Computer and Library Learning (Archived)

Many Internet users have set up their own blog (a contraction of “web log”), a web site on which one can share information, points of view etc. in the form of posts that are shown in reverse chronological order beginning with the most recent blog post presented at the top of the blog. Blogs can be established by individuals, groups of people, organizations etc. There are different free options of which one can avail oneself to post text, images, video, and audio. Let us take a look at three options:

WordPress.com is generally regarded as one of the better (if not the best!) free blogging platforms. WordPress provides free blog hosting for registered users and makes its money through advertising, those who choose for-cost upgrades, and through VIP services. Wordpress is liked for its depth in functionality and themes that allows customization and flexibility. A new study in 2013 confirmed that 52% of the top 100 blogs are using the WordPress platform. The free version of WordPress also offers the user search engine optimization (SEO), traffic statistics, anti-spam filters, and thousands of plug-ins due to the presence of a creative, open source developer community. WordPress has a track record exceeding 10 years and it is a good platform choice for serious, professional bloggers and businesses seeking a professional approach to blogging. Newcomers to blogging might be intimidated by the depth and complexity of WordPress.

Blogger.com is a free blogging service that permits private or multi-use blogs. A big advantage of using Blogger is that it is owned by Google so those users with Google/Gmail accounts can'tie them in with their use of Blogger. Blogger is easy to use and those interested in monetizing their blog can exercise different options, including Google AdSense. Search engine optimization features are included that would increase a blog's standing on a search engine's results pages, including Google as Blogger pages are indexed. Blogger is recommended for beginners given its simplicity of use, good choice of themes and design styles (although limited compared to those of WordPress), and the ability to add widgets as enhancements. Blogger lacks developer community support for plug-ins and  customization of the Blogger site is limited. Blogger is best suited for less technically-inclined bloggers and for businesses seeking less complexity.

Tumblr.com is a microblogging and social networking alternative that was recently purchased by Yahoo. Tumblr is intended to appeal to users interested in posting multimedia options (i.e. images, videos, comics, infographics) with minimal text. Short blog posts are best suited on Tumblr. Tumblr provides some useful features including bookmarklets, mobile apps, phone posting, SMS instant messaging submissions, by email,and audio message posting content onto the blog. Tumblr's control panel facilitates the managing of multiple blogs. Tumblr supports over 119 million blogs and greater than 54 billion blog posts. It is easy to relate one's Tumblr account to a Facebook or Twitter account. Tumblr lacks anti-virus plug-ins. Does the ease of sharing content work against the introduction of
new, original content?

Next time, we will examine other free blogging platform options…