Blogs or weblogs are nothing new. These easy to use and set-up web publishing platforms now have over 60 million users worldwide and increasingly becoming part of the online landscape. Blogging though, does have its drawbacks or merits depending on which way you look at it. Rife with slander, salacious rumours, hearsay and blatant lies, these can be some of the attractions of blogs as well as their criticisms and it is fair to say that bias often plays heavily in their creation. Some bloggers have turned their hobby into a full-time profession with the most popular blogs netting their creators six figure annual salaries.So how do you get on this blogging bandwagon? Pretty easily as it happens. There are plenty of providers offer free platforms to get you started. Blogger.com is, for many, the progenitor of the blogging revolution. Within 3 easy steps you could be publishing with the best of the techno generation. First off you need to sign up for an account, next, name your blog and after that choose a template. Blogger is free and you really can be up and running in minutes. Blogger also makes it easy for you to take advantage of Google’s AdSense, now its parent company, thereby adding contextual advertising to your blog and earning you money. This is the best platform for less experienced users. Another site called LiveJournal, with over 90% of its members under the age of 25, has the reputation of being a hangout for disillusioned teenagers; nevertheless it offers some attractive features. Best for younger people. WordPress is a another great free solution for those potential bloggers who are a little more confident, or want to learn more about the more technological aspects of building websites. It is available as both a free hosted service and as a download for you to put on your server. Best for confident learners. MovableType is a predominantly paid for solution and more suited to those with a keen interest in programming and web design. That said, it is extremely versatile and has quickly become the platform of choice for many professional bloggers. You will have to have your own hosting with a provider that allows you to install programs onto your space and not just html files. TypePad, another blogging service, and could be perceived as the little brother of MovableType. Although not free, a relatively inexpensive basic account does boast the ability to accept posts from a mobile device, video podcasting, category as well as date archives and, most importantly, spell check. Blogging platforms are supposed to make it easy for you to publish your own content. To this end most things are taken care of. RSS feeds of your content are often created automatically, archives of your posts miraculously appear and commenting functionality always comes as standard. Blogging isn't just about expounding your opinions to a waiting web; it is also about the exchange of views. Commenting on other people's blogs and allowing people to do the same on yours is part and parcel of the blogging experience. In fact many LiveJournal blogs almost look like forums with extended conversations between multiple users taking place in the commenting sections. Blogs don't just have to be about your life or even maintained by only one author. Many community blogs have sprung up all over the web based around joint interests, politics or just to hang out. Other blogs are sponsored by corporations, are more like magazines, or are full time jobs for their editors. Whether you are intending to blog about a city, a hobby, technology, the arts or even the web itself, there's a space on the web with your name on it.

Published on 15th January 2007