Weblogs, or "blogs" (as they are commonly called) can be excellent ways by which _anyone_
can publish his or her thoughts for the world to see. Previously, self-publishing, even on the web,
involved costs that many would-be amateur publishers were not willing to front. For example,
amateur publishing required that users pay for a web hosting server, a web design, and a domain
name.

Now, however, in the advent of free blogging platforms, anyone can publish a blog for free and
with minimal setup time. There are three main blogging platforms: Wordpress, Blogger, and
Tumblr. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is worth taking a look at each
one to explore the advantages and disadvantages in picking one over another. While this is by
no means a complete list, these are the three biggest players in the online self-publishing and
blogging spheres.

Wordpress

[Wordpress][1] has come a long way in the past decade. It has grown from a pet side project
to become the most popular blogging platform in the world in a matter of years. Users love
its customizability, simplicity, and included templates. You can sign up for a free Wordpress
account at Wordpress.com. From there, choose your new blog's name and follow the simple
instructions to start writing (and posting) your first blog post.

Wordpress has a large community infrastructure in place on Wordpress.com, and the open source
code of the blogging platform is available at Wordpress.org. Wordpress is unequivocally the
most *mature* blogging platform, although it is by no means necessarily the *best* blogging
platform.

Blogger

[Blogger][2], another incredibly popular blogging platform, is owned by Google, and thus
offers the benefit of having Google's incredibly robust infrastructure behind it. While not nearly
as customizable as Wordpress, Blogger is easier to use and is the best blogging platform for
beginners.

However, users who want more customizability will likely be disappointed with what Blogger
has to offer. Blogger is limited, and is more well-suited for beginners

Tumblr

In a sense, [Tumblr][3] is the new kid on the block, as it has only been around since 2007. Just
as with Wordpress and Blogger, Tumblr is free to use. It also adds the tertiary benefit of a social
network, similar to Facebook. Tumblr's strength lies in its different _types_ of posts. Want to
share a fun video with your friends? Select "Video" when making a post. Hear an inspiring quote
and want to share it? Select "Quote" instead.

Tumblr is currently the fastest growing of the three blogging platforms featured here, and
with good reason; it strikes the perfect balance of simplicity _and_ flexibility for users of all
skill levels. However, many users who have used all three have cited the fact that TumblrГ•s
increasing levels of downtime have been frustrating. Since Tumblr does not offer the option to
host your own blog, this could be a deal breaker for many who value high levels of uptime. For
those bloggers, a self-hosted Wordpress blog might be the best option.