Learning about blogging

Hello out there, How does one learn about blogging ie about the different venues available to have a site? Is one better than another or are they all the same? How do you set up a groupblog? A group of us want to be able to collaborate with each other online. Is blogging the best way to do that or is there another way? Our intention is not really to collaborate for everybody's viewing but that is okay too. If anyone can answer these questions please comment. Cathy