Use the blogging platform that you will actually use to blog.
With all of today’s blogging platforms, ranging from the level of “So simple my dog could use it,” to “For advanced Linux users only,” there’s a blog platform for everyone. I don’t really judge what blog platform you use, but I will judge you if you don’t blog with any sense of regularity. I want to read awesome content regularly, regardless of the medium.
So try lots of different blog software. Find which platforms you like and which ones you hate. Compare features. See which software you can use to get the blog looking nice and which ones make you want to stab your computer with a pitchfork.
When you find the blog software you love, or the one that causes the least amount of physical pain, and use it. Love it. Make awesome content.
If you’re writing well, your readers won’t care what’s behind the scenes.
Ya, ya… but I’m afraid to change or experiment as I know so little about all these things. I started with Blogger and I don’t dare try anything else. Maybe when I really get comfortable with that, then I’ll experiment. I would love to, but don’t want to waste time on the technicalities at the expense of the writing. Will let you know if/when I do switch and why…
Use what’s comfortable and works for you. If it starts to suck, you can always shop around and no harm done.
So true! One of my favorite now-defunct blogs used blogspot and had a name that didn’t indicate what it was about (design), but it was well-written and the author posted regularly. When she posted her farewell entry she had about 200 comments from people asking her to stay.
Exactly. Content and readability are king. Everything else is secondary.
I’ve used both Blogger and WordPress.com and now use self-hosted WordPress and frankly they all did what I wanted. I’ve toyed with Tumblr and Posterous too but need something more full featured.
Frankly, the’re all simple enough that autistic monkeys can use them so I agree with your suggestion to just go with what feels good to you. For the truly non-technical user it can come down to something as simple as what kind of free themes are available on each and which one appeals to you.
Exactly! It’s all about what you can get to do what you wan quickly.
This needs to be caveated with “except Typepad.”
I’ve never used it as a writer, but I hate Typepad blogs as a reader. The layouts are clunky and cluttered. The commenting system sucks. They’re just awful.
I have never used Typepad. I know nothing about it, and I know no one who uses it.
To Quote you “When you find the blog software you love, or the one that causes the least amount of physical pain, and use it. Love it. Make awesome content.’
If the content is awesome who cares what the platform is.
Getting cheap in my old age I like the features or lack thereof of Posterous, the ability to autopost and get snippets of anything on the web make it a great light adventure in blogging.
tumblr is cool but not my demo…
I like that you mentioned the lack of features at Posterous - it’s a huge part of what makes it so awesome. One of the worst things they did was add themes. I liked it better when it was plain and clean.
People are afraid of trying out a variety of things, which is why there are so many posts and blogs about which platform is THE BEST.
Personally, I recommend based on my experiences and what they want to do with it, but in the end, I say, “try them all out”.
Nothing wrong with shopping around.
Exactly. If you hate one, you can always use another.
I don’t think it’s really that simple, Morgan and Jay. Many blogging platforms make it quite difficult to get your information back out, short of copying and pasting each post individually.
WordPress and Blogger both have a handy and universally accepted import/export function on your stuff. Typepad is notoriously difficult to remove your stuff from. And Last time I checked Posterous, they don’t offer the option either (that may have changed, I’m not sure).
So while “try them all” sounds great, a lot of people don’t want to road test each blogging platform. They just want a recommendation, a quick explanation why, and want to move on with their life.
Do you recommend hosted or self-hosted napkins? I’m partial to Bounce, but I hear Kleenex is good too.
I prefer handkerchiefs. Not only are they self-hosted, but they are also quite durable, as opposed to the quick, throwaway kind.
I enjoy using Blogger and WordPress. I know too many people who have had problems with Tumblr. I haven’t used Posterous at all.
Yeah, Tumblr is easy to use, but has reliability problems.
Look at the fine print of any free blogging service even WordPress and Blogger. If you do want to “own” your content and who doesn’t? many of these free platforms claim ownership of your content in exchange for the free service. Therefore if that is an issue you should look a hosting it yourself with your own domain.
The other issue to to consider what you want to add on to your blog down the road even though you may not start with it. If you want to have the ability for others to login and post content or upload there can be issues with free hosting platforms.