Well since Kirk over at “Just Thinkin’ beat me to it I’m going to post his write up (with his permission of course) about Google’s asinine decision to allow only those with Blogger accounts to leave their link when commenting.
If there’s one main thing that the Blogosphere revolves around, what would it be?
Back links! That’s what.
Anybody who has ever commented on a blog and happens to also have their own blog as well, knows exactly what this is. Name, Email Address, Website–we all know this so well we don’t even think about it anymore…until now that is. Can anyone say Blogger or perhaps Google?
Well they goofed. They goofed by no longer allowing any blogger other than those with “Blogger” accounts to leave their website address unless it’s within the comment itself. No more selecting “Other” and having that two line form pop up where you can put your name and website address. And considering how well the “DoFollow” movement has caught on since it’s inception and what it means to effectively isolate the rest of the Blogosphere from Blogger type blog owners, this must have been a decision made while under the influence. For example:
“I got a great idea dude, check this out! Let’s…like…tell the whole Blogosphere that ain’t us to bugger off, okay?”
I’m not going to go into all the details here since a couple of blogging type folks have already written good, concise articles on this rather idiotic decision on Google/Blogger’s part so I’ll post the links here and let you folks read all about it.
Google Lets Down The Bloggers (Matts Nutts)
Blogger.com No Longer Allows Links to Non-Blogger Sites in Comments (Suburban Oblivion)
Now I have quite a few fellow blogger’s that have their sites hosted on Blogger and I’m not going to stop commenting on their blogs because of this but I, like others, find this new state of affairs rather disgusting. I would have hoped Google was better than this but apparently not. Do they actually believe this is going to help? More like biting the hand that feeds them. Biting it off that is.
Install Haloscan, I just did
Tell me how you really feel. (Grins.)
Every corp. is doing whatever they feel like without asking or (forums to address it) the change. It sucks.
Google is just like any other large moving corp. It will do whatever they feel is prudent to continue…getting bigger. (Now I have to decide: keep going on my blog or put the time into wordpress?) I need help on the platform because I am not as html versatile as I need to be.
All big companies seem to be evil.
Jason P.
You might just want to hang in with Blogger for a bit and see what happens. With all the complaints that are bound to come pouring in, things just might change. Otherwise, you don’t really need to know html to switch to WordPress (either the .com or doing a custom install). The whole platform runs on PHP and a mySQL database that generates the html for your site. Either way, it’s not that complicated to switch over if your choose to.
Going to WordPress.com for example is simply a matter of getting an account, setting up the basic blog (about 5 minutes) and then importing all your posts and comments from your Blogger blog with via your Dashboard’s import page. After that you can choose a theme, set up widgets etc. Meanwhile, your original blog remains unaffected. Same goes for “hosting your own” WP install. Once it’s setup, you can import your posts and comments. Sure, there’s always a chance for a glitch or two but your original blog will always remain viable and the importer works pretty slick now.
Just to put your mind at ease. All is not lost.
Promoting inclusiveness by demanding exclusiveness… not very wise. I can only hope the masses will make their ire felt and that Google is listening. Still, I do tend to not pick up new writers when I can’t comment. It tells me a lot about the writer methinks.
Elaine, do you think we’re related some how? We certainly think alike. Happy holidays to you and yours.
Thanks Kirk. It’s not that I am incapable of doing it, but I am constrained a bit by time where I do it, usually. (A library.)
As much as I think WordPress works pretty well (and allows PDF postings, unlike Blogger), I just hate hassle.
I HAVE a blogger account and couldn’t leave my link and since I’m technically challenged, I figured it was just me. Glad to know there’s some method behind the madness.
Hi,
Thanks for all the info as I am new to all this. Seems to be so difficult to always have to be finding ways around certain issues. Especially as stated above, I too am technically challenged.
Hi Elaine,
Well that a small bummer. I think we are all aware of the power struggles in the cyber-world. Basically, I get the feeling Microsoft wants to control ALL.
I’m considering getting an Apple Computer with my next purchase?
I always appreciate your visits and insights.
Merry Christmas … Greg
Windyridge – that is an option for those that use blogger, thanks!
Yep we do seem to agree on many issues!
and sometimes quite maddening and frustrating.
Jason – well you might want to sit tight and see how this plays out before making any decisions. With all the complaints about this will be interesting to see how Google responds to their users.
Laoch – LOL many of them that’s for sure, hopefully there are still some good ones out there though.
Kirk – thanks for your input
Grandalfe – I like your first sentence! Well said, wish I could have thought of that
Beverly – good to see you again. Don’t know how much method behind the madness, seems more like downright madness to me
Bessie – thanks for dropping in. Finding the workaround is always interesting
Greg- funny you mentioned Apple. I’m in the market for a new laptop and my husband has asked me more than once, “have you considered an Apple?”. Since he’s a new fan of iPOD and loves the apple store I’m sure I will check one out. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.
Not sure I understand this fully, but then again I rarely venture away from my blog community, Windows Live Spaces. But I’ll keep quiet and not comment on usage of one community vs. another, cause there are three things in life that are too argumentative for dinner conversations: politics, religion, and blog community preferences .. lol.
I created a little work around for it. It works, just a little more effort. Come by, click on leave a comment, follow instructions in the comment box and lets see. Stupid blogger!
Google/Bloggers decision was really bad and quite frankly it got me down early in the week. I tried Haloscan but it wiped away all comments on my blog to date so I reverted back. I wonder if Haloscan can be configured not to do this?
A thoughtful post Elaine..
Nooner – it just means that when a person leaves a comment at a blog usually it asks for our name, email address, and blog address if you have one. MSN spaces allows others to leave their blog address even if they are not with spaces (like me). Well blogger eliminated that function now in the reply section which has cause much ruckus!
Janeywan – yep it works and that’s how I will continue to reply to blogger blogs. Let’s hope they do not change allowing us to use some HTML commands.
Ottavio - Don’t let it get you down, it’s not over yet. With all the complaints it will be interesting to see how Google handles this. For now I will insert my own link and that works just fine
I might change blogs because of this, though I do wonder if there will be an uproar and Blogger will change back. I am off to their discussion boards to see what’s being said.
Elaine,
Usually I get a heads-up when you have made a new post. (OK…sometimes I am just in la-la land) Not this time. Glad I checked!
Your remembrance of your times with your grandmother when you were sick warmed my heart. My parents also gave me honey and I think that many of the old remedies stand the test of time.
You are a “Kindred Spirit” for sure, and I appreciate your good sense, solid, helpful advice, and warml spirit. Thank you, Elaine!
Love and hugs,
Beth
Well it looks like Kirk was right. If I understand things correctly, Blogger has straightened things out with backlinks.
“Ironically, our testing of OpenID, a feature that lets you use accounts from all over the web to comment on Blogger, made it appear that we were trying to force you into getting a Google Account. We regret this appearance, since we’re strong supporters of OpenID and open web standards in general.”