Transcript:In today’s edition of WebProNews we’re going to take a look at weblogs.One of the first decisions people have to make when starting a blog is whether to go with a hosted version or just find software they like and host it themselves.Of course there are advantages and disadvantages inherent to both options so let’s take a look at a few of them.  Now, when we say hosted or self hosted we’re referring to either hosting your blog yourself or simply going with a built in hosting solution like blogger.com.Now… it’s probably worth pointing out that a lot of the major blog applications currently offer you a choice. WordPress TypePad and others for example offer both options.So what are some of the benefits of using a hosted service instead of doing it yourself?Well probably the single biggest advantage of going with a hosted solution is the fact that it’s just easier.You wont have to worry about installing and maintaining a database (which most any blog software is going to require). You won’t have to worry about installation - or for the most part - any elaborate set up or configuration of software.You wouldn’t have as many security concerns either would you?Absolutely right - and that’s a big one. The responsibility of keeping your software patches current would typically be on the host in most cases. So, assuming you have a decent host that stays on top of thing- then yes- security should be much less of a concern in a hosted environment.Blogs are a favorite target of script kiddies, hackers and any number of your various sundry degenerate malcontents lurking about the internet tubes. The biggest reason: blogs often make easy targets. These hacker types are notoriously lazy. They can’t get enough of the low hanging fruit.So the big plus on the hosted option is pretty much just less headache.More or less. To start blogging on a hosted blog you don’t really need to know much of anything beyond knowing you want to blog. Most all of the big sof...