With busy schedules that revolve around work, school and social life, many students find it easier to keep in touch with their friends through online journals or blogs.
"I read them to see what my friends who are at other schools are doing," said Ashley Greer, a freshman allied health science major.
Many students begin to use blogs because their friends did it and they found it interesting.
Thomas Aldridge, a sophomore English major, said this was why he started.
"I've been blogging for about three or four years," he said. "Mainly I post things that I write or music I listen to.
"I really don't use it as a journal like some people do."
Some students use their blogs as a journal to write about their daily activities, while others like Aldridge use theirs to display stories or poetry that they have written.
There are many online blogging sites such as xanga.com or livejournal.com that offer free blogs.
Myspace.com is a popular site among college students.
"I would have never gotten on Myspace if it wasn't for Facebook," said Stacie Montero, a sophomore nursing major.
While the majority of online bloggers are students, they aren't the only ones.
For the past year, the history department has had an online blog known as "Memphis Historians on the Go."
Maurice Crouse, a professor of history at The U of M, serves as the webmaster of the blog. He said that the idea came from Janann Sherman, the head of the history department, last year when the department's Web site was being redesigned.
"Dr. Sherman wanted a page where people could send messages about what they were doing around the world," Crouse said.
So far the blog hasn't attracted much traffic, but there are several postings including entries from various history professors who traveled abroad last summer.
"Last summer Dr. Laumann and Dr. Bond led a study group to Ghana," Crouse said. "Dr. Bond sent in pictures and articles detailing their trip."
Other entries include trips to British Columbia, Italy and Columbia.
The latest entry is from Ed Hamelrath, a history graduate student who is working on his dissertation in Dresden, Germany.
According to Crouse, anyone can submit an entry to be posted on the blog, as long as they have ties to The University or the city of Memphis.
Some students, though, don't find the online journals appealing.
"I just don't get around to it," said Alex Jago, a senior sports management major. "I do have friends on them, but I just don't care."
