Platforms?

This question is bigger than I expected it to be. And it may be that neither Pam nor I can answer it. However, we can certainly form an opinion based on a comparison of services offered by blogging platforms designed with students in mind.

There are several "names" in the student blogging business. Berger & Trexler (2010) suggest "Blogger, Class Blogmeister, Edublog, Live Journal, Moveable Type, WordPress, and 21Classes" (p. 107). Now I'm fairly pressed for time, with the deadline for this assignment arriving in less than a week, so I was pretty ruthless and not at all fair in the process of narrowing it down to my top two contenders. First, the castaways...

Blogger: We've been friends now for nine weeks, and I have yet to read anything student or teacher friendly about you, other than the fact that you are free. It's nothing personal, but you should really step it up if you want to tap into a seriously big market.

Class Blogmeister: I am sorry but I didn't even scroll down on your home page: I was turned off by your font choice and colour scheme, and I physically recoiled from text overload.

Kidblog: Sorry, the Grade 9 students will never go for it! They are waaaayyyy to mature.

LiveJournal: I think you might have moved in a new direction since the publication of Berger & Trexler's text? If you are still into blogging I suggest you make it a little clearer on your homepage.

MoveableType: You're a little too sophisticated for my simple needs.

Wordpress: Oh, you were tough to let go. Most of the educators I follow have their blogs hosted on your platform, and I find their visual appeal stands out from all other providers. But I think that you are the genius behind one of my top two contenders?

Which leaves . . .

Edublogs and 21Classes in the running.

Will there be enough time to squeeze in a detailed look at these two options? Can I produce one last post? Check your RSS feed later this week!

References 
Berger, P. & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.