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A Small Selection of Weblog Software, RSS News Readers, and Blog Hosts
- Blog-City -- Free integrated blog
software and hosting. An alternative to Blogger for those that want to try blogging.
- bloghosts -- Offers inexpensive rates
for hosting blogs and provides a GUI-based interface for installing various
applications such as Movable Type, WordPress, and Drupal.
- Blogger -- Established in 1999, Blogger is largely responsible for opening blogging to everyone. Still probably the most popular weblog software
for beginners or those interested in experimenting with weblogs, Blogger offers
free hosting. No installation required. However, Blogger lacks some of the features available with other
weblog packages and many serious bloggers quickly outgrow it.
- Bloglines -- A web-based RSS
news reader service. Registration is free.
- Drupal -- Drupal is best described as a full-featured
content management system/portal that can be configured for a wide variety of website
configurations. Can be used for an individual weblog (this
site), a community weblog (see Kairosnews),
or online course site with community posting and individual weblog space (see
Terra William's Online ENC 1142 -- Writing
Short Fiction class). However, the learning curve for administration and site
setup is much steeper than for weblog-only applications such as MovableType and
Wordpress.
- MovableType -- Probably the most
popular weblog software among seasoned bloggers, MovableType offers all the
common features of weblogs. Sofware is free to download and use (although not open source) and well-supported.
MovableType or WordPress (mentioned below) are some of the best options for academic bloggers less likely to use the more
advanced capabilities of Drupal or other full-featured content management
systems.
- OpenSoureHost -- Website hosting
service which provides free installation of any open source application listed
at opensoureCMS (where cyberdash
is hosted).
- SharpReader -- Windows client RSS
news reader that you install and run from your desktop.
- TypePad -- Pay hosting service provided by Six Apart, the makers of Movable Type, offering the convenience of Blogger's hosting, but with the power of Movable Type. Probably the simplest,
best all around option for those interested in taking up blogging seriously
without the inclination to work with a more traditional website hosting service.
- WordPress -- An open source alternative
to MovableType for those wanting a blog application that is less difficult to
implement than Drupal yet more robust than Blogger.
Next: Some Final Thoughts
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Manila
Charlie,
I am curious why you don't have Manila on this list?
Regards,
Skip
skipdodson@email.com
Manila
Well, it's a combination of things. First off, this is just a short list (note "Small Selection" in title). I also decided to limit the list to software that is at least free to download, install and use--that is, except for Blogger and Blog-City which are free to use with free hosting (no need to download). There are plenty of other options which fit these criteria, that if I had the time, I could include here. One could equally wonder why I didn't include geeklog, pMachine, PostNuke, PHP-Nuke, Mambo, Nucleus, etc. But since the focus of the presentation is not on hosting and particular solutions, the few examples seem enough. In fact, one reason I provided so much information on this page is that I will probably not spend more than a minute or two on it during the presentation; it's provided as a resource for the presentation attendees to use later.
That being said, Manila also cannot easily be installed on most web hosts since it requires Frontier, its own web server. For instance, the small sampling of hosts I've listed don't offer Manila hosting; yet, a wide range of other applications can be installed. One could try MT, WordPress or Drupal, or all three, on either of the hosting solution examples. Also important, Will Richardson has expressed concern about Manila's lack of active development.