Pandora's Box

Now I’ve done it. What started as a simple desire to start journaling again has turned into a huge quest to find THE very best venue for the task. I’m now simultaneously on three sites - Blogger.com, Multiply.com and Wordpress.com. Talk about time consuming! They are all good in their own way, and I would say each one is best in something. So because I know that journaling helps me sort out my thoughts, blog hosting is the subject of today’s post. Kinda boring, so if you're not interested in reading about the pros and cons of three blogging platforms, skip this post ;).


What are my blogging objectives?

• reflection
• venting
• release creative energy
• have photos & videos available
• have links to others’ blogs

Who is my audience? Who am I blogging for?

• mainly myself.
• my family (that’s why multiply.com appeals to me. It is a social networking tool, but prettier than myspace.)
• other people going through the same stuff or just interested in reading.

What do I like about each service?

BLOGGER.COM

• easy to have multiple separate blogs.
• nice backgrounds and each blog can use different templates.
• easy to type lists of anything in the sidebar.
• saves drafts automatically.
• easy to add video from youtube.
• no ads unless I choose.

MULTIPLY.COM

• social networking
• has a place for photo albums
• has a place for lists of videos
• CON - only one blog
• CON - ads
• CON - can’t customize the header

WORDPRESS.COM

• CON - few templates in free account
• CON - to me, it’s not as user-friendly as blogger.com
• one blog, but I can add pages, which I guess could be separate blogs
• easy to add video from youtube
• easy to add photos
• no ads
• save drafts automatically
• CON - seems to have a limit on photo storage before I need to purchase more.

Well, I guess I’m sticking with blogger.com. If I keep my multiply site, I can link to my blogger.com site from there, but it won’t be my main blog. I need multi-blogs. I like WordPress, but I find blogger a bit easier to use. I hear wordpress is the wave of the future, but I’m just not ready for it. For instance, at one point, I recall seeing a link to add a blog to my account. But for the life of me, I can’t find that link anymore. I even went into their faqs. No matter, I’ll stick with blogger for now.

A hui hou,
Lisa