in an article on the "phone phreaks" who hacked them). An AP story from September 1992 describes global currency markets (then in turmoil) as "a web of computer screens, telephone lines and speaker phones" [Sacramento Bee headline, Sept. 19]

Web browser and web page are attested by 1990; webmaster by 1993. Weblog and web site both are from 1994.

Except for Microsoft's Help interface and the "Web Sites" on the Internet's World Wide Web, hypertext formatting—a structure that allows cross-referenced documents to be summoned via keywords—is not as prevalent as we're led to believe. To access a Web site in all its glory, with "inline images" and fonts intact, you need a direct Internet connection and a Graphical User Interface (GUI) such as Mosaic or Cello. [Judith Lewis, "Read the Screen," LA Weekly, May 27, 1994]

by 1994, from web (n.2) + log (n.2); see blog.