Comparison of Blogger, WordPress and Google Page Creator App

Trying to figure out where to host this new creative outlet was no easy task. But blogging is definitely great fun, and if you are thinking of starting a weblog, here is the process I went through and what I learned.

My first requirement was that the hosting site be free. So all the blog hosting sites I discuss below are free.

I started out at WordPress.com because that is were Shelley's blog is located, but I need more gadgetry. So I tried Google's Page Creator which has a zillion "fun" gadgets, but (as explained below) found it too complicated for a newbie like me to install the basic necessities like comments, RSS, Blogroll, etc. without searching the internet of pastable HTML code. I next moved on to Blogger.com, which I found to be a realatively good compromise for my needs. Here is what I discovered during my techno blogging adventure:

WordPress.com	Blogger.com	GooglePageCr
Templates	Templates	Templates
1-4columns	2columnsmax	1-3columns
Custom header	No	Custom header
Auto comments widget	Auto comments element	No
Page Bottom Widgets with Select Templates	Page Bottom Widgets Avail	Page Bottom Widgets Avail
Separate Linked Pages with Parent Pages and Password Protection	No, must create Separate Linked Blogs	Separate Linked Pages
One Click Installation for Most Standard Widgets	One Click Installation for Limited Number of Widgets	Many Fun Gadgets
Automatic/User Friendly Blog Statistics	No Blog Statistics	No Blog Statistics
No Advertising Permitted	One Click AdSense Set Up	One Click AdSense Set Up

I would say that WordPress.com was the most user friendly for a newbie who still demands all the bells and whistles. WordPress gives many customization options and includes most "must have" widgets like Comments, RSS feed, Archives, Blogrolls, etc. in a list of easy add on widgets. WordPress also has great blog statistics trackers and absolutely the most user-friendly help pages. However, WordPress.com does not permit any advertising. So if you want play around with Google's AdSense, you are out of luck.

I choose to use Blogger.com because it lets me play with AdSense. For some reason the lure of learning more about Google's online ads was just too much for me. The fact that the standard Blogger templates only permit two columns drives me crazy. And I am still trying to figure out a work around for creating subpages. Creating a subblog every time I want a link to documents or pictures that are not part of a post is crazy. I did see one site that was working around it by categorizing its archives. The archives page element does create a feature like separate pages for each archived post. Lastly, I had to insert html code from Statcounter.com to obtain stats on my blog. The positive side of this is I did learn about coding html. For example, I coded the entire table for the information above. Not bad for a newbie.

Before this post gets way too long, let me say that the Google Page Creator is not for Newbies, unless what you are looking for is a very simple blog with lots of great gadgets. I had to find code to include comments, subscriptions, blogroll, etc. It was just too much work. I imagine if you want max customization, it is a great place with Google Apps and Google Labs putting out the latest beta products, but that was not for me. The one cool thing about the Google blog hosting was that you could select to use your domain name (i.e., http://www.example.com/) instead of http://www.example.google.com/. But I guess why you would want that is an entirely different post.

I did not try out TypePad or LiveJournel, I just did not have the time. If you have any suggestions or articles about those, please include them in a comment below.

I hope that is helpful for anyone who wants to start a new blog.

Good luck!

FunnySauce: Dog Pile on Daddy

Sunday is family time. But do you ever find that it is work to get the whole family together, and that your family-time plans can dissolve into disaster?

Tonight we decided to play Attack Uno. This is not a version of Uno our family made up. It is an actual game we received as a Christmas gift and it comes with an electronic button-controlled beeping card shooter. When you would usually be required to draw a card, you instead push the button and a random number of cards, from 0 to 7, shoot out. It is always a relief when zero shoot out. But tonight the shooter was "hot" and everybody had a lot of cards and the game was taking too long. Ellie (who's six years old) had selected the game for tonight, so when she quit, threw down her cards, climbed on mom's lap and closed her eyes, we should have known it was time to end the game.

In an effort to hurry the game along, we started adding helpful comments like "come on!", "go!", "push the button!", "tonight please", etc. We also had to wait through a time out for Jonathan to go through his new breathing exercises that help him to not cry. (Which we all did amazingly well because we are appreciative and proud of his efforts, he is a very kind-hearted kid and it is quite interesting to watch a ten-year-old in the middle of Attack Uno close his eyes and go into a meditative state.) Of course, these feelings of frustration and hostility did not deter us from finishing the game. Finally, Madison called out "Uno" for the first time in the game at about the 37th minute of play time and to everyone's relief was able to lay down her final card on her next turn.

Shelley then asked that we gather around for family prayer before going to bed. A that moment, Ellie announced that she was not tired, Jonathan then knocked over Madison's balancing act on the couch, Madison punched Jonathan and I began my lecture I learned from my dad on not hitting younger siblings. Obviously, the "family time" tension had mounted too high for my sweet wife, because as we all knelt down to pray, instead of praying she started laughing. Her laughter popped the bubble of tension and everybody started laughing hysterically. I was laughing so hard that I was lying of the ground trying to catch my breath when Ellie yelled, "dog pile." All four of my kids jumped on top of me and pinned me down. Riley, our Airedale terrier, thinks this is great fun and places his mangled stuff cat on top of me and begins to lick and slobber all over my face.

After Shelley finally convinced the kids to roll off me, Jonathan had a beaming smile on his face and declared, "Now that was the funnest thing we did all day!"

Blog is Born

I admit it! The main reason I am creating this site is because I am jealous of my wife's blog (http://www.barnaclebutt.wordpress.com/) and all the fun she is having. Wow, I just had to get that off my chest so I could move on!
On my 4th of July road trip with Paul, I was also very inspired by his amazing amount of insite into the whole weblog/webcasting scene. He even explained one of the great mysteries of the internet to me -- how google makes money! So I really hope he will help me out with this new techno stuff.
I am also looking forward to writing about some of the fun and crazy things that my family and I do to entertain ourselves.
My main activity right now is looking for a job. I unfortunately left a very stable big law job and invested all my time and money in three real-estate related companies. With the incredible downturn in the real estate market, I have had to close shop(s) and start looking for a real job. I HATE LOOKING FOR A JOB! I've read "Rites of Passage" and know my "guerilla tatics", I just have a hard time with all the self-importance of it all -- "Well, when I worked on the divestiture of [insert name of Fortune 100 Company]'s publically traded subsidiary, I . . . . blah, blah blah. It feels like a lot of impersonal bragging. I really try to ask questions to see what type of people they are, but I feel like it is hard to understand someone in half an hour. I recently went to a law firm in San Francisco and interviewed for 7 hours, with the final interview being with the head of the recruiting committee. I admit I liked the attorneys there, but it is still just a leap of faith.
My secondary goal right now is to complete another round of the Body-for-Life (BFL) Challenge. My first Challenge was very successful and I lost about 25 lbs, until I injured myself. In my second Challenge I injured myself quickly and put myself out of my misery. So why would I proceed to a third challenge? First, nothing else has worked. Second, I have a new strategy. You see the program states that we are suppose to hit a 10 out of 10 in our work outs, but I do not think the program took into account ultra-competive idiots like myself who think "10" means a near death experience. So my strategy is to only hit a "9." Brilliant, I know!
I have also just finished reading "You, the Owners Manual" which provides medical explanations and advice for living better head-to-toe.
So I am going to post this weekend my embarrassing before picture, my less-than healthy vitals, work out schedule and meal plans in an attempt to better my life and embarrass myself into completing the program. I will start this Monday and have posted my count down clock gadget and other BFL info at http://www.my-body-for-life-blog.blogspot.com.
Wish me luck!