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sue71, esq
07-26-2008, 10:23 PM
I'm thinking about creating a blog- something more for me & I'm not sure I'd ever put it out there publicly. Maybe I would, but I'm thinking of it as more of an online journal for myself. Clearly, keeping it private would be an issue, at least up front.

Does anyone have any recommendations on free blog sites? I looked at blogger, wordpress, & typepad, but I'm so not up on blogs and therefore I don't know one from the other. Any thoughts on which would be good for a total blogging novice?

Thanks,
Sue

YmoBeThere
07-27-2008, 06:14 AM
I have had the same question for some time, I'm glad someone else has put it up here. Unfortunately, no answers yet.

brevity
07-27-2008, 01:20 PM
I'm not an expert on the subject, but maybe you don't need an expert. I've used Blogger for a little over 3 years and have had no recent complaints. (The first year had some kinks, but they've made it easier to use since then.)

It's fairly easy to start, and (for the most part) you can adjust whatever settings you like at any time. So you're not stuck with one kind of display or anything.

And if you don't feel like publicizing your blog, you don't have to. Web surfers would only come across it if your site pops up in a search query, or if they're extremely bored and keep hitting "Next Blog" to pick random blogs to visit, and yours comes up. Even then, you can disable comments.

I believe you can also restrict access, in case you want to limit your readership to family members or something.

Ben63
07-27-2008, 01:42 PM
I might suggest Live Journal. My cousin used it a few years ago when she was in China and only her family and friends saw what she wrote. The site says it can be public or maximum security, so it might be worth a look.

Indoor66
07-27-2008, 01:49 PM
I'm thinking about creating a blog- something more for me & I'm not sure I'd ever put it out there publicly. Maybe I would, but I'm thinking of it as more of an online journal for myself. Clearly, keeping it private would be an issue, at least up front.

Does anyone have any recommendations on free blog sites? I looked at blogger, wordpress, & typepad, but I'm so not up on blogs and therefore I don't know one from the other. Any thoughts on which would be good for a total blogging novice?

Thanks,
Sue

If privacy is a concern and the writing is only for you, why not use a Word document to which you continue to add material? That method would assure your privacy and you could share parts or all as you desired, via email.

sue71, esq
07-27-2008, 02:03 PM
If privacy is a concern and the writing is only for you, why not use a Word document to which you continue to add material? That method would assure your privacy and you could share parts or all as you desired, via email.

I thought about that but then I would only be able to access it at home. Plus, I may someday want to post it/share it, and would prefer not to email a Word doc.

Just my preferences, but I understand where you're coming from.

BCGroup
07-27-2008, 03:11 PM
What about googledocs? You have access anywhere you have internet. I don't know that it's totally private, but probably more so than a blog.

I'm not the expert on the Internet, but I have come to believe that keeping something private is actually very, very difficult. For example, a friend of mine did a blog on blogger, and told me noone but his friends could see it. Well, yes and no. Someone who was surfing around could stumble on it, and if you happened to use the right keywords about him, you could find it. The scary thing was it linked to another girl--by reading two of her blogs, you knew where she lived (neighborhood only, but it probably wouldn't have been hard to get the rest of the info), that she would be on a trip for four days, and had a new computer/stereo/video system. To me, that is scary. And I am sure that nothing every really goes away, even if you delete it. It's archived somewhere. We've had this discussion on my campus, and it's just that you never know who will read your stuff. I have a website for my books/consulting, but I pay a fee to a holding company so that my home address is not available. And on my blog, I'm very careful what I write in terms of private information. All that to say, if privacy is a concern, please be cautious.

2535Miles
07-28-2008, 12:21 PM
iWeb (not really free) but you should've already purchased this it!

cspan37421
07-28-2008, 09:23 PM
Not sure if this is 100% accurate, but for Wordpress, you may need a domain first, like yourname.com, and you install the WP software via FTP and voila, a blog.

With Blogger, you don't have to have your own domain. It lives at http://[yourblogname].blogspot.com.

I have one of each; each has its pros and cons, but each is the right tool for the situation.

good luck,
cspan