Is Helium a blog?
The obvious answer to this question is a big no. No, Helium is not a blog. Both of them might use writing to make profits, but they are two different things with their own character, agenda, orientation, and method of modus operandi.
Helium is just a website that pays you to write articles. That's all. So just like any other websites, they have their owners. They also have rules and you must follow it if you want to write for them.
You can earn money by writing for Helium in several ways. Depending on you star writing level that you have, you can earn via upfront payment for every successfully submitted article. You will also earn passive income via revenue sharing of advertisements at Helium. There are also Market Place section where you can write competitive and critical topic for establish producers for a payment of up to 200 dollars per article.
In short, Helium is a serious business for the more professionally oriented writers and for really "write for money" writers. It may look so money minded, but it's a good modus operandi to force people to write and produce good articles.
So what about blog?
Blog is also a writing platform like Helium. But it's not Helium. The only difference is that you own your blog, not like Helium which is owned by a consortium of investors. That's mean you make rules and determine what you intend to do with your blog. Blog is more of a personal thing. You can write for money, yes. But you can write for fun also. There are no standard or rules to conform (such as with Helium). You can be an affiliate for certain company, for instance. You can write to promote your political belief for example. With blog, you control your destiny and you can just write your heart out!
So which one is better? you might ask.
The answer lies with you. Both Helium and blog can be used to generate money with their own method. Both have their own strong and weak points. But at the end of the day, both need a great writer to write well so that they can generate traffic and perhaps make some profit. When you write well, you will gain credential and people will respect you. They will start to hear you also. So you can probably make something good or perhaps change the world for the better or worse. Until then, happy writing, whether it is for Helium or for your blog.