There are two main ways to create your own blog. One is by using a “hosted” service such as Wordpress.com and Blogger.com. These two services allow anyone to created a free blog on their website. The instructions are pretty easy to follow. If you want more control over your blog such as changing out the theme (design) you can buy a web hosting account and set up your own blogging software online. Many web hosts now have easily installable scripts you can plug in to your hosting account. This is done by using the script installer which comes with your hosting account. Two popular types of Script installers are the Elefante installer and the Fantasico installer. The hosting accounts come with instructions for installing these scripts. Once you are signed up for a new hosting account, just login to your hosting control panel and go to the appropriate section. It is normally just a matter of reading the directions and clicking with your mouse. Most of the popular script installers come with the WordPress Blogging software which is, in my opinion, the easiest blogging software to use. If you run into problems installing the scripts, you can get help from your hosting provider.

Information on the WordPress system can be found at www.wordpress.org.

The word “blog” is a contraction for the word “weblog” and started out basically as an online journal. It is website software which means you can create and edit web pages (blog posts) online through your browser window. When you create a new post it lists it in reverse chronological order with the newest addition at the top of the page. There are now so many blogs online, a new word has been created called the blogosphere to refer to the blogs on the Internet. There are free websites where you can create your own blog the most popular ones being blogger.com and Wordpress.com. If you want more latitude in your blogging, purchasing a low cost hosting account and your own domain name is even better.

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