How to set up a blog
Blogging has become known as "Social Computing" and we have all kinds of pundits telling us what it is and how it works. We even have companies like Forrester trying to sell us research papers on the subject.
The best advice? Just do it! It's not expensive, and you don't need a degree in computer science.
A blog is nothing more than an online bulletin board where you post a running list of journal entries or other public information (usually organized by date) for the world to see.
Blogging involves more than posting opinions on the latest movie, however. It's also an exercise in creativity. People like to choose the color and format of their blog's pages (blue is the new yellow). There are many impressive designs out there.
Companies are starting to maintain blogs, too. This, I think, is like playing pop music in the lobby – pandering to a popular trend thinking they will "connect" with their customers. But do people really want to read a bunch of propaganda from Coca Cola or McDonald's? Once a blog becomes a commercial enterprise (or someone decides to "monitize" their site) you can be sure the content is being controlled by its sponsors.
There are also "community blogs" where any number of people can log in and post updates to church events or the latest pot luck menu.
Independent journalists are big bloggers. The rise of independent journalism is one of the great things about the Internet. I'm not as optimistic as others are about the durability of free speech, however, and I expect the government to put the quabash on this sooner or later (in the name of protecting children, of course).
There are two basic options for getting started: 1) you can sign up with an online blog service that gives you some online space, like renting a free apartment, or 2) you can purchase a web hosting package and build your own palace on a 30-gigabyte estate.
If you can afford about $9.00/month, you can be a webmaster and run your own show. It's not difficult, but you'll need to learn a few technical terms (like "syndication").
As for blogging software packages, there are several. Your choice will depend largely upon what kind of hosting package you have – a Linux web server or a Windows web server.
Linux hosting packages are usually cheaper and are more commonly used for blogging. Windows web servers with Microsoft's new ASP.NET are very powerful and good for stuff like web portals, web services, web commerce, web this and web that.
The main contenders for Linux platform blogging software are WordPress and MovableType (some will suggest others and I'm sure I'll get some email from folks pointing this out).
Wordpress (WP) is free and open source, but you have to purchase MovableType (MT). I'm a software developer, so I like software you have to pay for. On the other hand, MovableType thought they could invent their own spelling (dropping an 'e'), which – because I like proper spelling and grammar – makes me want to send them an email virus that secretly corrects spelling errors.
I've used both WP and MT and have good things to say about both. My feeling is that because you have to pay for MT (meaning you have someone to call when it breaks), more companies will be using it, while WP will remain a popular favorite among individuals, especially those who want to extend the functionality of their blogs by modifying the underlying source code.
Let's get started. Choose your weapon and use one of the following tutorials to guide you through the installation:
Example WordPress installation
Simplified MovableType installation instructions