I've received a lot of email lately from people asking how they can set up their own blogs for family, friends, or business purposes without spending much money or hiring an expensive programmer or web developer. Well, ask no more because I will now show you exactly how to get your own blog without dipping too far into your own pocket (if at all) and get up and running, even if you don't have your own website, hosting account, or domain name.
You basically get two choices when it comes to setting up a blog: host it yourself, or use a service that hosts
blog for you.
Each one carries advantages based on your level of skill, experience and how many options you want to add to your blog.
If you choose to host your blog on your own website, then you can pick from a number of different options, including MoveableType.org and WordPress.org.
However, if you don't want to host it yourself, you can also go to Yahoo.com, put in term "free blog" and obtain a long list of services that will host a blog for you, either free of charge or for a fee.
Probably best-known free blog service resides at Blogger.com
Recently purchased by Google, Blogger boasts thousands of blogs on topics ranging from ecommerce to pet manners.
Blogger enables you to set up a functional blog in about 5 minutes and start posting your thoughts, rants, or family facts with world.
Log on to http://Spaces.MSN.com and find another free option offered by Microsoft's online service, MSN.
This service makes it a bit easier to share photos than Blogger, which requires a separate software tool called Picasa (also available from Google for free).
MSN's blogger service also seems to appeal more to individuals sharing their thoughts than to businesses trying to scare up new customers or get their links crawled by search engine spiders (another advantage of publishing a blog).
