Out there on the Web, literally hundreds of millions of blogs are vying for attention, with about 150,000 new blogs created every day. If you decide to start up a blog, you will not be alone. For every interesting, literate blog, there are thousands of abandoned, boring, trivial, and pointless blogs. The thing that people seem to forget amidst the "cool new idea" of blogging is that a blog requires you to put something in it. If you hate to write, or think you’ll run out of things to say, don’t bother starting a blog.
If you decide to forge ahead into the world of blogging, you have two primary approaches a) hosted b) software. Hosted or Web-based blogs are located on a server somewhere that you log into. Blogger, for example, is owned by Google. You get online, log into their server, set up the blog layout, and post your entries. Your blog address (URL) will be something like myblog.blogspot.com.
With the software approach, you download blogging software and put it on your own server or hosting account. Many hosting accounts now come with "push-button installation" of blog software such as WordPress. With this approach, it’s often easier use your own domain for your blog.
With the software approach you generally also have more freedom to design the look of your blog. Most blogs basically place your text on a design template. To change how it looks, you need to modify the template. In the blogging world, these designs are often called "skins" or themes. You can do a search and find literally thousands of skins that can be used with the various blogging software products. Just type in the name of the software and the word "skins," "templates" or "themes" and look around. However, with that said, changing your blog template to look the way you want requires reading the instructions and often involves knowing at least a little bit of HTML. (As a bit of a control freak, it took me ages to customize the theme for our blog so it looks more or less the way I want.)
Once the blog is set up, adding new entries is easy. You log into your blog, and click the link for adding a new post. Type the subject in the first field and then add your peerless prose. Most blogs have a toolbar with buttons, so you can format your text and add links or pictures. Again, you’ll need to consult the help to find out exactly how it works with your blog software. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find it’s easy to share your thoughts with the online world.