The term /weblog/ evolved from the cult of Internet journalists as the popular media began to pay attention to the Internet in late 1997 into early 1998. A little over a year later, on a lark,
Peter Merholz decided to split the word (joined from
web log) into /we blog/, originating the most grating tech word until
dot-bomb.
Having started several weblogs, using various packages, self-written apps, and of course this site; the process usually goes something along the lines of:
1. "I have this zany idea, I want to tell everyone!"
2. "Ok, how do I get this on the Web?"
3. "Ok ... now I set this up, I don't really remember why I found this idea so interesting."
Of course, having realized that the idea wasn't all that interesting, the blogger creates his (or her) first post anyway, often with a bit about how he really doesn't have any idea what he's doing or where the blog is going to go. If the use gets a single visitor he doesn't know personally, he takes this as a sign of big things, and immediately throws-up as much advertising as he can.
The word /weblog/ has been out of fashion since it first lost the first two letters, and most modern sites and products use the vulgar abbreviation, much like a child who can't seem to form all of the syllables in common phrases.