Garden Bloggers
One of the things I’ve started doing again after a bit of a break, is reading a lot more garden blogs. (Hey, it’s winter and I can’t garden) 
I had read about Blogger’s new policy of requiring you to have a Blogger site if you wanted to interact with other Blogger blogs but hadn’t run into it until this weekend. I read a post and decided to make a comment but then ran into the fact that I no longer have a Blogger account.
I could sign up for some kind of “anonymous” account but what’s the point?
Blogging is and always has been about creating networks and sharing stuff among blogs. With one swoop of policy, Blogger has surgically removed all future networking/links from outside its own boundaries. Because I host my own blog, I can’t make comments on Blogger sites that will include a link to my site to include myself as part of the ongoing conversation. I can’t include myself and my blog into the conversations of Blogger sites.
Garden bloggers that use Blogger will no longer be able to have comment links from a range of non-Blogger sites. Blogger-hosted blogs are now insulated from the rest of the blogosphere. A blog-ghetto if you will. It’s a big ghetto but as soon as you put up a wall where you restrict people from coming in, it doesn’t matter how large the area enclosed, you still live inside a wall.
So. Too bad I couldn’t contribute to the ongoing discussion on the blog I visited but them’s the breaks. I suspect both myself and the blog author are slightly worse off for this.
I think the real losers in this though are those that blog within Blogger. Not to put too fine a point on it but if you look at the most-read gardening blogs, the most popular, the majority of them are outside of Blogger and self-hosted. Those who blog within the Blogger network will find themselves slowly weaned off contact from these content leaders. It won’t happen next week or next month but my guess is it will happen unless Blogger changes its policy. Those who blog seriously will move to self-hosting and those who want to play will stay within Blogger.
My .02 on a snow-recovering Monday morning.
I was just trying to leave comments on some Blogger blogs and noticing how it had gotten to be a huge hassle to do it – and then you can’t even leave your link so people can find you! I was thinking something was very amiss but now you’ve explained that this is intentional!!
I’m spreading the word over on the Rant today, and thanks for being on top of this, Doug. Susan
Anything for a ranter!
This is horrible. I just launched my Commonweeder blog – and chose Blogger because it was free and because it was supposed to be easy and because no one mentioned any drawbacks – although I have to say I am probably not the best researcher. I wanted to finally do a blog right that minute. Well, I will complain – and start researching for another host. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
I use a company called BlueHost for this blog and one other. They’re good – great customer service and you can install WordPress with a single click of the button. This is if you want to host your own URL and blog yourself.
Otherwise, use the free http://www.wordpress.com and http://www.typepad.com blogging platforms that compete with Blogger.
Typepad isn’t free — it’s $5.95 a month for one blog. Not horribly expensive.
The software has its quirks (ahem) but I like it well enough. In addition, Six Apart has its OpenID server, Typekey, properly configured already, while Google is still working out the kinks on Blogger.
Firefly – thanks for correcting me on that. Appreciate it.
From the blogger.com main page:
The “Other” URL field
Right now, the only way to add a URL to your name when commenting is to sign your comment with OpenID. We apologize for removing the URL field from the comments form prematurely two weeks ago. That was a mistake on our part that came from launching OpenID support on Blogger in draft.
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.
If you haven’t set up OpenID, you can still link to your blog — or any webpage, for that matter — by using the standard tag inside the comment form.
I don’t know what to say other than I am a bit frazzled about this whole thing.
I’m on EBlog because I am NOT the handiest person when it comes to creating a space in the cyberworld.
EBlog, albeit now a discrimination entity, made it fairly easy for me to get established .. granted not too many people have stopped by .. but the main reason I created a garden blog was for an on-line record of my garden for myself.
I didn’t think of engaging much “comment” traffic even though it would be nice.
I guess all the other kids are going to pick up their marbles and go home now ? leaving me on my own ? LOL
I love you Doug but some of us just create a blog to please ourselves .. we get a chance to “engage” other gardeners on great sites like your’s ! wink wink
Joy
There are several issues at play here.
1) I can indeed put an active link onto a Blogger website as a signature file if that is accepted by the blog owner. BTW, I do not accept html in posts on my blog as this is the primary method used by spammers and one way we filter them out. Html in posts on my site winds up in the spam filter almost automatically or deleted by myself if it sneaks through as all comments have to be approved before posting.
2) OpenId as a solution to identity across the Net.
Reminds me a little bit of the previous attempt by Microsoft to get us all to sign into their site (forget the name) so we could all have an id/wallet to use on any website we wanted. That idea crashed and burned joining the deadpool. Here we have Version 2.
So rather than leaving a system that was working alone, the tech and marketing folks think that it will “benefit me” to have me register my ID. Right – we’re from Microsoft and we want to help you. We’re from the marketing department and we want to help too.
I must have had too much curmudgeon juice at lunch today.
Hey Joy –
There are indeed several kinds of bloggers. And the wonder of that is that the Internet allows us this delightful diversity.
