With the rise of the internet has come a new form of journalism and publishing: blogging. While in the past writers had to search out venues for publication with tiny audiences, blogs enable writers to put their work out in the way they see fit and generate an audience of potentially millions. Short for "weblog," blogs have transformed business, politics and culture as they have become must haves for every candidate for public office, company promoting its products and celebrities or athletes looking to communicate with their fans. In order to help these and other aspiring bloggers set up their site, a number of companies offer software to easily design and maintain a blog. Comparison shopping can make the difference between something bland and something exciting.

In the early days of blogging writers had to have a working familiarity with web development to get their site up and running. In 1999 this changed with the introduction of Blogger. Offering a number of ready-made templates and now owned by Google, Blogger is still one of the web's most popular hosts for people looking to self-publish online. It is also easy to turn your Blogger page into a money-making venture as you can click a button and Google will host ads on your page, giving you a cut of any clicks generated. Perhaps the software's biggest drawback is that unless you put up a simple bit of script a distracting toolbar will be put at the top of your page leading viewers away to other Blogger sites.

While major media outlets are still a bit uneasy about blogging, many of those that do host their own-including MSNBC and Sky News-use TypePad. Based on the powerful Moveable Type technology, TypePad blogs are frequently some of the best looking on the web. Less paint by numbers than Blogger, TypePad is still easy to use but offers even more room for the experienced developer to stretch their legs. TypePad is also probably among the best blog hosting platforms for multi-author blogs, a feature which recommends it over Blogger. Still, TypePad is not available for free and you are required to receive commercial emails from Six Apart (TypePad's parent company) in order to register for the service.

While many blogs seek to comment on the world or specific fields in the same way traditional publications always have, other bloggers use their site as a sort of public diary, updating their friends and loved ones about what is going on in their life. For this LiveJournal is the most popular platform. Available for free (now, it used to require either an invite code or payment) with some paid levels available, LiveJournal (or LJ) also offers social networking features. Great for the amateur blogger looking to let friends know what they are up to and how they are feeling, LJ is also used by more traditional, journalistic blog writers. One downside to LJ is that its free packages now host ads, despite the fact they had formerly promised to keep the service "ad free."

Blogging is changing the face of writing and journalism as we've known it. Google's Blogger, TypePad and LiveJournal are all different and each is great in its own way. Whichever you choose, the power to put out your words can be empowering and fun.