In the late 90s and early 00s, blogs were originally "weblogs" or "web logs", just a sort of online diary. It was mainly something you wrote, rather than something for others to read.

Over time, the most interesting blogs became the most popular, and these were generally blogs on a fixed topic. The meaning of "blog" shifted to refer to these high-quality regularly-updated article sites, more like a magazine. It became highly commercialized as people tried to turn blogs into careers or side hustles. The original use of blogging, as a personal journal that only your friends care to read, was supplanted by social media.

Nowadays, pro-blogging has been supplanted by YouTube, since the ad revenue on video is much higher and the audience and discoverability much better. Not every blogger was able to make this transition, however, because the skillsets of a magazine writer and a television host are different.

1997-1998ish I helped run a site with a bunch of forums. Regular members could request their own Diary forum, which worked exactly the way blogs would work later on. Some were literal diaries, others became grand works of fiction, some were collaborative storytelling, some favoured pictures etc.

It saddens me that many people feel the need to seemingly monetize their creative outlet.