I write for a living (as you know) and have a ton of words out there – interacting as much as I possibly can within the framework of making a living with words.
But there are a huge number of folks who simply write for their own pleasure (like I write other stuff with no intent to publish or promote). And this is good and I love that it can be done.
If you’re one of those who simply writes for themselves. As a record of their garden – an online journal – then this is a tempest in a teapot and you can ignore the entire thing. Open up a blogger account (or hold on until next year and my next project)
or whatever. Write for your own sake.
Go home. Nah. We’ll just blog about it – Google/Blogger will do what they want to do and we’ll all adapt.
The point though is that we all want to have fun with this. (however we define fun)
Have you left your blog link on the site yet?
Harsh. Very harsh. Blogger is trying to remedy the situation. Personally, I think I will stick with Blogger if, indeed, as you say it will insulate me from the garden bloggging world. I’ve been gradually withdrawing from that world this past year because I have found to be extreme, judgemental, and nasty. I am constantly reminded of what I was taught as a child: if you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all.
If I had written your post, I would have done it very differently, pointing out the problems with Blogger and GENTLY advising Blogger users that there are problems with people leaving comments on their blogs. They have two choices. Lobby Blogger to fix the problem or find another blog host.
There is no reason to tell people they are “losers” in a “ghetto”. That is just plain mean.
Shame on you and all the commenters who support your nasty attitude.
Old Roses – we differ in interpretation.
First the definition of “loser” – we are interpreting the word differently in the sentence. It is not that those within Blogger are “losers” it is that they are losing resources from without. It isn’t about winning or losing – it is about the loss of their ability to maximize the potential of the environment. If you’re behind a wall, you lose contact with others. Please reread the sentence from that perspective in the context of the paragraph.
Ghetto. Ah, that is indeed a loaded word. But if you put a wall or barrier (whether it is a physical wall, a cultural one, or an electronic one) around a community, you create an restricted environment. Ghetto is one word commonly used . “Gated Community” is a another but with a slightly different economic interpretation. Should I have used it? Good question. I tend to use the words that come to mind as I’m writing. That word come to me in the context of an electronic barrier that would not protect the individuals from intrusion (as in gated community) but restrict communication with outsiders (as in ghetto)
In short, I think if you reread the note from those interpretations, you’ll find an entirely different meaning there from the one of denigration you’re accusing me of. As I said “I suspect both myself and the blog author are slightly worse off for this.” We both lose in this situation.
Is Blogger doing its best? Absolutely within the mandate of its business model. OpenId (as noted above) is one of the things Google and Microsoft etc are pushing/financing. The introduction of OpenId will fix a problem that isn’t broken (to the best of my understanding at this time).
Shame on me. Nah, I don’t think so given my interpretation of the above. But I really do appreciate you giving me the opportunity to explain this.
Wow … that got a bit tense ! .. I’m keeping my head down in case of any flying flower pots whizzing by !
Doug .. you asked if I had left my blog link on your site ? .. I joined other bloggers on that portion you left open for us to do that. Or is there another section I was supossed to do that in ? Have you list “Blotanical” some where here too ? that is an interesting gathering of gardeners as well ..
Sorry I haven’t wondered through here lately and my brain cells are still on vacation ..
Joy : )
Joy – glad you added your blog. Haven’t got to upgrading other blogs and blogrolls yet but I just added a list of places to upload to the left hand navbar so folks can upload their own. It’s on the “to-do” list as are a ton of other things at the moment.
Oh dear – I’m on Blogger and when I set my comments permission to “Anyone” I’d presumed that’s exactly what it meant. I’ll see how it goes. No fun if readers can’t comment.
I was really surprised at Old Roses post. I think the main reason I scrape time out of a very busy life which already involves far to much time spent at the computer in order to write a blog that is purely and simply a hobby, is that I’ve always found the garden blogging community to be 100% friendly, supportive and non-judgemental. I’m sad that it hasn’t been that way for Old Roses. I’ll head over there now and say something nice
LOL!
Aside from the fact that you don’t understand a number of things on this subject I find it hilarious that you’re worried about Big Brother getting your personal info from OpenID.
The reason I find it so funny is because your blog don’t have anything remotely similar to anonymous comments on Blogger and I have to provide you with my personal email account to make a comment here.
LOL.
No doubt there’s a ton of things I don’t understand in this world and I’m sure this very well might be one of them given the huge amount of wrong information running around on the Net.
As for adding your email – you can add any email address you like – I’m not emailing anybody off this site. Make it as anonymous as you like.
I stand by my curmudgeonly approach to OpenId. Show me the problem that it’s supposed to solve for me as a person rather than business.
I see no reason to continue this thread as information is available for those who wish to search for it. Three links are below for anybody who wishes to pursue the use of OpenId or Blogger.
If you want further info, let me suggest you visit
Blogger’s Explanation.
or The OpenId Website and here’s how to implement OpenId on any blog system