Of course, you can disable this sharing prompt at any time on the "Settings - Posts and Comments" page. And you can always share individual posts on Google+ by selecting "share" underneath the entry in your post list.
You can start using the new Share to Google+ immediately if you’ve already chosen to use your Google+ profile on your blog. If you haven’t yet made the switch, click here to get started.
If you don’t have a Google+ account you can create one here, and then log in to Blogger and follow the above instructions.
To learn more, check out our FAQs or visit our Help Forum.
Want to chat about sharing to Google+ and other Blogger features with someone from the team? Join me on the Blogger +page for a live video Hangout at 3PM PST.
2. AdSense serves relevant ads on your blogs:
AdSense works by matching text and image ads to your blog based on your content and the types of users that visit your site. For example, if you write about running, your readers may see ads next to your post about running shoes and equipment. Ads are created and paid for by advertisers who want to promote their products.
3. Great content is key:
Posting high quality content is the best way to maximize your returns with AdSense. It’s important to take a little extra time defining your topic, creating a post that is engaging and matters to your readers. The more interesting and appealing your content is, the more likely your readers will be to click on the ads on your blog.
This short video will also give you a quick overview of AdSense and how it works with Blogger:
Stay tuned to the Blogger Buzz blog for more tips and tricks about monetization in the coming weeks.
If you already own a Go Daddy domain and would like to connect it with your Blogger blog, head to the Go Daddy tool, log in to your Go Daddy account, enter your preferred domain or subdomain (for instance www.example.com or blog.example.com), click Confirm, and voila, your DNS records are updated.
Once your DNS records are set correctly, log in to Blogger, click “Add a custom domain” in the Publishing section of the Settings page, follow the short instructions, and your custom domain will be set up and redirecting in 24 hours or less.
If you purchased a domain from another provider, don’t worry, we’ve got a step-by-step guide that will walk you through the setup process. And finally, if you would like your blog to redirect to a custom domain, you can purchase one and get it set up without complicated configuration right from the Blogger dashboard in the Publishing section of the Settings page.
One of the primary reasons we attended the expo was to meet Blogger users 1:1, and to gain a better understanding of what we can do to improve the product to better meet your needs.
In addition to these discussions, we conducted surveys with many conference attendees to collect more in-depth feedback. Thank you! We really appreciate the valuable and candid responses.
In the survey results and our 1:1 discussions with you we heard a few common themes:
You’re hoping to widen your audience with Google+
You’d like more opportunities to customize and use gadgets with Dynamic Views
You’re looking for tips and best practices for how to make more money from your blog with AdSense
Your requests have been shared with the broader team and we’re hard at work making them happen for you. Stay tuned to the Buzz Blog in the coming weeks for follow ups, and in the meantime, check out some other photos from the expo below.
By adding Blogger's Page in one of your circles, you'll start seeing updates from the Blogger team in your Google+ stream. You’ll also have the opportunity to engage with other bloggers by writing comments on the posts.
To kick things off on Thursday, Jennifer Bahk from the Google Adsense team will be hosting a session called “Get More Bang and Make More Bucks with Blogger” at 3:45PM, where she’ll share expert advice on how to optimize your blog to make money with AdSense.
On Friday and Saturday, the team will be hanging out at booth 314 on the exhibition floor, where we’ll be giving live demos, answering questions, and giving away Blogger swag, including photo printouts from our very own Google Photobooth. And for those of you who are traveling from abroad, Sabine Borsay, our Consumer Experience Specialist from Europe, will also be in attendance to chat with international bloggers about your blogging experience and needs.
From 1-3PM on Saturday we’re hosting a meet-and-greet at our booth with Ari Seth Cohen, a fashion blogger from New York City whose blog, Advanced Style, has inspired a book that will be debuting in 2012. Come by to say hello to Ari and hear the story of how he took blogging from a hobby to a successful, sustainable business.
It’ll be an action-packed few days, so if you’re interested in attending, as a member of the Blogger community you can use this special code for 20% off of any registration package at BlogWorld 2011: BLOGGER20.
