Blogging!

Several people have asked me how to start a blog. It’s pretty easy to do — you’ll need blog software and a server to host your blog on. Usually you don’t have to install anything on your computer at home, you just need a web browser to access the blog software. The server has the blog engine and a database. Here’s some options:

• I use WordPress software, which is free (open source) software running on a Linux server. In order to use WordPress, you’ll need to check with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) if they will support it. There are many sites hosting WordPress blogs nowdays — some are free and some have a small fee. You might have to know a little more about what you’re doing to use WordPress — this will depend on the hosting service that you choose.
• Many people use TypePad. It has three pricing levels, and a free trial. You can just sign up and go!
• Blogger is another blog hosting service — it is free and has been around for 5 years. This is another one where you can just sign up and go.

Blogging has been tons of fun for me! I’ve enjoyed getting emails and comments from everyone! It’s a great way to share pictures with family and friends. If you setup a blog, drop me a comment and let me know! And if you’d like to share your blog experiences drop them off here too!

One note of caution — spammers find blogs pretty easily, so it’s a good idea to have your blog setup so that comments require approval. This way you don’t get unwanted spam advertising showing up in your blog comments! Note that it’s not enough to require an account in order to add a comment, as spammers have figured out a way to automatically sign up for accounts.