So You Want To Start A Blog?

For many people today the desire to start a blog and start blogging is akin to the 19th and 20th Century desires to keep a diary or daily journal. But where do you start? Blogging can take on many different forms and people start a blog for all different kinds of reasons. You may simply want to keep your friends and family informed of what is going on in your life, you may be passionate about a certain subject or topic and wish to chronicle what is happening in that arena, or you may just want to share some of your thoughts and ideas with the world.

Starting a blog is very easy today, the availability of cheap high-speed internet connections around the world mean that access to a blogging platform has never been easier. In fact, with the availability of wi-fi connections in public places like shopping malls or even coffee shops mean that you don't even need to be connected to the world-wide-web at home. If you choose to write your blog in an internet cafe, you don't even need to own a personal computer!

So you've decided you want to get started with blogging. First of all, take a look at some of the free blogging platforms out there, Blogger, Blogspot and WordPress all offer the option to start a blog with a quick registration form and one or two clicks. There's no need to spend money on webhosting nor have an understanding of FTP or other internet protocols, blogging is as simple as logging into your account and typing out your entry. A simple Google search should help you find what you're looking for in order to set up a blogging account with one of the free providers.

Once your blog is set up, you need to think of the purpose or the readership of your blog, in the introduction to this article, we looked at three scenarios: keeping in touch with friends and families, writing about your specific interests or simply sharing your own thoughts. Whatever you decide to blog about, you should remember that if your blog is open to the public, anybody in the world can read your words - some people find this exciting, some a little bit worrying. So decide what you want: a personal or private blog. If you're sharing information with friends and family, you may want to keep your blog private - within your admin panel for your blog you should have the option to set a password in order to access your blog. Many people like to use this option, particularly those who are living far away from their loved ones. It's a great way to stay in touch and share photos, videos etc.

When you've got your blog set up and any relevant privacy controls activated, it's time to begin writing. If you're looking for more tips or advice about blogging, a visit to a blogging forum like www.blogtwits.com is a great place to find out more information. Good luck with your new blog!

BlogTwits is a new forum to discuss all things blogging in the 21st Century, from beginners, to seo tips, to peer reviews BlogTwits will have something for you. Check out which themes people are liking right now, network with fellow bloggers find guest bloggers - we've got it all at http://www.blogtwits.com/