"go.blogger.com", And SMS Based Blogging, Has Been Deprecated

We're seeing a few queries recently, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about a little used option in mobile blog publishing.

Is "go.blogger.com" down? I'm trying to claim a mobile token, but having no success.

This blog owner, like a few others, is trying to use a dying Blogger feature.

"go.blogger.com", and MMS / SMS, was the Blogger solution for blog publishing using "mobile" phones, provided several years ago.

SMS is a protocol used for sending text messages between computers, that was used on "mobile" phones, before most "mobile phones" became just pocket sized computers using "cellular" (3g, 4g, etc) networking.

You can think of SMS as the original "Chat" protocol, used before cellular Internet service became the normal communications service.

With the gaining popularity of using "smart" phones with cellular service, most people will publish blogs using either a browser on the phone, email (and "Mail-To-Blogger") on the phone, or (for supported phones) the "Blogger" app.

Recently, I asked Blogger Support if "go.blogger.com" and SMS based blogging had any future. The reply was bleak.

So that feature has been deprecated.

Basically, Blogger has moved onwards - and is trying to support mobile blogging using modern equipment and services.

Even when people in the USA were using "go.blogger.com" and SMS for blog publishing, SMS was a constant problem. SMS is a proprietary protocol, provided by various phone carriers, over the individual cellular networks.

Even with SMS in the USA, years ago, there were some cellular services providing SMS, that did not work with Blogger. SMS outside the USA is worse - and globalisation of Blogger made this a problem.

Nowadays, not every cellular service provides SMS. Most cellular Internet providers focus on regular Internet service. If you want to "chat" with somebody, you use a normal "chat" client like GTalk - or now, Google Hangout.

If your "smart phone" (or mobile computer) supports email over voice, you can use Mail-To-Blogger. If not, you'll need a modern and supported phone, with cellular Internet service - if you want to publish your blog using your phone.

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Windows XP / IE V8 Is "Good Enough" - But For How Long?

This month, we've seen more than a few reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about various Blogger dashboard problems.

Both the Overview and Post Editor dashboard sections seem vulnerable to problems - typically described as bX code terminations. Many of the people reporting problems admit that they are using Internet Explorer V8.

For some blog owners, the choice of staying with IE V8 is not an option.

Get everyone to use Chrome, and don't support those using IE V8. Win XP works fine. Everyone can't get new computers or operating systems, every time some new software comes out!

Unfortunately, Windows XP was sunsetted, by Microsoft, some time ago - and IE V8 is the last version of that browser that will run, on Windows XP.

Windows XP and IE V8 may be "good enough" for now - but time is running out, on both.

Blogger, like every website on the Internet, is going to design their displays and wizards - such as Post Editor - to use features provided in the newer browsers.

As Blogger fixes problems, like the recent problem with the Post Title, the more browser versions they have to support, the more complex their code becomes. Besides fixing problems with Post Editor, Blogger will be developing new features - like Google+ Comments, and the recently added "Blog Posts" option to "Show Author Profile Below Post".

Each of these changes - the recent Post Editor fix, Google+ Comments, and the new "Blog Posts" option - must include code to work in all supported browsers. The more browsers supported, the more complex the Blogger code becomes.

Owners of older computers, with less bandwidth and memory resources, are going to notice Blogger - and other websites - requiring more resources. As the Blogger code base becomes more complex, the amount of code required will make the increased resource use more obvious. Many people have already noticed Blogger running slower, when they edit their posts.

As Blogger code becomes more complex, and as they support more browsers, it's going to take them longer to develop new features - and to fix problems with current features.

The only answer here is that Blogger simply can't support an infinite number of older browsers. As newer browsers, with newer features, are made available, they have to stop supporting older browsers.

It's possible that Blogger is currently making an effort to temporarily override their earlier stated browser support policy, so they can accommodate Windows XP and Internet Explorer V8 - but it's unlikely that they can do this, forever.

If Blogger fixes the current flood of bX code errors, for users of IE V8, this may not last, for long.

