Blogger vs Wordpress - The Search for the Best Blogging Platform - Part 1 - Introduction

I woke up one morning with this crazy idea in my head. I wanted to blog. Maybe it's because of some weird dream I must have had that I just could not remember or because I realized that everybody's doing it and it is something big. Whatever the reason might had been, I wanted in!

First Encounter with Blogging Platforms

After packing up, I prepared myself to commence my journey to this wonderful place they call the blogosphere. But not so far from whence I started, I found my way blocked by a monster of a question not unlike the mythical sphinx of old.

The path beyond is hazy and unclear and to make further progress, I needed to answer the riddle: What blogging platform to use? Simple, I said. I wield a weapon so powerful that the greatest of swords in the legends would pale in comparison to it in vanquishing this monster.

I whipped out my trusty laptop; its keys, polished through constant use, shone with the sun at meridian. Lucky for me, there was wi–fi. I did not wait a millisecond more; I immediately pounded at the keyboard and found myself in Google's search page not a moment later. I typed in my search terms (using quotes, operators, parentheses, and all other tricks I can think of) and pressed Enter, as I said: Take that!.

What Platform to Choose?

I expected a definitive answer so that I could deal with this monster once and for all and be already on my way. What I got, however, was not what I expected. A definitive answer, I did not get. Some said Blogger, others said Wordpress, and more than a few said Typepad. There were also these hosted and nonhosted varieties. What's worse is that this Wordpress thing refers to two completely different beasts and sometimes, I got directed to pages which does not specify the platform they are referring to.

If you think this confusion regarding the two flavors of Wordpress is merely academic, Daniel Smith of smithereensblog.blogspot.com will tell you otherwise. In one of his posts, he relates how he registered with the wrong service. He thought that this was the Wordpress version he had been hearing great things about. Daniel said: What I didn't know, however, was that all of those rave Wordpress reviews I had read MUST have been talking about the fully customizable, downloadable product for hosting on one's own domain, available at Wordpress.ORG, because they certainly couldn't have been talking about its crippled little brother over at Wordpress.com.. He is also one of the few who moved from Wordpress to Blogger—or make that Wordpress.com to Blogger.

Then I Chose Blogger

It was not an easy question to tackle as it seemed to be at first. While I got through that one (obviously; otherwise, I wouldn't be here telling my tale.), it took a lot of searching, grappling, and re–searching. Hence, I resolved to document my findings and share it in this series of posts in the hope of helping others who might, one day, pass through the same path that I have just traveled and where the monster lies in wait. By the way, the answer, for me, is Blogger. In my next post, I will expound why I chose Blogger.