Chapter 12. How to Make Your Own Blog

If you haven't yet, why wait? Create a blog now and start blogging. Post an idea or opinion at noon and then post another 5 minutes later. Continue as much as you want or until you're worn out.

The beauty of blogs is that they are an extension of you. Specifically, blogs are an extension of every interest, idea, and opinion you can think of. Blogs help you articulate your ideas. The more you post, the better blogger you will become. So what are you waiting for? Create a blog now if you haven't already and start blogging.

Blogs are meant to be easy to create and maintain. In fact, creating blogs is so easy that a "how-to" chapter really isn't necessary. What would help, however, is to know which blog hosts are out there, and what features they provide. This chapter shows you the best blog hosts and introduces you to new features bloggers leverage every day. Features that include

• Organizing blog posts by category

• Creating a blogroll

• Managing comments

• Avoiding spam

• Using counters

• Setting notifications

• Snooping on readers

Before the who, what, and why, this chapter starts with where you can build your blog. Fortunately, the choices are numerous. And what's so amazing is the services are free.