I found that there are various different sites online on which to create blogs namely, blogspot.com, google's associate-blogger.com, xanga.com etc.

I remembered waaaay back when I had a blog (which lasted only a few months and consisted of a handful of short posts-really it was just a quick fad) I had it on xanga and I sort of remembered how to navigate around the settings. I figured that was the best place to start. I knew the defaults and from there I can guess what differences were made and hence, better assess the creativity of the blog.

I found one site and just clicked away on 'friends' and clicked and clicked and clicked.....

Some were defaults:

http://www.xanga.com/jkan0
That looked like they really didn't want to be there. And from the date of that post, doesn't seem like this person wasn't much of an updater.

http://www.xanga.com/njisley
Default settings/colors/fonts.
Definitely used, I'd say this person spends about 4 hours a month on their blog- one per week.
Content- mostly rantings and events that happened in that person's life.

Simple Color/font changes:
http://www.xanga.com/meadowroom
This one simply changed the colors. But even that is interesting...She choose bright pastel colors and has a picture of a flower as her main icon. She also updates her xanga almost monthly. I read through some of her post and she talks alot about her life and express herself through poetry. She did some major reflection on the new year as compared to the previous one. It seems that she uses her xanga as a means of expression and venting her feelings. Fascinating...

http://www.xanga.com/Hareton
http://www.xanga.com/JimBound
Another color change, but also a font change. Interesting to note though, in JimBound's xanga, he explains that some of his posts may be out of order, because he had them on private (in other words no one can see it but him). Interesting, so now the blog has shifted from a public forum to just an online diary.

Then, I got to the real decked out stuff. These people either used layout themes, which are just different design themes made by either xanga or a third party and offered to the public to add 'personality' to their xanga. Of the millions of themes to choose, its interesting which ones these people have chosen. Going back to my 6 minute issue, I'm sure these people had a tough time deciding what layout they were going to choose. Also, another important thing to note, the blogs that had certain themes were also the ones that had the most frequent postings, suggesting that perhaps bloggers who put so much time and effort into their writing also cared alot about the aesthetic appeal.

Some of the simpler themes:
http://www.xanga.com/TINSI131313
http://www.xanga.com/authentic_black_dragon

A little more glam:
http://www.xanga.com/mast_rkate/690287895/a-wonderful-date-with-a-guy-on-xanga/
Very interesting story. She met her significant other on xanga! All safety issues aside, its a cute story! Interesting, so a blog can be a place for ventings, important events in a person's life, it can serve as a personal diary, and now it can be a matchmaker!
http://www.xanga.com/grammarboy
Yes even boys had themed blogs! And he updated it quite frequently. Another note, he uses his xanga to discuss political issues. Then other people comment and share their thoughts. Clearly the discussion had gotten to some high level because his latest post acknowledged the volume of responses to the previous post and he felt it necessary to clear it up.
http://www.xanga.com/M_Rae_Carson
This was definitely a cool looking theme. Again discussing recent elections and using the blog for self-expression and sharing opinions.
http://www.revelife.com/BowDownBeforeHim
http://www.revelife.com/mrsdandelion
http://www.workingforone.com/
http://www.saqibsaab.com/
BLOGS ABOUT RELIGION! Amazing, first it was just politics but now about something as deep as faith, full with quoted verses from holy books! Amazing.

The world of blogs is much much more than just random writings... I need time to digest all this.