Blogging

Life. There's ALWAYS a choice

I decided to choose the right Blogging platform for me. I will post my initial impression and will follow up in a bit. So according to Lifehacker site, the 5 best platforms are:

1. Blogger. Web/Free. My site on Blogger. I opened a Blogger and right away, had problems with it, because I couldn't login for some reason(Maybe it's because I don't have a gmail account). After I "reset password" I proceeded to get into the "dashboard", and there was a big collection of blog templates (none of which I liked nonetheless). The basic templates were not very professional looking, even after I looked into "Business" backgrounds, I felt they were too busy, and the business templates from the previous versions of Blogger were gone. For some reason, the themes appear to be made to "look cute", and I don't want be cute. So I chose a plain, but seriously ugly one, with the black background - here you can see my non-cute Blogger web child in action! (There will be Adult Content warning before you enter the site, which I like). But don't let the initial ugliness scare you away. Editor in Blogger really rocks! To insert link, just click "Link" and the link magically appears. My text autosaves every few minutes, so I am not afraid to lose my text due to power loss, for example. Insert "Jump Break" -  I am guessing it's a "Read More" break. Neat! Overall, there's TONS of options in Blogger. So much to think about! I turn Comment Moderation on, to avoid spam, and I set Adult Content to On. (Who knows, I am an Adult after all). Let the bloggings begin.
2. Tumblr Web/Free. My site on Tumblr. One word: easy! I didn't feel lost, because the site kept taking me through steps of signup very quickly! I didn't see the templates yet, but the ones I was offered were paid content, so I opted out. The site looks clean and professional, so I continue on. OK, so one thing I am not sure with Tumblr is whether or not the text autosaves, similar to Blogger posts. I have just typed quite a bit of text, and I am starting to worry that all might be lost. So I quickly take precaution and save into text editor. Link has to be manually entered, and editor prompts me that HTTP will be added. "Read More" break is nice. Inserting Images - you need a URL, or go to Dashboard and click on Image or Video icons at the top menu.
3. Wordpress. Web/Free. My site on Wordpress. After I've signed up, I really needed to figure this site out! I think it's the least "intuitive" of the three I've tried so far - but it doesn't stop me. The default theme I was given looks good enough, but I see that there is a WEALTH of themes that are free, however I can't figure out how to activate them. There's no ACTIVATE or PICK button. Then I realize that I needed to login again! I am taken to "Dashboard" and here, options abound beyond belief. I realize that I am not in Kanzas anymore. People at Wordpress don't joke around! Just going to settings and my head begins to spin. First of all, the Stats for your site, is a mind blowing feature that I really like. You can post via email, or even text message. I finally get to Comment moderation, as I like to have as much control over my content as I can. Finally I make my very first post! It wasn't easy, but I did it. And if I could do it, so can you! 
4. Squarespace. Web/$8 a month. My Site on Squarespace There's an option to Try for Free, so I'm doing just that! Signup was a breeze, but I am given just 4 templates to choose from. To say I am disappointed, after visiting Wordpress site, is an understatement. But I am going along with it, because it's easy to use. I enable several Widgets for tag clouds, Search, and Journal by Month, - you must remember to click the Enable button or they won't work. I then switch to Post Moderation mode. It's really quick, there's Autosave, word count, and great Editor in place. I can't figure out where exactly do I type in Tags, but apparently you just double click black space above Tags, and type. I haven't yet configured Comment Moderation, and I can't figure out yet, how to remove "Entries by, your name here" text right below my header. Overall, I like Squarespace, but $8? There must be something I am to discover, yet. 
5. Posterous. Web/Free. My Site on Posterous. Posterous is very quick and it's also very stylish. OK, so after I sign up I see a Manage page, and I feel lost. What now? LOL. Just stay calm! Clicking on Posterous green tab does the trick. "Theming" is very scarce, and themes very much remind me ones I've seen in Blogger(my least favorite part of the Blogger). After fooling around with Posterous for a bit, I see that it's very straightforward, and I was able to set Comment moderation with ease. I however discovered a bug at Posterous, and that is when I click on Post at the top of the page(instead of going thru Manage page, which is Posterous' version of Dashboard), I get Outlook Setup window pop up on me!!! This was strange. Generally, I never click anything at the top - always use horisontal menus, and that keeps me out of trouble with Posterous. I was impressed how quickly I could insert tags, and insert Media through the menu/frame on the right. 
6.  Livejournal. Lifehacker didn't mention this site, but I decided to post Livejournal here as well. My Site on LJ. Livejournal is both Free or Paid (just $20/year). I get to try out for free for 20 days - so I sign up. There are many tabs, so I "explore" as LJ feels like it is community oriented. More to follow.