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Community Building, For Virginia USA

Earlier this week, we saw numerous reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about problems with Google Friend Connect, on some Blogger blogs.

Once we realised the variety of the symptoms being experienced by blog owners and guests, it was not too difficult to report the problem, providing sufficient details, to Blogger Support. In less than 2 hours after the problem was reported, Blogger Engineers identified and resolved the problem.

Unfortunately, every problem with Blogger - and with Google Friend Connect - is not always going to have a similarly happy ending.

Blogger, and Google, is constantly evolving. One of the subjects of evolution involves Google Friend Connect, which is being replaced by Google+ Circles, and Google+ Following.

As Google develops Google+, and similar community building products, Blogger Engineers will spend more time developing connections with Google+, and less time supporting Google Friend Connect.

The next problem with Google Friend Connect may take longer than 2 hours to resolve. This may happen because the next problem will be more complex, and require more Engineers to identify and resolve.

Alternately, there may be less Blogger Engineers available to work on the next problem, because some Engineers will be busy on other projects.

Google+ Following does not work the same as Google Friend Connect - nor does it provide the same opportunities for community building. But we, as blog owners, need to figure out how to make Google+ Following work, for our blogs.

This blog has two similar sidebar accessories - "Follow Me" (aka Google Friend Connect), and "+Follow Me" (aka Google+ Following). One day, Google Friend Connect will be discontinued, and the "Follow Me" gadget will be removed. Right now, people can follow me, and this blog, using either or both accessories.

You can add either - or both - accessories to your blog, using the "Add a Gadget" wizard in the dashboard Layout menu entry. The "Google+ Followers" gadget is in the Basics list, while the "Followers" gadget is at the bottom of the "More Gadgets" list. Hopefully, the latter will remain available, until some of the issues with Google+ Followers can be addressed.

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Post Editor Problems With Blog Owners Using Internet Explorer V8

We've been seeing a steady stream of problems being reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from blog owners unable to use post editor.

The symptoms are varied, in detail.

• Some can't get the cursor active, in the window.
• Others can't use the Preview option.
• Still others can't Publish.

The primary symptom, seen by many, involves yet another mysterious bX code.

In many cases, this problem has been forecast, for some time - and the blog owners should blame only themselves. Many of these blog owners are using - or trying to use - Internet Explorer V8, to maintain their blogs.

Last year, Google warned us that this time was coming.

We support the latest version of Google Chrome (which automatically updates whenever it detects that a new version of the browser is available). We support the current and previous major releases of Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari on a rolling basis. Each time a new version is released, we begin supporting that version and stop supporting the third most recent version.

Google stopped supporting Internet Explorer V8, in 2012.

As previously announced, Internet Explorer 10 launched on October 26, 2012, and as a result, we discontinued support for Internet Explorer 8 on November 15.

Recently, as part of an update to post editor, Blogger used code which is incompatible with Internet Explorer V8. As they continue to update Blogger, to remain compatible with newer browsers, they will continue this policy.

As time progresses, more blog owners, trying to use IE V8, will find problems with Blogger - with the problems not answered by Blogger Support. Blog owners using IE V9 or V10, in compatibility mode, will also see these problems.

If you are using Internet Explorer V8, you are way overdue for a browser upgrade. If your computer uses Windows XP, then you need to replace or update your computer. As an alternative, consider using Chrome or Firefox for all Blogger activity.

The solution, for this problem, requires your action.

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Disable The Mobile Template, On Your Blog - As A Default View

Over a year ago, Blogger introduced a useful template option for our blogs - mobile templates.

Blogger mobile templates are mobile-optimized versions of our Template Designer templates. If you are using one of these templates, when you enable the mobile template option your blog will begin rendering using the mobile version of the same variant. Even if you are not using a Template Designer template, or using a heavily-customized version of one, you can still enable this feature to have your blog start rendering in a generic default mobile template that we have created.

