You have probably already heard that Google +, currently in beta version, is launching soon. Internet rumor has it that blogger will be renamed Googleblog. Try saying that in rapid succession. Googlebleck. Googooboo. George Bob. Huh? Why not.
It would have been nice for them to announce it on...let's see...blogger buzz, perhaps? At least preferable to experiencing blogger meltdown, chasing widgets that disappear and reappear or wasting time troubleshooting while wondering, what did I do now?
Information is sparse, all I am aware of is that private profiles will be deleted on July 31, 2011 or sooner. What does that actually mean for bloggers or readers? Will it affect us? Anyone know? In addition, as of August, Google will no longer support anything but the newest browser versions. If you have not done so already, now would be a good time to update your browsers.
Time, so elusive and hard to find, which is why I chose the allegedly "simple and stable" blogger platform, despite the fact that other platforms have better templates. Time...Wasted time...Remembering that time is infinite, while my time is not....Where was I? Oh, yes.
This will make it easier for targeted marketing to find us. I am well aware that 95% of revenue for our friendly "free" giant comes from advertising. "Recommended for you" has never worked for me, undoubtedly the next time I stop to look at something that evokes: "Cool. Someone sculpted a detailed reproduction of the Serenity (Firefly)....Out of cake?!," I will be targeted with cupcake recipes and where to buy them.
I thought it would be a good use of my time to start working on my public profile:
Name: Sigyisfor Kyiirneayrokull (Maybe something with Umlauts, make it sound more Icelandic? I will never remember how to sign in again).
Location: Planet Earth, orbiting a G-Class star. (Just in case extraterrestrials need to advertise as well)
Age: 12 going on 2000.
Household members: Trillions, I am including microscopic lifeforms. Gross underestimate.
Marital Status: Is this a census?
Interests: Swearing at blogger and inanimate objects that suddenly appear in my path.
Likes: Privacy. I also enjoy breathing.
Dislikes: Invasion of Privacy. Not breathing.
Occupation: Of space and time. Sometimes it feels territorial.
Goals: Training cats to stop sleeping on the remote controls. (Spawn does not like to be moved). Getting blogger to align tabs. And world peace.
Nice. There really is no end to the growing evil of the big corporation.
ReplyDeleteAnt, do you use "Blogger In Draft"? If not, I recommend it. You can see the changes before they get rolled out generally. The new interface took a bit of getting used to, but I like it. You also get to use the new features like favicons and mobile templates.
ReplyDeleteI've been using "Blogger In Draft" for a while too. They changed my dashboard on Friday & now I don't know where I am anymore. It feels so weird.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I think world peace is the one option out of those goals that might actually be attainable.
Remember when things used to be easier?
ReplyDeleteNo, me neither. One of these days, though, I'll hit my change wall and that will be it. No more adaptation.
Pearl
am so happy I did not spend any time creating a blog profile to start with ! what has the world come to if blogger is threatened?
ReplyDelete@Laoch, it certainly appears that way.
ReplyDelete@Jono, last time I looked at it, it was still in beta, still can't do what I want it to. I'd like to be able to add categories to the blogroll in dashboard or to my posts, is that possible?
No one seems to know how the changes will affect blogs. Read somewhere that we'll have to share profiles for blogs. True?
@Pearl, LOL. Very clever. When it comes to losing privacy I won't adapt either.
@thisisbelgium, neither did I. Trying to figure out whether we'll have to. No one seems to know.
@VinnyC, spent the last few hours contemplating a response. *cough*.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where I am either, but you're the one who is moving.
LOL. "World peace". Sarcasm. I like.
Googleblob.
ReplyDeleteI myself will wait and see what happens.
Then swear at Booger when it stuffs everything up... again...
Training cats sounds like more fun.
"oh...Moooobyyy!!"....
Ant I sent you an invite to Google+
ReplyDeleteWe orbit a G-Class star? Man, I learn something from your post everyday!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was just a "Yellow" Class Star.
Change (and shit) happens.
ReplyDeleteI think I must be living in the dark ages. I know nothing of these changes and haven't seen any changes to my blog yet. Hmm. I guess I'd have to use my blog to notice the changes, right? :) I guess I'll find out sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteA couple of weeks ago I signed in on Blogger and everything had changed. Turned out it was Blogger in Draft (which I didn't like), and I was able to switch it back to the ordinary Blogger. Sounds like soon I won't have a choice.
ReplyDeleteVay. I'm not sure why I didn't start w/Wordpress. But then again, if I had, I may not have bumped into you, Antares. ;)
@Sprite, yeah, you are right, there's much arting and crafting and building to be done.;)
ReplyDeleteSpawn trains me.
@Nubian, I don't want to be that special.;)
"Resistance is futile, we are Borg".
@Al, it is: G-Class main sequence yellow star. Sorry, once a geek, always a geek.
BTW, our good ol' starship is mid-life and looking good.;)
@dbs, indeed.
@Meg, you got your priorities straight.:)
@Jayne, I didn't like it either, it still doesn't offer what I'd actually be interested in. Sounds like it, there are certain sharing features that I don't like.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I always thought it would be a good idea to be able to follow across platforms and I actually prefer the blogger commenting to wordpress.
have you noticed that we are now "joiners" rather than "followers"?
ac & jayne, I use live writer to compose my posts, which works on multiple platforms and is free.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if advertisers every crunch the numbers to see if the money they spend on ads nets them sales or goes down the toilet? I respond to NO advertising. My wife and I each get a Chase bank VISA card request a couple of times a week. I've been throwing them in the recycle bin on my way back from the mailbox. The bin is full and it's only been a few months.
ReplyDeleteI ignore most advertising... mostly because there is too much of it. Here's a hint, Ad Agency Executives: "MORE is not BETTER... MORE gets LOST in the deluge... I can look at your ad now and not see it." The psychology of advertising was developed in the 70's and it's stuck there. Technology made the delivery EASIER, but NOT SMARTER.
So go ahead, Google.. make my day!
@Laoch, thank you for the recommendation. I am looking forward to the next generation of social media that does everything in one place.
ReplyDelete@Robert, most targets don't notice the background noise. I suspect that they are still getting their ads to a small percentage that makes it worthwhile.
They will figure out how to target more specifically. They are attempting to make all of our days;)