This weekend I jumped on the Google Plus Train and opened up a Google Plus profile and linked it to my Blogger account. My old Blogger profile was replaced by my Google Plus information. I didn’t like how there was no option on Google Plus of not including my full name every time I left a comment on someone else’s blog. When I left a comment on someone’s blog my full name came up in the comment box. That just felt a little too……personal? So I switched back to my old Blogger profile. Apparently I will get left behind with all the rest of the old dinosaurs by doing this but for now, I really don’t care.
I also don’t like the new Blogger interface. It just doesn’t seem very user friendly and the pages don’t seem to load. I sit there looking at a blank page for ages! After groaning and screaming in frustration several times , I switched back to the old interface.
According to Google in the coming months you won’t be able to switch back to the old interface and your old Blogger profiles will all be replaced by Google Plus profiles which reveal a lot of personal information, much like a Facebook Profile page. Be careful, big brother is watching you!
This whole situation has me feeling frustrated about blogging at all!
I am considering moving to a self hosted WordPress site so I don’t have to deal with all of these surprises from Google anymore. They feel like an invasion of privacy to me.
But guess what? If you switch to a self hosted blogging platform like WordPress you don’t get to bring any of your Google Friend Connect Followers with you. Getting followers on a blog is hard work so I’m sure a lot of bloggers who use Blogger blogs won’t switch because of this single reason. Quite frankly, I don’t want to switch either because I don’t want to lose my GFC Followers.
Do I sound like a disgruntled employee or do I have a point here, folks?
To have a free blogging platform like Blogger you have to just put up or shut up I guess!
So have any of you switched to Google Plus and do you like it ?
What about switching to WordPress and losing your GFC Followers? Any advice there?
You totally have a point! I do alot of my web browsing on my smartphone and the original interface is already not very mobile friendly but when I tried the new one I can’t even scroll down!
The new design is not an improvement and I don’t look forward to when I’m not given a choice. I’m usually more of a lurker but the privacy issue is also very disturbing.
I agree with you about google plus, I don’t like it at all. But I think there is a privacy setting some where. I hate it especially when the google link directs you to google plus where there is no access to the blog link. Pretty stupid actually. I am too chicken to switch to word press for the same reason as yours.
mongs
mythriftycloset.blogspot.com
I don’t like the new interface at all. I especially don’t like that it sometimes automatically changes my interface to the new one. It just doesn’t make that much sense. What is easier than tabs across the top? I have heard there are problems with posting in the old interface now…so I may have to update mine for good. UGh!
Next weekend I am determined to make and fit your pencil skirt design. I’ll let you know how it goes. I love this blog.
I suppose I’m a bit of a dinosaur, but I’ve switched back to the old Blogger interface and will stick with it as long as I can. I’ve stayed away from Google +
I have gotten used to the new blogger interface, not that I love it, or anything.
I posted to facebook this question: Please tell me why I should use google+
Four responses all said to basically stay away from Google+
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sorry for the double-post; I hit publish before I was ready and wasn’t done editing. Aaahhh, the joys of Monday!
I’m new to blogging, so I’ve used the new Blogger interface from the get-go. For that reason alone, I’ve kind of gotten used to it. 😉 I’ve also linked up my Blogger account with Google+, and I was definitely not impressed by how much info it revealed. I spent some time going through and adjusting the privacy settings to better suit my liking. And like you said, having to comment with my first and last name wouldn’t be something I would’ve chosen either, but I guess it is what it is. I’ll try it for now while I work on growing my blog, and go from there!! =)
Good luck!!
I’ve had the new blogger interface for a long time, and i’ve gotten used to it and like it better, I think it’s organized better – or at least I can find what I use the most easier! As for google, I have 2 emails, personal and ‘business’
and I have 2 G+ accounts, one for each, and my blog is under my Sweetwater Cloth email and connected to only that G+ account so I can control how much is seen. However, my personal email is an allowed poster for my blog so I don’t have to sign in & out to post things. It’s a little tricky, but not too bad, especially since I quite facebook and don’t waste so much time over there anymore.
Yes indeed! The interface can be clunky, but I’m ok with it. It was very hard for me to sign onto the Google+ thing. I’ve been online since the Internet was a baby (though my blog is under a year old) and it was always about the anonymity. Being able to have a separate persona in your online life, so it felt a lot like flashing or streaking to reveal the real me a la Google+. After thinking about it though, I convinced myself that I want my readers to know me, the 100% real me. So here I am, hoping it all works out. Incidentally, I have another, profession related blog, and while I am fine with my name showing, I don’t want the about me to be filled with my sewing exploits. So I wrote a text gadget telling what I wanted to tell on that site.
Happy blogging! Yours is one of my favorites.
Thanks so much Dee! Sorry to be such a complainer!
It’s such a pain
I don’t blog, but I definitely do not like companies doing my thinking and choosing for me, so I think I can relate to your problems, technical hitches aside. So I am not on Facebook out of principle – would that be the internet version of being an outcast? I wonder how long it will take for that to become a reality. 🙂 Just let us know where we can find you; your blog is too much fun to miss!
Monique (The Netherlands)