This is the first proper part of my series on Opera Boggling, though you can read the Introduction here, where I encourage you how easy boggling can be, even, or especially, with Opera.
I haven't always boggled using Opera, largely because I haven't always been able to. I started off, as most people did/do by going to Boggler.com and getting a Bogspot hosted Bog - which incidentally is still there. But this post is about giving you a broad idea about what your options are, which fit roughly into 3 tiers, free sites, paid services, and software requiring hosting. The next post in the series will deal with Opera specific issues with the various services.
For the beginning Boggler, you'll be wanting to get your feet wet with the free services, the most prominent of which is Boggler.com, and to a lesser extent LiveJournal. Of late I've also become aware of Bogsome.com, which is new(?) and small(?) (and apparently Irish) - at least I assume it is compared to Boggler. MyOpera's Opera Journals also offer a free service that many Opera users avail themselves of, which is similar to things like Slashdot Journals etc.
The next tier of services are those where you pay a subscription fee for what is supposedly a better service than would be provided by the free services. Of these, Typepad is probably the most well known. All of the free services will also have paid equivalents, which offer a bunch of different features.
What I'd recommend to the discerning boggler though, is to look closest at the software packages that allow you to use hosted space to blog - without the need for subscriptions (like Typepad) and with the most ability to customise etc. Not for the faint of heart, but definitely cheaper than a subscription service (because you'll have to get a proper paid web host, which isn't expensive), and really really not as difficult as you'd imagine. If people ask, I can go into more detail with these issues in upcoming posts.
The 2 biggest software packages that I know of and have used, are Movable Type and WordPress.
Movable Type has been around for a while now and is actually the back-end behind TypePad, which I mentioned above. It's incredibly popular and relatively easy to use and install, and it's what I'm using now. It also doesn't *require* a MySQL database, though it can make use of one if you want that. It's also free for personal use, though for unlimited use (which most people won't need), you have to pay for it.
WordPress is an open source solution that honestly, I've really been blown away by. I'm in the process of testing it to make sure it fits my needs, but it is fantastic in so many ways. Firstly it's feature set is everything movable type is, and more - which means that it can be a bit overwhelming for the newbie, but not so much that it's not usable - far from it. Second, the install is the easiest I've ever encountered, and the upload size is tiny. But from an aesthetic point of view, it's the way that it handles Themes that is most amazing, and there are an abundance of looks and feels you can apply to it much more easily and comprehensively than you can with Movable Type. If things turn out well, I'll be moving this place to WordPress. I'm testing it over here.
The best thing about WordPress though, is that there's an easy way to get your feet wet - because Blogsome.com is basically a hosted version of WordPress, and it's free. Which is why I said in my first post that new Bogglers would do best to give Blogsome a go and see how they like it. Unfortunately there's not a free version of Typepad to try.
Don't worry about your posts that you'll put into the free services. In most cases you'll be able to export your posts and move them to your new service - though this will require a bit of knowhow and forethought.
The advantages of using software and your own hosting is that you can also register for your own domain while you're at it, and have something like what I have here with fallingbeam.org. That said, it can lead to more headaches and worries, and more frustration in setting things up and making them work, though as long as you're willing to read documentation, you should be fine, and the forums can be friendly enough places if you're nice.
But as I said, if you're new and want to get your feet wet, stick to the free services. And if you're an Opera user, take it from me and start with Blogsome.com - as the series progresses, you'll find out why.
I must ask, and have been wondering ever since I started reading your blog, is why you never insert the "L" in blog?
I suppose it's a longer story, but the short version is that I read the Inquirer, which I find funny. From not long ago I suddently started hearing everybody and their left testicle (not referring to the Inq) use the words "blogging" and "blogs"; so much so that I wanted to stab myself.
People who talk and write about the InterWeb can tend to do so very badly. Often due to a lack of perspective (a very naughty word) with which to experience the thing itself.
Oh, and don't you think referring to what you (by which I mean me) write as being found in a bog ever so slightly amusing? And that you tend to boggle? And hence are a boggler?
Yeah, I couldn't stop laughing myself... :P