Since I already have an account at cornerhost.com, which hosts my Movable Type (MT) personal weblog Hypotyposis on a Good Day, a natural blogging option would be to set up a MT weblog on cornerhost.com. Why didn’t I go that route?
First of all, I wanted to try out WordPress (WP). Secondly, I didn’t to set up WP, which includes configuring my cornerhost accout to respond to the jazzuptheweb.com name, before jumping in with writing.
The solution I chose was to go with hosted WordPress by setting up this blog on wordpress.com. The price was certainly right: $0. The fact that a high profile blogger such as Robert Scoble is using the service gives me some confidence in the ability of wordpress.com to handle heavy traffic. I also confirmed that WordPress had some level of ability to import and export data, even if it means using the XML-RPC programmatic interface. That means that, in theory at least, my data won’t be stuck at wordpress.com.
There’s a lot of power in using a hosted service, primarily because it lets you hit the ground running. Not surprisingly, there are downsides. The fact that wordpress.com lets a user set up an “unlimited” number of blogs with yet unspecified storage limits and commerical plans does make me concerned about the long-term viability of wordpress.com as a business. I look forward to be able to pay for features such a domain hosting and increased storage since the revenue should help it stay around.
