…apparently there must be many because this is the fifth class I have ever had to set up a blog for. INFO102 This one’s for you. (…not the blog-but the post!)
I’ve had previous accounts with LiveJournal (before they went all pricey) and with Blogger for other classes. Blogger was an account I held as an itsy-freshman in ’06.. and the site does not look like it’s changed much. This is actually the first WordPress I’ve had and I’ll be honest– it’s recycled. Opened this account for a class last year needed a new account this semester and deleted/ privatized old post. The set up was attractive clean and modern.
I’ve always wanted to adjust the html design of the various blogs I’ve had maybe with my new found html know-how this semester I’ll finally try that. Most Blog options allow you to fiddle with the html and design your own theme or alter pre-designed theme. Those who are not as serious about blogging just stick with the theme given to them. Also if your just being casual about blogging Blogger is a good option for google users because it can be connected to your gmail & igoogle for ease of access. LiveJournal I would have to say I don’t see an advantage to, they have mostly cartoony themes and for any good features you have to pay & then pay some more. WordPress has a lot of unique features I like (some of which I haven’t even taken advantage of yet) you can create polls, view stats, and as you can see on my blog specialize your theme without really trying.
* Corporate bloggers: o 69% are also personal bloggers o 65% are professional bloggers * Professional bloggers: o 59% are also personal bloggers o 17% are corporate bloggers
Issues in blogging… Well perhaps tweeting is taking some of th vanity out of it? People don’t hop on a blog to write a 200 word essay about their breakups as much anymore because they can tweet (as it’s happening if their whimsy little hearts desire) from their phone which. Or maybe the journal-Bloggers of the world haven’t gone anywhere but are (more likely) beginning to be dwarfed by other trends; which can be seen in the above bubble graph? Technorati in the annual ‘state of the bloggosphere‘ published (as far as I can tell) statistics which are given the most credence. Apparently our all-knowing Technorati sees Blogs as allowing small vocational business to become sustainable. Which I certainly see evidence of, with the economy down one can imagine why crafting might be up. What is a little disconcerting is the observation in the article that the old “Web log” is being meshed with such a commercial aspect both parts are beginning to be something new we don’t recognize. 
Well change is scary but Technorati has lots of comforting tables and charts for a different kind of safety in numbers, numbers that show blogging is becoming a lot more main stream. So with 5 school blogs in counting, this is a trend that looks like it will keep on.
