This is a subject actively debated, and as someone who began blogging in 2003, I would like to provide some perspective.

Self-hosted means that you maintain independent control over your blog at through a server account at a hosting company rather than turning everything over to a free service.

I started blogging just before all the free blog services became available and when the only good service was Typepad. I had a www.myname.typepad.com blog and paid Typepad about $10 each month even though the blog promoted their name, too. Since then, I have used most blogging platforms and can speak with candor about the pros and cons of free blogging versus self-hosted.

The primary factors are ultimately subjective — what is the purpose of the blog, and what do you want. For me, I want independent control over my blog and to have the flexibility to expand and change new features that are constantly being offered.

The blogosphere is an exciting place that is changing the whole face of the Internet as we know it, and blogs are at the forefront. While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with free blog services, I want my own domain name and not share it with dot-wordpress.com, dot-blogspot.com or dot-typepad.com. I want all of my files resting on an independent Web hosting server account that today only costs me a few dollars each month.

Free services tend to be restrictive in what they permit you to do. You cannot, for example, have javascript in your sidebar widgets; you cannot enhance your theme or banner unless your buy an upgrade. Even then you can only alter the way it looks, not the way it works. You are restricted from using services, such as Google Adsense, or any of the terrific spectrum of plugin features that are making Wordpress famous. Free blogging services deliver pretty much what you pay for … casual blogging for a beginner.