Free Blogging Software

Teens have been keeping journals probably as long as people have been writing. But with the ubiquity of computers and internet access coupled with the human need to connect, public online journals, or blogs, have exploded in the past decade and teens are leading the charge. According to a 2007 Pew Internet and American Life project study, 28% of teens 12-17 write their own blogs, more than any other age group. Seven in ten (70%) social networking teens report reading the blogs of others, and three in four social networking teens (76%) have posted comments to a friend’s blog on a social networking site. For such a popular form of communication, it’s crucial for librarians to become familiar with some of the common free blogging sites for their own use and to recommend to teens.

Blogger
Online since: 1999 and owned by Google since 2003
Alexa U.S. Ranking: 11
URL: yourname.blogspot.com or host on your own domain
Advantages: Uses Google log-ins, so no need to create a separate account; customizable templates, drag and drop layout editor, and ability to write your own code; readers can “follow” your blog, allowing them to read posts from their own Blogger dashboard or Google Reader, which is a great way to attract, retain, and connect with readers

Wordpress
Online since: 2000
Alexa U.S. Ranking: 19
URL: yourname.wordpress.com
Advantages: Lots of free themes, many very professional-looking; large catalog of sidebar widgets; 3GB of free photo storage; integrated stats system
Drawbacks: Full customization only available for a fee; occasionally displays ads

Livejournal
Online since: 1999
Alexa U.S. Ranking: 58
URL: yourname.livejournal.com
Advantages: A strong sense of community with both personal and group journals; multiple levels of privacy available using user-created friend groups; easily follow other Livejournal blogs via your friends page
Drawbacks: Many advanced features like full layout customization, polls, domain name forwarding, and photo storage are only available with paid accounts or by allowing ads on your journal

Tumblr
Online since: 2007
Alexa U.S. Ranking: 178
URL: yourname.tumblr.com
Advantages: Web 2.0 design with really simple account sign-up and user-friendly content posting; encourages multimedia posts; promotes sharing of content with its reblog feature; extensive free theme community; full customization; ability to follow other Tumblrs
Drawbacks: Relatively new, so not as large of a community; skews to the 20-something hipster set

Of course, both Facebook and MySpace integrate blogging features into their user interfaces, so one of those may be the best option for those who are already entrenched in those sites. However, they lack a lot of the customization and interaction features of the standalone blogging sites.

September 1st, 2009  ♥  Technology  ♥  No Comments »