Step-By-Step Guide to Setting Up a Blog on Blogger.com

Blogs have become very popular in recent years, but in reality a blog isn't anything more than an easy way of getting your work up on the internet in manner that's pleasant to both read and write. Some people make personal blogs, telling people about their everyday lives, and others are more focused on specific business or lifestyle categories.

One of the easiest ways to make a blog is through Blogger, the website that's been said to have started the trend. Setting a blog up can be done in under a minute, and you can be posting on it in no time. Here's a step-by-step guide to get you going: 1. Go to http://www.blogger.com. At the main page, click on "create your blog now." Google recently acquired Blogger, so if you already have a Google account it will use your gmail name. If you don't have a Google account, you can always get one. Read the terms of service (or at least pretend to, we all know we tend to skim through these things) and check the box that says you agree with them. Save your username and password somewhere safe in case you forget it and click "continue". If the username is taken, Blogger will let you know and offer alternatives.

Choose a blog title and address. Keep it as simple as possible, so people will actually want to read your blog and not have to type in "myuberextraultrahyperbloggification-eleventyone.blogspot.com". Type in the word verification box so Blogger knows you aren't some computer program. Find a template you want (I happen to like Minima Black myself, but you'll also have more choices after you sign up.) Wait a minute; you should see a page that tells you that your blog was just created. 2. Start posting in your blog. You can set up a profile immediately, or wait for a while. Write a title for each blog entry, type in the labeled box, and utilize your editing tools to get your blog looking the way you want it to. When you're ready to publish, just click the button that says "publish post." You can also start your post and save it for later, clicking "save as draft". Once you click to publish, Blogger takes it from there and puts your entry on your blog page. You can now click "view blog" to see your handiwork. 3. Check out the different options for your blog and make it more customized. Here are a few suggestions:

If you find that your blog is a victim of comment spam, go to your Dashboard and click on Settings. Under that, you'll see a button called Comments; click on it. Under the "who can comment" section, change the setting to "Only Registered Users". Yes, this limits the ability of passerbys to comment, but it will immediately stop your spam problem. Also change your setting to "yes" for word verification. This will give an added security measure to prevent automatic spamming.

There's also a number of things you can do to customize your blog. Link to other blogs, add pictures to your blogs, put an RSS feed on it for others to subscribe to, and so forth. You can put a picture on your profile, but you need to upload it and put it in an entry on your blog first. (Confusing? It was for me too-look under the help section of Blogger for more info.)

And most importantly, don't forget to have fun. It's your blog, after all-people will be able to tell when you enjoy posting in it.