Many people aspire to be writers -- professional or otherwise. While print media faces declining sales, the internet is providing a new venue for writers to announce their thoughts or stories. Blogs, shortened from the word weblogs, are online diaries that generally represent the personal views of an individual.
But, how does one go about starting a blog? Fortunately, popular blogging platforms like Blogger and WordPress, as well as up-and-coming ones like AtomWord, allow bloggers to start their blog free of charge. Generally, blogging platforms are designed to be user friendly, so programming knowledge is not necessary to start a blog - though it can prove useful.
Blogger is a free to use blogging platform currently owned by Google. Signing up for a Blogger account is easy enough, as it simply requires having a Gmail account. Once an account has been setup, bloggers can choose their site name, or choose to have their Blogger blog hosted on their own domain if they have one.
Like many blogging platforms, Blogger has customizable templates that allow users to control the appearance of their blog. For advanced users, Blogger even supports CSS and HTML editing. Another key feature of Blogger is its integration with Picasa and Google video, which hosts the images and videos, respectively, posted by users.
WordPress is another free to use blogging platform, containing many of the same features as Blogger. After signing up for a WordPress blog, users can choose to have their blog hosted on WordPress or export their blog to their own domain. Once a blog name and account have been set up, the real fun begins.
WordPress blogs may appear basic at first, but using handy widgets, or "mini-applications," can really flesh out a blog and make it appear more professional. WordPress hosts many useful widgets, including a search button widget, a recent posts widget, and a blogroll widget, which can be handy for adding links to friends' blogs. As a bonus, each of these widgets is fully customizable, a feature sure to help one's blog stand out.
WordPress also includes features for posting images and videos. However, unlike Blogger, posting videos requires an optional upgrade called VideoPress that costs $59.97 a year for one blog.
One up-and-coming blogging platform is AtomWord, owned by WebsiteBusiness.com. Like WordPress and Blogger, AtomWord is a powerful blogging platform that allows users to create their own blog posts and distribute other media.
Unlike the previous two blogging platforms, AtomWord is not yet open to the public - only for paying customers of WebsiteBusiness.com. However, a WebsiteBusiness.com press release published in June of 2011 announced that the blogging tool will be free for public use in July. According to the press release, the new version of AtomWord will include features like an image editor, which will allow users to resize and crop photos. They also claim to be using a more customizable interface.
Conclusion
All three of the described blogging platforms have unique features that make them a great option for people who want to start their own blog. Some may opt to include ads on their blog to earn revenue, while others will simply use the site to get their opinions heard. Regardless, anyone with a computer and the internet can have their own website with personal content for free.
Sources
- "Blogger Features." Blogger.com. Web. 17 June 2011.
- "Get Customized." WordPress.com. Web. 17 June 2011.
- "VideoPress." WordPress.com Web. 17 June 2011.
- "WebsiteBusiness.com Preparing New Version of Blog Publisher AtomWord for July Release."
- PRWeb.com. Web. 12 June 2011. 17 June 2011.
Robert Wilson - I am a professional writer that has written for a variety of websites around the internet. I have written for blogs and news websites.
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