The mobile templates let computers with lower display size / resolution - aka PDAs, mobile phones, and smart phones - display the content of our blogs, without the unnecessary overhead which may be a part of our normal blog formatting.

If you are viewing this post on your smart phone, it's likely that you are viewing it using a mobile template. As exciting as the mobile templates are, however, they will not replace the normal, full feature templates - on every blog, or on every mobile computer.

Not every blog owner, nor every visitor, wants to view any given blog using a mobile template. Some tablet computers have display units which rival normal desktop displays from a few years ago - and low feature, mobile templates are unnecessary. Fortunately, there are a number of options - for the blog owner, and for the blog visitor.

If you are a blog owner, you can disable the mobile template, as a default, for your blog. For those blog owners who have forgotten how they set the mobile template on their blog, you use the "Template - Choose mobile template" wizard, from the gear icon beneath Template - Mobile. Simply select "No. Show desktop template on mobile devices.", and Save - and that's it.

If your blog has a Classic Template, you can disable the default mobile template from your blog, with a little extra bit of effort.

1. Start with the Template wizard, and select "Upgrade template".
2. Once your blog has an upgraded template, you can use the "Choose mobile template" wizard, and select "No.".
3. Go back to the Template wizard, and at the bottom find "Revert to classic templates".
4. Selecting the latter link, your blog will be back to the previous, Classic template.
5. But now, the default Mobile template will be disabled.

Upgrade your blog, to a Designer template.

Return your blog, to a Classic template.

Having set - or un set - the default mobile template for your blog, your visitors have the final say, how they want to view your blog. If you are the visitor, you can choose, with a little effort.

Any time you are viewing a Blogger blog, from any computer, you can select - or de select - the mobile template for the blog which you are viewing. Just use the appropriate mobile template URL suffix.

• To de select the mobile template, use "/?m=0". http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/?m=0
• To select the mobile template, use "/?m=1". http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/?m=1

You can view a blog using a mobile template on your desktop computer - or a blog using a full feature template on your mobile computer. It's now your choice.

This blog, viewed from this computer, using a Mobile template.
Unfortunately, it's your choice, when you use your mobile computer, only. You have only two choices, for your blog.

• Don't enable the mobile template.
• Enable the mobile template.

Each of your readers have to choose how to view your blog - if you choose to offer the mobile template.

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Template Designer Upgrades Require Supporting Updates To The Individual Blog Templates

This week, we're seeing a small flood of problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken about problems with the Template Designer.

Every time I change something, I have to refresh the page in order for it to show up. It won't "Save" when I try to save the layout changes. It just says "Saving..." at the top of the page and fades away, but doesn't actually save any changes.

Many problems involve changes made to the template, using the Designer, which aren't being saved - or are broken when saved. Most of the people reporting these problems have made changes to the template, previously - some are so experienced at making changes, they can't believe that their latest changes could ever have problems.

Interestingly, this history of changes is not a coincidence - and it's likely that some of the changes helps to cause these problems.

Take a look at the template code in your blog, some time. You'll notice a lot of code which doesn't look like CSS, HTML, or XML. Some of it is code which supports the various blog features that are adjusted or configured using the Template Designer.

Many template features involve two sets of code.

1. The Template Designer wizard, part of the Blogger dashboard, is common code used by all blog owners.
2. The blog template, post template, and / or widget template, is part of the individual blogs. Some template code does nothing but support the Template Designer - and let you configure your blog layout,

Every time Blogger Engineering adds or updates template features, they have to make changes to both sets of code.

Blogger Engineering does not edit each individual blog, after they upgrade the Template Designer. They make changes to the master template code - and their changes replicate into the individual blog templates. These changes replicate much more consistently, when the individual templates have not been changed.

The more custom a template is, with changes applied by the blog owner or in a third party template, the less likely it is to properly update, to support each succeeding Template Designer update. Any time Blogger Engineering updates the Template Designer, to add a new feature, or maybe to support a new browser version, their updates may require changes which are not properly applied to all blogs - and the Template Designer stops working, in some blogs.

