The View From Here: Blog Platforms

It’s practically the middle of July, which means it’s HOT here in Texas, and we are surviving with lots of time in the shade.  Thankfully, a “cool front” blew through and the temperature is lower today, hovering in the low 90s.  It’s the little things that count this time of year!

Today’s question is: Why Do You Use Your Specific Blog Platform?  Have You Used Others?

I’ve talked about this in the past, and I originally began my blog on Blogger, a simple, easy-to-use infrastructure.  Then I took a blogging class last summer, and for my birthday, Ryan surprised me with my own domain and self-hosting at WordPress.  (Just an aside, but WordPress.org is self-hosted, meaning you pay to run it, while WordPress.com is free and cannot be monetized.)  So basically, I was lovingly forced by my husband to move platforms, and while it was scary and frustrating, it’s one of the best things I ever did!

That move marked my transformation from someone who occasionally posted about random topics to a committed blogger with more purpose and drive.  It wasn’t so much the change in platform as the move itself that really changed my blog and my life, but it was the start of an amazing journey that I’ve been on ever since, and I’m still going strong.

I realize the whole Blogger versus WordPress issue is controversial, and I’ve seen many forums and online discussions debate the merits of each platform.  As a user of both, I can tell you that both Blogger and WordPress are excellent and provide different tools to help maintain your blog.  For me, Blogger was a great way to get my feet wet with the behind the scenes aspects of blogging, and once I mastered those, it felt like a natural progression to move to WordPress, which has a steeper learning curve.  I enjoy that aspect of blogging as much as the writing, which surprised me, at first.  But there’s a definite sense of satisfaction when I find the right snippet of code to fix a problem or add a new feature, and though I’m married to a computer geek (it’s okay for me to say that since he basically threw me off a blogging cliff!), I never took myself for one.

But, it turns out, I am!  I’m such a blogging nerd, and I enjoy other aspects, too, like photography and graphic design.  All of these skills come into play with blogging, and for me, WordPress provides more creative opportunities.  I’m so thrilled I took the leap when it was offered, and I plan to stay here forever.

If you’re a blogger, feel free to share your experiences with your platform, too.  You know I find this stuff fascinating, and I can’t wait to hear how Shayla responds, because she’s been blogging much longer than I have.