If you can’t attend the event, our Community Manager, Lisa Ding, will be hosting a series of video chats with Google+ Hangouts on her Google+ profile, covering a wide range of topics on Friday and Saturday, at the following times:
Friday, Nov 4:
11AM - Hangout: New UI
1PM - Hangout: Hangout: Dynamic Views
3PM - Hangout: Monetization on Blogger
Saturday, Nov. 5:
11AM - Hangout: Google+ & Blogging
If you want to participate but don’t yet have a Google+ account, visit plus.google.com to create one.
We hope to see you there--or at least in a Hangout!
Posted by: Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager
To begin personalizing your blog, log in to the Blogger dashboard, select “Template”, choose from one of the seven Dynamic Views, and then click “Customize” to access the Template Designer.
Finally, if you’re waiting for gadget support in Dynamic Views, stay tuned...
Plus, bloggers who switch will automatically get access to the Google+ integrations we’ll be rolling out in the future.
If you blog under a pseudonym and you don’t want to connect your common name with your blog, this integration may not work for you. That’s why we’ve made it completely optional to switch.
This option is available for all users today in our testing ground, Blogger in Draft, and will be accessible from www.blogger.com in the coming weeks.
If you have a Google+ account and would like to replace your Blogger profile with your Google+ profile, log in to draft.blogger.com and click “Get started” on the promotion message, pictured below, or click here to get started right away.
If you don’t have a Google+ account, you can create one here first, and then head back to draft.blogger.com and look for the promotion message.
To learn more, check out our FAQs or visit our Help Forum. Happy blogging!
Since then, millions of you have opted to try it out, and we’ve received tens of thousands of feedback submissions. Based on that feedback we’ve fixed a number of bugs, including design updates, Safari compatibility for the iPad, and tweaks to scheduling posts.
In about two weeks from today, all Blogger accounts that haven’t yet made the switch will be upgraded to the new user interface. You will be able to opt-out at any time by clicking the “Switch back” link; however, all accounts will eventually be permanently upgraded.
To help you get a better sense of what’s changed and how to navigate the new interface, check out the short video below.
If you’d like to switch to the new look at any time, you can easily do so by clicking the “Try the updated Blogger interface” link at the top of your dashboard.
We hope you enjoy the updates we continue to make to Blogger and welcome your thoughts about the new look. If you have suggestions or feedback, click the gear icon in the top right of the navigation bar and select “Send Feedback.”
Dynamic Views is much more than just new templates. With just a couple clicks, you’ll get infinite scrolling (say goodbye to the “Older posts” link), images that load as you browse, integrated search, sorting by date, label and author, lightbox-style posts for easy viewing, keyboard shortcuts for quickly flipping through posts, and one-click sharing to Google+ and other social sites on every post.
No two blogs are the same, so you can choose from seven different views that display text and photos differently. For example, if you have lots of photos on your blog, you may prefer Flipcard or Snapshot. If your blog is more text-heavy, then Classic, Sidebar (what you’re seeing now on Blogger Buzz) or Timeslide may be preferable. Here’s a quick description of each of the new views, along with links to some of our favorite blogs where you can check each of them out in action.
Classic (Gmail): A modern twist on a traditional template, with infinite scrolling and images that load as you go
Flipcard (M loves M) - Your photos are tiled across the page and flip to reveal the post title
Magazine (Advanced Style) - A clean, elegant editorial style layout
Mosaic (Crosby’s Kitchen) - A mosaic mix of different sized images and text
Sidebar (Blogger Buzz Blog) - An email inbox-like view with a reading page for quick scrolling and browsing
Enter the name of your favorite Blogger blog below and click Preview to check it out with Dynamic Views. .blogspot.com
Adding a Dynamic View to your blog is as easy as changing your template. Log in to Blogger, click on the Template tab on your dashboard, and select whichever view you want to set as your default. Note that readers can still choose to navigate your blog in a different view by selecting from the pulldown in the upper left of the screen.
If you want to add your own touch to any of these new views, you can upload a header image and customize the background colors. We’ll be adding more ways to customize Dynamic Views in the coming weeks.
We hope you enjoy the latest update to Blogger, and that, as always, you tell us what you think by completing this short survey.