When the Template Designer stops working, the usual recommendation is to refresh the post or widget template - or maybe to upgrade the blog template - and things start rolling again. And the blog owner goes back to tweaking the template, until something breaks again.

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The New GUI Is Here

Several people are reporting seeing the New Blogger GUI in their dashboard - even when they did not intentionally upgrade. Possibly, this was forced by the necessary Custom Domain Authentication Feature, which is now operational - on the New GUI only.

I am expecting my Blogger account to change, soon. Let's see if I get a "Your blog post published successfully!" display. So far, I am in Virginia - though I am thinking of a procedural workaround for that shortcoming. I realise that everybody won't have a workaround for their dislikes - though we have to be contemplative, and accept the changes.

If you wish to make your feelings known, please post in the latest Problem Rollup: V4 I do not like the New Blogger Interface because ...

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Legacy Accounts Are No Longer Supported - The Final Chapter

Today, I was advising the latest legacy Blogger account holdout.

I got the email that says

You are receiving this message because your email address is associated with an unmigrated legacy Blogger account. As we announced in April of last year, legacy accounts will no longer be accessible after May 30th, 2012 unless they are updated to the Google Account system. Any blog content associated with this account will also be unmodifiable after that date.

Upon reporting this latest support need to Blogger, I was advised of the sad reality, by a Blogger Engineer.

Legacy support has been deprecated.

We have seen this coming, for a long time - and it has finally arrived.

What this advice means is simple - if your blog(s) are owned by a legacy Blogger account, that account, and blog(s), is now frozen.

• You can't convert your account.
• You can't update your blog(s).

You have been warned, repeatedly. Now, Blogger has moved on - and you can't be helped.

• They won't delete your blog.
• They won't take the URL away from you.
• You can't delete or update the blog - or re use the URL.

It's possible that the Legacy Claim form may help you - though the queue for action can be a week, or more. Here, as always, you have a much better chance of success if you know both the Username and Password.

Alternately, if you can setup a new Blogger account, try recovering the blog into the new account. Alternately, checkout the Known Blogger Issues article, for some possible solutions.

Other than that, let Blogger move into the future - don't demand special treatment, which will only help enable future opportunity for account hacking.

If you wish to publish using Blogger, start a new blog, under a new Blogger account. If you're here because you have not published your blog since 2006, the changes to Blogger have been so extensive that you'll be starting over, anyway. Start a new blog - you can always include the old blog, in the new one, as static content.

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A Template For Virginia USA, #5

For a few years, I have been making jokes about some Blogger blog owners, and their (perceived) need to keep a Classic (HTML based) template, on their blogs. Some blog owners continue to ask naive questions in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?.

How do I let my readers view 'Older Posts'?

or

How do I add a Pages menu?

or

How do I use Following, with the "Follow" link recently removed from the navbar?

Recently, in musing about some of the recent Blogger policy changes, such as the end to the Blogger FTP Publishing option, a formalised browser support policy, and the end of pre-Google (aka "legacy") Blogger accounts, I realised that one of the next changes, logically, would be a phasing out of support for HTML based templates. I think that this idea is probably long over due.

With the recently offered Layout, then Designer, and now Dynamic templates, there are so many features offered by Blogger that you are just plain missing out on, if you insist on using an HTML based template.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not suggesting that you need to upgrade your template, this month - or even this year. Even so, I believe that one day, possibly sooner than you would think, the day will come, and you'll see the latest Buzz article.

Time to upgrade your template!

My suspicion is that the few remaining owners of blogs, still using an HTML template, are smaller in number than those who objected to the forced installation of auto pagination, or those forced to migrate from FTP Publishing, or those who are currently objecting to the New Blogger GUI. And of those 3 changes, possibly only the implementation of auto pagination was simpler to execute.

Those of us who have migrated a blog from Classic (HTML) to Layout (XML) - or maybe Designer (XML) - know how simple most Classic template upgrades are.

