Are You Asking Yourself Why Start A Blog? Read This Intro To Blogging Primer

These days blogs have evolved to have many different uses. For the most part it could be marketing or it could just be distribution of content. Whether or not it’s called a blog is another discussion. For example one could argue that using twitter is a form of blogging. Or updating facebook status is a form of blogging. This article, however, will go back to the roots of blogging and take a look at starting a blog of this manner: an online journal.

At its core, a blog is basically an online journal wherein you can digitally pen down your thoughts, ideas, opinions and practically anything that you want people to read. Blogs come in different styles, formats, and settings, depending on the preference of the user. Many blogging sites, offer built in features such as hyperlink, straight texts, pictures etc. Some blogging sites, even allow you to put video and mp3’s on your blogs.

So what makes up a blog? A blog contains many entries called blog posts. A blog post generally has these parts to it:

title: which allows you to label your post

body: this is the content of your blog entry, for example writing about the weather or writing about your day

trackback: other sites can have a link back to your blog post

permanent link: or permalink: this is the URL link to the blog entry itself as opposed to the entire blog

comments: this section is for readers to post their comments about your blog entry

Today’s blogging software makes it very easy for bloggers to start blogging right away. I highly recommend the Blogger interface or Wordpress interface. Those are the easiest and also are web based so you can blog from anywhere. There are further customizations available for being able to blog through email and other applications as well. Another great feature of blogging software is the availability of templates or themes. This allows you to change the look and feel and design of your website blog at the push of a button.

Though I have been focusing on blogging as a way of journaling, just remember also that blogging is at its core a way to distribute information effectively. So there can be many ways you can use blogging. I personally have a personal blog as well as many business blogs. Advertising, marketing, distributing photos and videos, and distributing paid content are all ways you can start a blog for. So just keep an open mind as you start a blog, becuase you will probably find you will see many uses for blogging and will end up starting quite a few yourself!

Want more info on how to start a blog and all things blogging? Then visit Emil Yau’s site How Do You Start A Blog and watch his FREE step-by-step videos today!

Free Wordpress Blogs Vs Self-Hosted Wordpress Blogs: A Comparison

I’m going to write about a very common query from new and soon-to-be-new bloggers.

Should I start a free blog or a hosted blog?

The free Wordpress blog you would get by signing up for an account at Wordpress.com. Your username would become your blog name, so for example if I got a user name “howdoyoustartablog” my URL would be howdoyoustartablog.wordpress.com

A self-hosted Wordpress blog is your own blog on your own domain with your own hosting or paid hosting account upon which you install the Wordpress software. Wordpress becomes the software to manage your site and your blog. You can download the software for free from Wordpress.org. However, many hosting companies today have a push button installation available via Fantastico Deluxe or Simple Scripts. Check out my free video which walks you through an example Simple Scripts installation with hostmonster.

So on to the question at hand: which is better for you, the free Wordpress blog or the self hosted Wordpress installation?

FREE WORDPRESS BLOG PLUSSES AND MINUSES

PLUS free to setup

PLUS installation is easy (done by Wordpress the company)

PLUS maintenance free (setup, upgrades, spam control, backups, security)

PLUS servers are reliable (hosted by servers at Wordpress.com )

PLUS with a blog as part of the Wordpress community there may be an additional traffic boost from the Wordpress community

MINUS non-Wordpress provided themes are allowed

MINUS cannot edit any of the php code (useful for adding additional features from third parties)

MINUS cannot upload any plugins. The Wordpress plugin community is huge by the way

MINUS no ad placements allowed. In fact, Wordpress will place their own ads on your blog

MINUS Blog will still be under the Wordpress brand

MINUS no content .ownership. Blog is still a Wordpress site .

SELF HOSTED WORDPRESS BLOG PLUSSES AND MINUSES

PLUS can change theme to a non-Wordpress third party custom theme. You can upload a custom one or choose form one of thousands of third party themes out there to dress up your website.

PLUS can change php code if desired

PLUS can upload and install plugins!

PLUS your own ads allowed, better control of monetization

PLUS your own brand/domain name

PLUS ftp access to your site

MINUS you need to install Wordpress on your own. This has become much easier, though, as many hosting accounts now offer push button installation of Wordpress. My free “Start A Blog” tutorial will walk you through step-by-step a Simple Scripts Wordpress installation on hostmonster hosting site.

MINUS monetary cost to set up your site. Domain names PLUS hosting fees can vary from $5 to $15 a month.

MINUS you need to do your own site maintenance including spam control, security, and backups for example. There are plugins to help you but it is a process you still need to do on your own

MINUS make sure and find reliable servers. You don’t want slowness or crashes to bother your site. Most hosting companies these days to stay competitive offer some pretty good server reliability

In summary, the Wordpress free blog is appropriate for some people. I wouldn’t suggest the paid hosted solution if you don’t need it. I would say a free Wordpress blog is good for the purpose of straight blogging like it used to be. However, these days many people are looking to also make money online. If that’s the case, there are ways to do this still with a free Wordpress blog, but the hosted Wordpress installation provides you with a lot more you can do from a functionality standpoint which includes the various ways to monetize your site.

That is why I will in most cases suggest the self-hosted paid blog. The cost of $15 a month is pretty trivial if you want to do a lot with your blog.

I hope this article has been helpful. I will be happy to answer any questions you have. Feel free to email me or just post your question on this blog as a comment. And if you decide to start a hosted blog, make sure to check out my free video on how to set up a blog with hostmonster.

So just how do you start a blog with Wordpress? Come to Emil Yau’s site and watch his free video where he will show you step-by-step how to start a blog with Wordpress and post to it right in front of your eyes in about only 10 minutes!

How To Begin Your Own Photo Blog

It seems like just about everyone has a cell phone camera these days that can take images of just about anything in a matter of seconds. Working with electronic pictures instead of the traditional film and paper print photos is cheap, there is no used paper to end up in landfills and they take up almost no physical space at all!

Whether you are a pro photographer or an amateur shutterbug you’ll still like the ease of digital photography. And what is better than just taking lots of digital pictures is the fun way you can display them to others. There are many different ways to share your photos, from digital picture frames to printing them out to storing them on your PDA.

One of the growing ways to share your images to others is by publishing a photography blog. A “web log” or blog is a website that allows an writer to post instant updates onto Internet about just about any topic imaginable. A photography blog can feature the digital images you took on any given day or trip. You can add your written thoughts about your photographs and you can inform people about why you snapped the photos and where you were when you took them.

To begin a photo blog you just need to find some free blogging websites and pick a blog name. Most blogging sites are easy to get started with. When you are satisfied with a post you “publish” it and everyone around the world can instantly read it! You simply type your ideas out in a post, insert your digital photographs from your PC and the blogging site pretty much does the rest.

With a photo blog you can not only allow others to see your photos but you can also allow visitors to write comments on your posts. If you allow comments on your posts then you can also learn what other people like and don’t like about your images. Getting commends from visitors to your web log is part of the fun of putting your images online.

You can put up some images of a trip to Florida one day and then put up images of some flowers in your back yard the next day. Remember not to worry about always composing a post that’s perfect. It’s your photo blog and you can post pictures of whatever you like. Just try to have a good time with the ability to share your electronic photos so quickly with your own blog!

Want to learn more about digital photography and see some great photos? Check out my art photo blog and let me know what you think!