Note: In addition to Blogger Buzz, several other official Google blogs will be featuring Dynamic Views through the weeks and months ahead, including the Gmail Blog, Google Voice Blog, and Docs Blog. We’re excited to bring Dynamic Views into the fold and we'll be looking at how to incorporate this new technology across Google’s blog network in the long term.
Hi everyone! I'm Rebecca Brown, a blogger and personal stylist in the Seattle area. When I started my blog nearly 2 years ago, it was to document my attempt to wear a different dress for every day of December (sounds super interesting, right? It proves you can write a blog about anything).
I had no idea that a blog about my clothing choices would grow and become such a fun hobby! And even though I’ve been blogging for a little while, I still feel like I have so much to learn, which is what keeps blogging interesting! So, while I'm definitely far from being an expert, here are a few things that have worked for me:
1) Find a community of bloggers with similar interests. Do you like to write about video games, fashion, cooking? There are lots of great blogs on those topics already. A quick Google search for “fashion blogs” helped me round out my reading list. I always check out the blog rolls of people whose blogs I enjoy, and I also visit the blogs of folks who comment on my blog. Bottom line: interact with bloggers whose blogs you enjoy. You'll learn so much, I promise. This leads me to my next point...
2) Leave insightful comments on blogs that you enjoy - especially blogs that are in the same niche as you. Instead of just saying, "hey, nice blog, follow me please”, call out something specific that you liked about the post. Pure "followback" requests don’t really make people want to follow you.
3) Don't underestimate the importance of good pictures on your posts. The basics: Use a tripod or get a friend to photograph you if the pictures are of you. Take pictures outdoors if possible because natural light always makes pictures look better. Use post-processing (I use Picnik) to adjust the exposure, add effects, and crop to keep the focus on what you want. You don’t need a fancy camera - I use my cell phone most of the time! I wrote about this in more depth here.
4) Think about quality, rather than quantity of posts. Readers would rather see an insightful (and spell-checked!) post with original content and good pictures 2-4 times a week than hastily-written thoughts on a daily basis. Most avid blog readers follow so many blogs that if you post too often, and especially if your posts aren't high quality, you'll get passed over in favor of the other blogs on their blogroll. Plus, a great, high-quality post can continue to get you traffic for a few days - don't truncate its effectiveness by posting again the very next day.
5) Schedule your posts. I typically have a chunk of time on the weekend where I can plan out and write my 2-4 posts for the week, or at least get a rough draft in place. Blogger allows you to schedule your posts and they will automatically publish at the date/time you specify. I typically set my posts to publish around 2am to capture folks in other time zones.
6) Lastly, don't apologize for not posting more often. A blog is a fun hobby - but once you start feeling beholden to it, it stops being fun! Plus, your readers will likely not notice if you don't post for a week unless you write a post about how sorry you are for not posting!
I hope these tips are helpful! Blogging has been such a great part of my life - allowing me to express myself, build a community and make lifelong friends. And the great thing about it is that nearly anyone can do it. So have fun with it, don’t take yourself too seriously, and you’ll be a great blogger in no time!
Download the Blogger app today for iOS versions 3.2 and above in the App Store. Although the user interface is only available in English at this time, the app supports blog posts written in all languages. If you’re using an Android-powered device, you can download the Blogger app for Android from the Android Market.
Monitor and grow your audience at a glance
In the new “Overview” section of your dashboard, you’ll be able to quickly get a pulse for how people are reacting to your blog with a graph of your most recent traffic numbers, comment activity and follower counts. For extra guidance and inspiration, you’ll also find a list of helpful links, a feed of Blogger updates and a showcase of other blogs you may find interesting.
Opt in now
Starting today, we’ll gradually let all bloggers choose to turn on the new UI, so your Blogger experience won’t be updated until you enable it. Over the next few days, keep an eye out for a pop-up announcement on your dashboard with instructions on how to get started, and check out this Blogger Help Center page to learn more about what’s changed.
If you have suggestions or feedback about the new look, click the gear icon in the top right of the navigation bar and select “Send Feedback.”
We’re working hard to fundamentally revamp and improve the Blogger experience from the ground up, and we hope you enjoy the first in a series of major updates that are on their way in the coming months.
