Five years ago, when I started this blog, no one but a few knew what what a blog was. Now most mainstream media have blogs, including CBC and many of their programmes. CBC also lists which of its news items are the most blogged.

You don't need to understand RSS or XML to either write or read a blog, though some knowledge would be helpful, especially the limitations of RSS versus Atom. Starting by explaining XML would be like teaching internal combustion to first-time car owners.

Also, "blog" is now in the dictionary. I no longer have to explain what a blog is, though I still have to explain how to set one up and how to use feeds.