Free Blogs! Free Blogs! A Quick Review

There are many ways to get a free blog. Here is a list of some resources along with a few comments about each.

They Host:

• LiveJournal - Offers both free and paid accounts. Easy to use. Specifically for blogging/ journaling. Very popular. Open source.
  
• Blogger - Free accounts. Very easy to use. Indexed by Google
  
• MySpace - Free accounts. Very popular. Not specifically for blogging.
  
• WordPress.com - Offers both free and paid accounts. Easy to use. Open source.
  
• TypePad - Free trial.
  

You Host:

• WordPress.org - Free. Open Source. Very popular.
  
• Moveable Type - Free if for personal use. Paid if for commercial use.
• Serendipity - Free. Easy to use. Easy to upgrade.

There are more blogging platforms available, but we at OtisWorks.com recommend these.

What's the difference between hosted blogging and hosting your blog yourself? Hosted blogging is easier and often cheaper, but it gives you less flexibility and makes you dependent upon your blog host. We have both. There are reasons for each. Whichever you choose, using your own domain name will give you the ability to change hosts later if you need to. Also, make sure to do regular backups of your blog.