Over the last few days we’ve rolled out a handful of updates, all of which are available to everyone right now. Here’s the rundown:
Favicon graduates from Draft
As we announced on the Blogger in Draft blog earlier this month, we now offer an easy tool for creating custom favicons on your Blogger blog. We’re happy to announce today that this feature is now available to all Blogger users.
Since the initial release to Draft, we’ve added support for all image types (JPEG, PNG, GIF, etc) and will now automatically resize the image to the correct favicon specifications. You can add a custom favicon to your blog right now on the Design | Page Elements tab, via the new favicon element shown below:
Swipe navigation for Mobile views
Adding to the featureset of our new mobile templates, you can now navigate through your mobile view with swipe navigation. This new navigation option lets you swipe through individual blog posts in a way that should feel very familiar for mobile and tablet users.
If you are viewing this post from a mobile device, you can give this a try right now!
Support for +1 on Pages
A few weeks ago we announced the +1 button on Blogger, and now we’re happy to expand coverage to individual pages as well as blog posts. The +1 button will now appear on Pages as an option on the sharing widget just as it has appeared for individual blog posts.
That’s it for now, more to come soon! Happy Blogging.
I think that most users do not realize the value and flexibility that Blogger offers, including free hosting, complete customization, personalized domain options, WYSIWYG editor and more. Because Blogger is a Google product, you can also easily integrate with other Google services such as: Google Analytics, Google Docs, AdSense, Picasa and more. All of this is available free of charge while providing a simple, easy authoring environment for the small business owner.
As a web development firm, Blogger provides us with a different value proposition. When we pitch a Blogger-based solution to a client we can provide services at a lower price point while still maintaining full creative freedom. I don’t need to set up a paid hosting account for my client, worry about security patches or upgrades, or be concerned about system uptime and availability. Finally, I can easily transfer ownership and management of the site to my client, or, continue to keep us both as co-administrators.
It can be hard to envision a platform’s potential from a list of features so here are a few examples of what we’ve achieved with Blogger.
I hope the examples above have opened your eyes to some of the possibilities of what you can do with your Blogger site, or maybe encourage you to give Blogger a try for your website solution. A longer, more in-depth version of this post is available on our blog. My company is lucky to have an exceptionally talented designer that isn’t afraid to push us, but even if you don’t have the ability to create an entirely new site template, perhaps this will encourage you to explore the underlying code of your site and to customize some of the small details to match your vision for your site.
In keeping with Google’s public commitment to make copyright work better online, our team has been working on improving the copyright environment for bloggers and copyright owners alike. As access to the web grows, bringing new content and services online, it becomes even more important to ensure the rights of everyone involved are protected and understood. To that end, we’re happy today to announce the release of two significant improvements to Blogger’s copyright handling toolkit:
1.) Streamlined submission tools for rightsholders.
Working alongside industry representatives, we’ve built a better submission and handling system for our high-volume DMCA takedown submitters that simplifies the reporting process and reduces our average response time to less than 24 hours.
2.) Streamlined counter-notice tools for users.
Built right into the dashboard, Blogger now offers a simple way to counter-notify incoming DMCA takedown notices to blog authors who believe their content was improperly targeted for removal. This will initially be available for users receiving notices from our high-volume submitters, though we have plans to expand this to other notices down the road.
In addition, to ensure transparency around the entire system, we’ll continue to forward all DMCA notices (as well as counter-notices) to the Chilling Effects cease & desist clearinghouse where they’ll be available for public searching.
As a refresher, here is a recap of how our DMCA removals procedure works today, factoring in these two updates we’ve just announced:
A blogger (let’s call him Joe Blogger) decides to post a link on his blog to a downloadable copy of Album X.
The rightsholder believes the link leads to an unauthorized, infringing copy of Album X and submits a takedown notice for that specific post.
At this point, Joe Blogger has the right to file a counter-notice and request the post be restored if he believes the takedown was improper. He may also edit the post to remove the allegedly infringing content himself.
If Joe Blogger files a counter-notice, notification will be sent to the rightsholder as well as to Chilling Effects, and after ten business days the post will be restored if the rightsholder decides not to pursue further action.
