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Blogger And Google+ Continue To Move Ever Closer Together

Today, Blogger announced the most innovative step in integrating Blogger and Google+, since sharing of Blogger posts to Google+.

The December 2011 sharing option lets us publish our blog posts to Google+. Today, Blogger added the ability to do the same - and more - with our blog comments. Like basic Google+ post sharing, Google+ Comments will be shared, and be visible, on a Circle by Circle basis.

The ability to post a comment, against a Blogger blog post shared in Google+, and have the comment publish to the blog will make for interesting comment based conversations.

There will be challenges to this feature, however. One of the most annoying problems with Blogger comments, right now, involves the embedded comment form, and security limitations caused by cookie filtering on many readers computers.

This blog uses a full page comment form, because too many of my readers need to post comments, in spite of the cookie filtering on their computer. Blogger Google+ Commenting requires use of the embedded comment form.
Google+ Comments lets you bring the following conversations together in one place, right under your blog post:
  • Comments made on your Blogger blog post
  • Comments on the blog post that you’ve shared to Google+
  • Shared content on Google+ that links to your blog post
Readers will need a Google+ page or profile to comment on your blog.

Anybody who publishes a blog, and has readers who do not understand the reason for allowing third party cookies, will not want to use an embedded comment form - and won't benefit from Google+ Commenting, either. Until either
  • Blogger resolves their "third party cookies" problem, with the embedded comment form.
  • All Blogger blog readers resolve their issues with filtering "third party cookies".
Google+ Comments will have a limited audience.

Many blog owners may find a problem, in the moderation process.
Once you enable Google+ Comments, you can moderate comments within the blog post itself.
Owners of large blogs may not enjoy having to check each post, one by one, to moderate comments - so, you let your readers moderate for you.

I check my dashboard Comments menu, several times daily - and see all comments posted to the blog, in one convenient place. Having to look at each post, to moderate comments, won't be as convenient.

A third challenge will come from blog owners who want everybody to be able to comment, on their blogs. Requiring a Google+ account to comment won't be widely accepted by blog owners who have readers who comment either Anonymously, or using an OpenID.

One of the benefits of Google+ Commenting will be a reduction in comment based spam. The increasingly annoying "nice blog" spam - and the accompanying security risks from having it published on our blogs - should be eliminated, from blogs using Google+ Comments.

Google+ Comments is a feature that is needed, on some Blogger blogs - but it needs to remain optional, for some time.

If you're in one of my Circles, and wish to test this new feature, see if you can comment, on my recipes blog, Chuck's Kitchen.

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Comments

Admin said…
i like this new comment system. Its amazing and superb look. I also write a post about enabling this feature on custom blogger template.
http://www.techminar.com/2013/04/google-plus-comments-box.html
Mary said…
"Owners of large blogs may not enjoy having to check each post, one by one, to moderate comments. "

You are kidding, right? Surely Blogger will still support notification of what posts have unmoderated comments from the Dashboard??? (I've been thinking for a while that Commenting was the area that they most needed to enhance - but I never imagined that they'd do something that dumb!)
Legacy said…
This is a great idea, as long as it remains option, for all time.

While integration with Google+ is great for many Bloggers, there are many others who want their blogging and social media activity to remain separate.

As long as Blogger remains viable as a stand-alone product, it will remain one of the leading blogging platforms. But if and when it becomes no more than an accessory to Google+, its days as a blogging platform will be numbered.
Perpetua said…
"A third challenge will come from blog owners who want everybody to be able to comment, on their blogs. Requiring a Google+ account to comment won't be widely accepted by blog owners who have readers who comment either Anonymously, or using an OpenID."

It won't be widely accepted by very many blog readers also. I get many comments from non-Blogger readers who certainly won't want to have to join a social network to comment on my blog. I think this is a truly dreadful idea and very much hope it won't be forced on us.
Unknown said…
Actually I like the posting element that adds your latest link, like with Wordpress blogs.... maybe they'll modify this to add it.
#1Nana said…
I briefly switched to google+ but then my blog didn't publish automatically to Facebook, so I switched back. They need to make this stuff easier for those of us who don't have a tech background. I had no idea how to troubleshoot, so my only option was to abandon google+.

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