Blogging has become a near way of life for me. I blog for work, I blog for fun, I blog for class...blogs are taking over my life!

But, you know what? I don't mind. It's fun, easy and is a great outlet for whatever you're thinking or doing at the moment. It's much simpler than keeping a written journal (trust me) and can be really beneficial in more ways than just the fun aspect. Some people get paid to blog, some people make friends by blogging, while others learn more about the world around them through their own blog.

If you are interested in starting your own blog, here are some great places to start.

Livejournal is a good place for amateur bloggers to start. It's network-oriented, so it's easy to find other users with similar interests to yours. You can make friends easily, keep up to their most recent postings and even join groups to support your favorite sports team, celebrity, movie or book. You can edit the way your blog looks easily with free templates, so you can look like you know what you're doing without having to actually know coding or HTML.

Blogger is the current gold standard for free blogging platforms. It's now coupled with your Google account, so you can log into Blogger using your Gmail name and password. Blogger is super-simple, has lots of template options and is used widely by a wide range of people. This blog, in fact, is run on Blogger.

Tumblr is the platform I use for my personal blog. Tumble blogging is a more recent blogging phenomenon, and it is best compared to scrapbooking. Instead of long, intense postings, you post snippets of your life, or re-blog things that other Tumblr users have posted that you find interesting. It's great for photos, links or quotes that you want to jot down in a hurry.

All of these blogging websites are free to use (Livejournal has premium accounts you can pay to use, with special features and options), and all are easily customizable.

I can't wait to see your new blog...let me know the link when you get up and running!

Labels: Jaclyn Wile, student blog