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Blogger Accounts, And Blind Logins

One of the promises of Blogger, which makes a Blogger blog such an asset to the masses of the world, is the freedom to publish without being forceably identifiable.

Anonimity is a major advantage, for many who publish Blogger blogs. But there are a few downsides to anonymity - and one may be seen when we try to edit our blogs.

Some bloggers load a blog in the browser window, then click on the "Sign In" link in the navbar, in the expectation that they are signing in to that blog. For folks who only maintain a single Blogger account, and who have enabled the proper security settings, this will appear to be what's happening. But, it's not.

When you sign in to Google, you are using a double blind system.

Blogger requires you to tell them what account, and what password, you want used. They don't pick an account for you, based upon the blog currently displayed. This is one way that Blogger protects us, and lets us blog anonymously. The owner of a blog can hide his identity, if he tries hard enough.

If your cookies are properly enabled, the Blogger login process will remember what Blogger / Google account you used, most recently, and try to have you login using that account. If you are currently signed in to Analytics, GMail, Picasa, or any of many other Google products, you may already be signed in to Blogger too. This also happens when you, inadvertently, created a second Blogger account.

If
  • You display your blog before signing in to Blogger.
  • Your blog is owned by a Blogger account that's related to your Analytics, GMail, or Picasa account.
  • You always sign in to that account before signing into Blogger.
then it may appear that you are signing into your Blogger account based upon your blog, currently displayed. This is, however, a deceptive appearance.

When you login to Blogger, always check and verify what account is displayed for Account Name. Save yourself some trouble. Alternately, carefully verify ownership after you login.

If you become totally confused, clear cache, cookies, and sessions - then restart the browser, and start over. Better the extra effort, than one of many different confusions, so easily experienced.

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