Pros and cons of domain?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a domain?
Is domain actually required or necessary?

archy it all depends upon the site you own..like if you are having a big site and you want to keep it fully personal then you will be needing your own domain name by registering at domain name providing companies or at hosting providers..its just like "living in your own house with your name on its nameplate" while in the other case like with xxxblog.blogspot.com we are like tenants living free and without our dominance

The advantage we get from our own domain is our freedom to make whatever site we want and get as many earning from ads as possible which is not available thru blogging. The disadvantage is their domain + hosting fee & renewal. I think it is necessary & required for our next step into online earning.

i don't see any disadvantages with it. it is like owning your own home with a domain. you can design it to your liking

I would say that its probably a good idea to have a domain but not a have to!

If you are an owner of a domain, you are surely in a advantageous position unless you donot have to renew the service provider's contract. Let me understand one thing. If I want to change my hosting provider, does it mean I have also to change my domain name?