Wordpress.com is very commonly used by those who want to get started blogging. It's important not to confuse this with Wordpress.org, which is the self-hosted script. When you go with Wordpress.com, they will host everything for you -- you will choose a domain name on their server, such as http://yourdomain.wordpress.com. It's very easy to get started with this blog host!
First, go to Wordpress.com. You should see a button on your right signaling that you can sign up for the service. Go ahead and click that and you'll be taken to their "one step form" to fill out. You will add information such as your desired username, password, and so on. Once you have filled that out and accepted their terms and conditions, you'll be taken to the next page. You can now choose your domain name and blog title. If the domain you want has already been taken, don't despair! Simply try some alternatives.
After completing that step, you'll be asked to confirm your e-mail address. Once you do, you're in! You're ready to log in to the backend of your new blog. You'll find that your admin area contains several links on the left-hand side. This will allow you to make blog posts, create pages, change the look of your blog, upgrade the script, and so on.
It's best to check this out yourself and really get a feel for the setup. Be sure to take a look at the way your blog looks (at the URL you've chosen for your blog) whenever you make changes or add posts. Wordpress.com does have an awesome help section and community, should you ever get stuck.
Starting a hosted blog at Wordpress.com is actually a great start if you plan on having your own self-hosted blog using Wordpress.org someday. That's because the backends are incredibly similar! You won't have to learn a completely different platform when you make the switch. This is a great thing for many people.
There are downsides to using this hosted option as well. They are actually quite strict about doing any form of marketing on your blog. If you plan on making some great affiliate sales, you might run into some issues as far as monetization goes. They can yank your blog down without warning if they find that your site is too commercial or covers a topic they don't agree with!
If you're willing to risk that, it's a nice way to get started because Wordpress.com is so easy to use and segues nicely into moving up to your own self-hosted Wordpress in the future.
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