Chosing Blogger

I chose blogger to publish my blog because I was familiar with it. I knew that it was incredibly easy to use and I really like that it is linked to Gmail. I like that I didn't need to create another account here and that it just uses my password and logs me in when I'm using Gmail. I also really like that its connected with Google Reader and Picassa. I really like how my posts are constantly being saved, so I never have to worry about losing posts. I am a huge fan of anything that Google comes up with and I know other people with blogs on this. WordPress was cool because it showed how many words were entered and had an entry page that showed about nine different blogs and their topics. I think that it is nice to be able to see what other people are saying. I thought it was very weird that they let you see up to the date stats about people visiting your blog. I don't really need to know who is looking, especially since this is just for recreation, its not a professional blog. I think that LiveJournal's voiceposting feature was cool, but the blog seemed to advertised for me and it was talking about paying with credit cards. I know that its free but I don't want to deal with advertisers and blog merchandise.
A recent phenomenon in blogging is celebrity blogs and gossip blogs. Some have their own sites while others have blogs featured on ESPN and myspace. Perez Hilton and TMZ blog constantly about celebs, showing pictures and posting gossip. After Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMAs, he apologized to her via blog and many celebrites have posted comments on their own blogs regarding the incident. "Rap star Kanye West had taken to his blog and issued an ALL-CAPS apology to country star Taylor Swift and her mother. 'I spoke to her mother right after and she said the same thing my mother would've said,' Kanye wrote in his explanation for interrupting Swift's VMA win" (Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times). More famous celebrity gossip blogs have even made their writers celebrities in their own right. There are several popular blogs that have even gained advertisers attention. Gawker media is one such group that expanded in size and popularity immediately. "The catty network quickly grew into a powerhouse, and it now has eight blogs, 20 million monthly readers and more than 150 full- and part-time employees"(Claire Cain Miller, New York Times) Perez Hilton has used his blog to bring forth "his latest venture, the Perez Hilton Presents Tour, which stops Saturday at Metro. The tour is an offshoot of his new music label, Perezcious Music, and includes his first signed act, the French singer Sliimy" (Curt Wagner, Chicago Red Eye). Gossip blogs get millions of hits per day. "Perezhilton.com gets more than 10 million unique visitors per month, according to Henry Copeland, president of BlogAds" (Wagner). Although blogs started small, today they can make millions for the bloggers and give celebrities and gossipers a medium for expressing their opinions. Stars cozy up to bloggers like Perez because they know that he can make or break their careers.