• Click on the "Upgrade" button.
• Select an XML template.
• Use the "Page Elements" wizard (now the "Layout" menu entry), and start adding accessories.
• Occasionally, use the "View Classic Template" option, to retrieve some overlooked HTML code.

The GUI menus and wizards, too, will make a Classic to Designer upgrade almost transparent. Under the Classic Blogger GUI, there was a completely different set of links, menus, and wizards, for a Classic, as opposed to a Designer, template.

Under the New Blogger GUI, the main difference between a Classic and Designer template would be the absence of the Layout menu entry, for a Classic template. A Classic template only needs the "Template" menu entry, and the "Edit HTML" button in "Template" - just a clean subset of the existing menu structure.

Is this jumping the gun? If so, my apologies, in advance.

Time to upgrade your template!

But, is 5 years (less 3 weeks) not long enough, to wait?

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A Template For Virginia USA, #4

As the frustrations about the CC TLD aliases continue to be reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, and some of the details are discovered and resolved, we are seeing suggestions of other, more subtle problems.

Some blog owners claim that their page rank / search engine reputation has taken a nose dive, because their readership is spread out over many different countries. Apparently, canonical resolution by the search engines does not work, for all "blogspot.com" published blogs. Older blogs, including those with Classic (HTML based) templates - and possibly some older Layout templates - seem to lack canonical resolution.

The canonical resolution process, by the search engines, requires a canonical tag which defines the base URL of the blog. Blogs with older templates don't have the canonical tag in the template header - and the search engines can't aggregate the CC alias URLs generated by the many different country code references.

Any blog, indexed by the search engines, separately, under the different CC TLD aliases, is going to have a lower overall search reputation. The different references, under the many aliases, will be indexed - but as each will be more diverse, each reference will appear lower in SERP lists. This will result in less search engine related traffic - and subsequently still lower SERP positioning.

If your blog depends upon search engine generated traffic for publicity, and you have an older blog, you are going to want to check the template header.

<link href='http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/' rel='canonical'/>

If you do not find a similar tag in the template header for your blog, you need to upgrade your template. Your readers will thank you, too.

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Dynamic Templates, As Part Of Blogger History

Recently, we've seen people who want to use a dynamic template on their blog - but are unwilling to put up with the limitations.

Why can't Google make its Dynamic View Template easy to customize?

and

Why can't I choose who I want reading my blog, and let my readers use a dynamic view?

and

Why should I publish my blog to a "Dynamic Template" - which appears to be Google speak for "It doesn't work at all."?

Not every Blogger blog owner realises why the dynamic templates work as they do, yet offer as few options.

To understand why dynamic templates work - or don't work - as they do, one should understand the history of Blogger blogs, and use of templates.

The New GUI (2011) Is Here - And Is Not Going Away

Last month, Blogger took the next step in making us use the New Blogger GUI, and started migrating our accounts, aggressively. This change did not please a lot of people.

Why won't Google admit the new interface is an utter failure, and scrap it?

This is an example of misguided optimism. Blogger is not simply going to scrap it.

The people such as in the latter example, who are protesting the coming of the New Blogger Interface, are making three mistakes.

1. They are wasting their own time and energy, protesting.
2. They are not telling people, specifically, what problems they see.
3. They are encouraging other people to waste time and energy.

The New Blogger Interface is not going to go away - nor is it an utter failure.

No previously controversial Blogger features, seen in the past, have been scrapped.

• Auto pagination.
• Automated account and blog recovery.
• Spam mitigation.

Each of those features have received far more criticism than The New GUI - even considering the problems discovered, in The New GUI, to date. And, each of those features are still in place - and are tuned, occasionally.

Better get used to it, folks. The New Blogger Interface will, eventually, become The Blogger Interface - with, or without, your approval. If you want to accomplish something, tell everybody what, specifically, you consider to be a problem. Just tell everybody what problems you see, while there is still time to get something done - before we see a Gear icon, with no menu entry for "Old Blogger interface", on everybody's dashboard.

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(Update 9/19): This week, the end just got here.

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