What is a Blog on the Best Blogging Platform You Ask?
Well, if you are asking what is a blog then you came to the right place since this is a blog. Yes, a blog is just an online log on the Web.
A blog is a Web log, which was mashed together to form the word “blog”.
Get it?
Pretty clever, huh?
When I first came across the idea of blogs, I thought they were just online diaries, but then eventually you saw the blogs that were geared towards one particular subject, like a special interest niche. You saw real life journalists who had their personal blogs talking about journalism and life stuff. Then you had the political blogs and the whole “armchair media” thing, which actually broke some political scandals that the entrenched media refused to explore but eventually picked up on since they couldn’t let these “pajama reporters” keep making them look so bad for refusing to report on obvious stuff.
Fast forward to today’s world, where pretty much most people understand what is a blog. They see foodie blogs, fashion blogs, photography blogs, artist blogs… you name it.
It’s hip to be a blogger.
Anyone can be a blogger.
Most people blog about their lives and turn blogs into online diaries. No one reads those, though.
You can certainly be a hobby blogger, but those who turn their blog into just some online diary of their daily lives… well… those blogs just sit there since who cares what you had for lunch one day or mused about some other day. The blogs are unfocused and run all over the place. Of course, it’s okay to have a few core themes and to branch out every now and again but keep your blog focused on a certain niche or special interest for it to be well indexed by the search engines and get regular internet traffic coming to it.
What is a blog except a digital platform to spread ideas about SOMETHING?
Whether enough people are directed to that something or care about that something is another thing entirely.
In your quest to learn what is a blog you should know what it entails beyond just typing out thoughts onto a screen.
Well, the blogging platform matters and many people know that since many want to know which is the best blogging platform to use.
Let me tell you about blogging platforms a bit.
Most people see that blogging is free on the many free platforms. Many people don’t realize that this isn’t the best choice for a serious blog. Sure, it’s okay for those who never want their blogging to go beyond broke hobby blogging. If all you want is an outlet to get your thoughts online and to occasionally point people to an article in order to make a point, then, by all means, use WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, etc. There’s a ton out there, but they are pretty strict about what you blog about. If you ever want a hint of turning your blog into an income generating enterprise, then only Blogger is set up for it, and it’s really just Google Adsense contextual ads that earn pennies for clicks from blog visitors.
It’s peanuts.
Whoa, you may be thinking. How’d this guy go from an intellectual discussion to making money blogging so fast?
Well, many people do wonder about that, but there are other reasons why you don’t want to plant your flag on one of those.
They can yank your account at any time.
They can delete your blog. Your thoughts. Your work.
Gone in an instant.
It can and has happened.
Don’t let it happen to you.
So what’s the alternative?
Hosting your own blog using WordPress on a web hosting account mapped to your own domain name.
That is a LOT for many people to bite off and chew.
It’s tough to host your own blog. It’s not so hard to pony up the cash and get the thing going, but there are ongoing security and maintenance which can be a nightmare to keep up with and maintain. So yeah, you need to know what is the best blogging platform for you.
That’s key, FOR YOU.
I can recommend to use the platform that I chose because it doesn’t cost much when you factor in all of the Terms of Service that you have to deal with with the free services vs the security and maintenance nightmares what you have to deal with when going the self-hosted blog route.
Let’s talk about the self-hosted option for a second.
I have several self-hosted blogs, and you have to really keep up with them. There are hacking crews out there who target entire network subnets looking for vulnerabilities. I have even had a blog of mine that was hijacked and they inserted their own spam code which directed viewers to their spam sites. It’s really bad stuff. The domain that that blog was on was actually blacklisted by Google and I had to wipe it clean, have Google open it up again, and then reinstall the blog and start anew.
My point is that hosting your own blog is great, but it’s a lot of work and if you aren’t up for dealing with security and other hosting concerns, like BACKUPS, then stay away from it.
So, in the quest to find the best blogging platform, I have told you about why you don’t want the freebie services and why the self-hosted route is a very rough road for those who maybe don’t have the intestinal fortitude or the time to deal with those demands.
The best of both worlds is a service that deals with all of those issues and keeps the blog running while also being agnostic if you choose to promote business offerings with your blog. Let’s face it, many people want to promote things like Amazon affiliate products, other affiliate services, or maybe point viewers to their CafePress or another quasi-commercial site in order to help pay for things.
So there are many things to consider when looking for the best blogging platform for you while you’re also really learning what is a blog.
I know that with proper consideration you’ll come to the right conclusion.
If you have any questions, feel free to message me below.
–Tom Connelly
