[MW Forums]

Different blogging services have different strengths. So it makes sense to choose the one that works best for the type of content you’re creating. While some services offer pure ease of use, others are geared toward business blogs or social networks. Here’s a taste of what’s out there. more

[edunaway]

The main problem with all of these services is what happens to your blog if these companies go out of business? Or whoops, the server crashed and we lost everything? What if you are dissatisfied with the service and want to change providers?
I have started dabbling with blogging but I am using Sandvox because I can publish to any hosting provider I want and use my own domain. Rapidweaver can also create blogs and I'm sure there are plenty of other software tools for this.
-eric

[mwheeler]

Why no mention of .Mac and iWeb?

[bigpics]

Quote:

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Why no mention of .Mac and iWeb?

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Because you CAN blog on your iWeb web page (wherever it's posted), but iWeb is a web page builder and only very secondarily a blogging tool?
I.e., iWeb's more to be compared to RapidWeaver, Sandvox, Dreamweaver, et al.
Meanwhile, Fake Steve Jobs blog is a blogspot.com production with a stock-looking template (there's some diff between Blogger and Blogspot, but my understanding is they are -- or were -- about the same thing?). Very low tech for the fake CEO of the world's most famous non-existent tech company. And often wicked funny if you haven't checked FSJ's ramblings out..... ....one of my best sources of Apple non-news.

[GeeJay]

One solution which is very innovative and (oddly) does not get a mention in the article is www.squarespace.com

I have selected it after making a lot of research and I have to admit that it still baffles me why anyone would choose TypePad or hosted WordPress solution over SquareSpace. Sure, they are better known, and have a bigger user base, but do not compare very favorably if you do a feature-by-feature comparison, including the cost (in TypePad's case). For people who need multiple blogs, or those who need to combine a blog with extensive information located on static pages that change only infrequently, it's a perfect solution. Even static, extensive pages, can be edited online, from anywhere. Squarespace supports all the standard advanced blogging features (from enclosures/podcasting to moblogging, including images), and offers an intuitive, navigational structure that is hard to match. For someone who needs more than just a single blog (a website with multiple blogs, pages, photo galleries, etc.) it is an option definitely worth checking out.

I have no affiliation with the company, and the only reason I write this, is simply because I have been very satisfied with the service, and found it surprising that such an innovative and feature-rich solution would not even get a short mention in the article. Feel free to check out my personal squarespace-hosted blog at www.42itous.com
SquareSpace also offers a free trial on their website.

[RonCastry]

I agree that that is a problem. Personally, that is one of my fears. I use WordPress for my blog, but I do keep several backups of the installer, my back-end database, and even the export file that WordPress lets you create.
In case of a crash, I intend to take advantage of Blogger's import from WordPress feature. I'll upload the WordPress export file into Blogger, publish it to the flat HTML files that Blogger lets you create for publication on your own FTP-able site, then NEVER trust complex software again.

[LisaPS]

I found this article to be misleading on a few points. First, the author didn't explain the difference between a WordPress.org hosted solution and the WordPress.com locally installed version. To make a valid comparison, the .ORG hosted solution is best compared to Blogspot -- which is the same as Blogger, it's just "blogspot" is the name of the server where they install the subdomains.
Both are free and both are run as part of a blogging network. You have some limited access to customization, but you don't have to be concerned with backing up your own site or upgrading the software.
The .COM locally installed version of WordPress is also absolutely free. The advantage of TypePad certainly is a level of tech support you don't get with a locally installed version of WordPress, but there is a very active WordPress user community whose forums can solve most problems.
Second, the author says that "... for $10 a year, you can even publish your WordPress blog to your own domain." If you already have a web host, you can download WordPress for free and install it. Your web host might even already offer a script to install it as part of your plan with them. Many web hosts do. You don't have to pay anything to get a full-functioning version of WordPress on your very own server.
Third, when talking about TypePad, this article implies that much of the same functionality isn't also available on WordPress. For instance, "[O]ne feature that makes TypePad ideal for businesses is that it lets you set up static pagesfor example, a home page or a bio pagewith designs that match your blogs theme."
You can definitely have static pages in WordPress. You can also set one of those pages as your homepage with one click. I've set up about 10 sites now using WordPress as a content management system, not just a blog, and I've found it to be pretty flexible. And, oh yeah, it's free. When you're on a budget that's vitally important.
"Meanwhile, you get incredible control over your blogs layout; for instance, you can set the number of columns, specify whether your sidebar is on the left or right, and more."
Again, this is not unique to TypePad. WordPress does this too. If you know HTML, CSS and few PHP template tags you can practically do anything you want.
"TypePads protection against comment spam goes beyond the capabilities of Blogger and WordPress. For instance, you can restrict comments to authenticated users, or require that people type in a code, which ensures that a human being and not a computer program is doing the commenting. You can also ban commenters and report spammers to TypePad to help weed those users out."
Again, you can do all of this with WordPress. So far, the only advantage to TypePad over WordPress that I'm getting out of this article is the paid tech support.

[sadex76]

I have tried dozens of solutions out and must agree that Squarespace is one of the most elegant ones. The included templatesare beautiful, their customization is simple, and the whole backend is impressively intuitive.
PAGES: Standalone pages, which the author seems to give Typepad credit for, were included in Wordpress way before they were included in Typepad... that is one of the reasons I switched from Typepad to Wordpress at one point.
WORDPRESS: Open community with wide ranging interests are the main support staple of this platform which comes in both hosted and non-hosted flavors, both free. Most webhosts have on click install of this system on your blog. Both are a bit geekier than the other platforms and may require a little extra knowledge of some technical areas.
SQUARESPACE: One of the newer kids in the block and that is maybe what makes handling it so different and fresh.
SECURITY: I understand how some people get nervous about losing content but let's be realistic. The data centers where these blogs are hosted are many times more secure than your little laptop or your little USB disk. These are more prone to damage and theft than a multimillion dollar datacenter. Even the smaller platforms like Squarespace or Wordpress.org have backup systems in different cities to avoid major catastrophes.
With so many systems out there it is very odd to me that out of the very very few mentioned, TWO belong to SixApart, probably the wealthiest of bloggin companies. Did someone get a free trip to Paris?