Rightsholders may pursue further legal action if they deem the counter-notice sent by the user to be invalid or erroneous.
These updates are the most recent among the copyright-related improvements our team has implemented over the last two years, all intended to strike a responsible balance between the needs of copyright owners and bloggers.
While I’m a fervent reader of blogs, I’ve struggled to post original content on a regular basis. Fortunately, I’ve discovered a couple of sharing tools on Blogger that will help me post more often. As long as I keep finding interesting things on the web, I’ll be able to use these two shortcuts to help me generate quick blog posts:
Blog This! tool for Chrome: If you're using Chrome as your browser, simply install this extension and you'll be ready to write a blog post with a prepopulated link.
If you want to share a post from another Blogger blog, select the ‘B’ sharing button at the end of the post. A link and blurb of the post will pre-populate, so simply type an intro, and voila! you have a new post. (Note: If you don't see the sharing buttons on your own blog, you can enable them by going into the Design tab and editing the Blog Post page element.)
A question for our bloggers: do you consider yourself primarily a creator or a curator?
At the beginning, life can seem a bit lonely in the blogosphere, so kudos to you for taking that first step and starting a blog. Whether your purpose has evolved over the years or you’ve stuck around for the same reasons that got you started, we truly enjoyed reading your responses to our #bloggerasks tweet on why you blog.
@CprincessUK broke it down in list form, music blogger @LinerNotes crafted a mission statement, and @fortnow blogged about blogging for Blogger’s 10th anniversary. Others of you kept your raison d’être under 140 characters. Here are a few of them, short and sweet:
“I started blogging because I loved my wedding and talking about weddings and my fiancé didn't - I needed a community” (@CMatlick)
“Main reason: creative writing outlet. Aux reasons: counteract stereotypes/preconceived ideas abt Pakistan, Pakistanis, & Islam :)” (@desigurrl)
“I started blogging after a near death experience to create a legacy for my three young children” (@FrillyHills)
“Started blogging to write about food and Flavor of Italy's culinary tourism business” (@FlavorofItaly)
Whether it’s your love of magic, to share tips on shaving, to chronicle life with the kids, or for reasons you still haven’t figured out, we want to know -- why do you blog?
Our team has been thinking a lot recently about browser support, and wanted to make you aware of our new plan moving forward. For web applications like Blogger to continue to evolve at a rapid pace, our engineering team needs to make use of new capabilities available in modern browsers. For example, Dynamic Views, which we previewed in March, and Web Fonts both require advanced browsers that support HTML5. Older browsers just aren’t able to provide you with the same high-quality experience.
For this reason, starting next month Blogger.com will only support modern browsers. Beginning August 1st, we’ll support the current and prior major release of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari on a rolling basis. Each time a new version is released, we’ll begin supporting the update and stop supporting the third-oldest version.
As of August 1st, we will discontinue support for the following browsers and their predecessors: Firefox 3.5, Internet Explorer 7, and Safari 3. In these older browsers you may have trouble using certain features in Blogger as well as many other Google Apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, Google Docs and Google Sites.
So if it’s been a while since your last update, we encourage you to take advantage of the improved performance and security these modern browsers have to offer by installing the latest version of your preferred browser. There are many to choose from:
I wouldn’t consider myself a “fashionista,” but I do follow a good fashion blog or two.
Aside from The Sartorialist, which is one of the most frequently-viewed blogs on Blogger, I’m an avid follower of The Man Repeller. The blog is filled with photos of beautiful clothes, and I love the sassy attitude of Miss Man Repeller herself. This lady really seems to embrace the phrase “dressing for other girls.” Men, don’t worry about it.
There are quite a few popular fashion blogs on Blogger, but one thing that I’ve noticed many have in common is the use of a simple template with a customized header image. The simple template allows you to highlight the most important part of a fashion blog -- the images. And instead of have just text for a title header, you can draw readers in with a splashy colorful image that leaves a strong impression.
What are some of your favorite fashion blogs on Blogger? I’ll take some of your suggestions via comments and feature them in a future post.
Note: Please only submit fashion blogs -- other types will be featured later. I'll be crediting the nominator, so please leave your Twitter name or blog URL. Looking forward to your suggestions!
