Hey, guys. Today we're gonna to talk about how to know whether you should use a free platform for your longform home on the web or when it's time to buy something like a domain name or create your own website. The short answer, as in most of my lectures, is, depends on what you wanna do. You can turn it off now. I'm just kidding. That joke is getting so old. I'm sorry. So basically, there are a couple of ways to know whether or not you can make do with a free platform like a WordPress, or a Blogger, or something like that. Number one, if you are self-employed, you need your own website. They are relatively inexpensive now. They're really not bad, especially if you buy a domain name in combination with a web hosting service. And a lot of the tools now are very easy, you can do the work yourself. So, just right off the bat, my advise to you if you have your own business, your self-employed, you need your own website. And your gonna need the functionality that a free platform can provide you. Number two, I would say if you have a day job, if you're fully employed somewhere else, but you have a business on the side that you're serious about. I think you should have your own website along with your own domain name. That sends the signal to people that, even though this is not your day job. That you take it very seriously. That you're committed to it. And again, it's furthering your brand. It's another way for you to be out there, and come up in search results. Never a bad thing. And again, I just wanna emphasize that a lot of these options are not very expensive at all. And, of course, because it's business related, in some countries, you can actually use it as a business expense. So, there's that to consider. The third way to tell if you need your own website as opposed to a free site is do you want one? Is that something that you wanna put the time and interest into? I think that for a lot of people, if you are an academic, for instance, who just wants a place to blog and get your thoughts out there in a non-scholarly way. But you just wanna keep your name out there and keep putting your thoughts out there, your opinions out there. A free hosted longform home is fine, even a Tumblr would probably be fine, because you can do some text there, although Tumblr really is more for visual stuff. So, if you're a student, and you are just starting out and you are looking to graduate at the end of your course of study with some kind of online portfolio. That you want to have something that when you're googled because you know you'll be googled. If you have learned nothing else, please understand at this point that if somebody is thinking about going out on a date with you. If they're thinking about hiring you. If they're thinking about asking you to babysit their child, they're gonna be googling you. So, for students how great is it to end your course of study or even during your course of study when you're applying for jobs or applying for internships, if you have this digital home on the web that describes your interests, things you're passionate about. And you have a living document that demonstrate your interest in your particular discipline, that is something to think about. But I really think a free home at that point for you is fine, you're not gonna need that much functionality. But, if it's something that you wanna do and you have the resources to invest in it, it's not a bad idea. I never think owning your own domain name is a bad idea. For me, when I decided that I needed to start a consulting business for reasons that I don't wanna get into here, I knew that if I were gonna do it, I really did need to own my own domain name, and I did need to have a website. Because I didn't want it to be presented as well this is just kinda this thing I do on the side when I have time. I wanted people who were interested in hiring me and needed the benefit of my skills and experience to feel confident that I was a professional, and that I really was dedicated to helping them, even though it wasn't something that I do as my quote unquote, day job. That even though it is something that I do on the side, they can expect the same level of professionalism. And the gravitas of a website does give that to you. So those are just some things to think about. I would, as usual love to hear your thoughts. If you own your own domain name, if you have a web site, if you don't, if you've been happy with your free longform home on the web. Please let us know. And if you have questions, if you're thinking about it, if you're thinking that maybe it's time to make that jump from free to paid and you'd like to discuss it with others, that's what we're here for, guys. We're not just a class, we're a community. So take advantage of that and ask your questions. And those of you with answers, don't hesitate to answer and let's help each other out. Okay. So, I hope you guys are having a great day, and I hope that this was helpful.