Although it’s important to keep your readers in mind, most of you tweeted about staying true to yourself, and writing about what you love. @Mistylovesvamps said it best: “don't be a slave to stats & followers.”
The balance between writing for yourself and becoming part of a community can be difficult at first - even a little scary - but it’s worth it. And if you’re still on the fence, consider the best blogging advice @Shakestweetz received: “Hey, you should start a blog.”
Missed our #bloggerasks? Keep an eye out for future tweets, and for my posts on your responses. Have even more blogging advice? Let us know - leave a comment!
When you install the extension, a button will appear on your browser toolbar. Simply click the button to open Blogger in a new application window.
The new post is pre-populated with a link to the web page you're on, as well as any text you've highlighted on that page. Edit the post to your liking and post it instantly to your blog.
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.
Some of our feature highlights:
Preview: Get a glimpse of how your blog will be displayed by clicking on the Mobile Preview button. You can also see it on your smartphone by scanning the QR-code.
Automatic redirection: Viewers will see the mobile version of your blog when accessing from smartphones*.
Template support: We are now supporting all 27 templates. Some gadgets are also supported**.
Mobile ads: Mobile AdSense ads will be displayed at the top of the post pages and at the bottom of the index page if the blog has an AdSense gadget or in-line blog ads.
Comments and videos: Viewers on smartphone devices will be able to make comments and watch videos.
We hope you enjoy the mobile templates. As always, we would love to hear from you so please let us know what you think through our feedback form, and stay tuned for future improvements.
*WebKit-based mobile browsers are supported for this launch. **Supported gadgets/elements in this launch: Header, Blog, Profile, AdSense, Attribution.
By adding the +1 button to your blog, you’re providing an easy way for your visitors to recommend your posts to their friends right from your blog. Here’s how it works: Let’s say you blog about biking. One of your readers, Tom, finds your recent post about mountain biking interesting, and clicks on the +1 button. Now, when Tom’s friends and contacts search for biking or mountain bikes and your post appears in Google search results, they might see an annotation showing that Tom +1’d your post, helping your content stand out.
[Example of how a blog post +1’d by visitors appears on the Google search results page]
We hope +1’s will help your blog stand out better in search results, which could increase both the quality and quantity of traffic to your blog. Now, that’s indeed a big +1, isn’t it?
Update 6/10: We've updated our gadget's Terms of Service and you will need to agree to these new terms before you can add or continue to use the gadget.
We know that most of you blog for the sake of sharing your thoughts and opinions, however a little side income is like an unexpected gift. Today we’re releasing a new gadget that allows your readers to directly contribute to your blog. The gadget can be added to any part of your page, but we’ve formatted it to fit best in the sidebar.
Setup is only five simple steps and should only take a few minutes of your time; just follow the steps below:
Be sure to enable the HTML API by going to the Settings tab, clicking the integration link and unchecking the “My company will only post digitally signed carts” checkbox. Also, copy the Merchant Id for use in step 5.
Back in Blogger, on the Design | Page Elements tab click “add a gadget” where you wish to place the Support gadget.
Add the "Support My Blog" gadget from the gadget gallery.
Customize your support button settings. The Checkout Merchant Id is the one you copied down in step two. Save and you’re done!
Your supporters can now contribute to your blog. Clicking on the support button will direct your supporters to Checkout to complete the transaction. For an example of the support button in action, please visit the following blog:
Once you’ve settled on the location you want to add to the blog post, just click Save and the information will automatically be added to the footer section of your published post (if you don't see it, you'll probably have to enable the Location option in the Blog Post widget which is normally defaulted to 'on'.)
We’ve made a few small updates and bug fixes since the original Draft release, most notably the ability to remove location information after publishing and the addition of a placemarker for pinpointing location info.
Refreshed interface for image and video upload
Clicking the “photo” or “video” upload buttons will now display a sleeker, updated picker. We’ve also made it draggable so you can look back at the post editor if you need to.
A pair of Known Issues are now fixed
Users posting comments from non-Google accounts should no longer see the intermittent bX errors that occurred last week.
The intermittent errors which were preventing the browsing of archives via Newer / Older navigation links has been fixed.
