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Google Friend Connect Is Slowly Replacing Blogger Following, On Blogger Blogs

This week, several confused blog guests have asked
How do I Follow blogs that I'm interested in? I only see Google Friend Connect on the Follower gadgets.
and, alternatively
I am Following "xxxxxxx.blogspot.com" - but I don't see my picture on the blog!
and
My FeedBurner Following count is xxx. My Friend Connect Following count is yyy. Why the difference?
Apparently, the Blogger Following feature is becoming more tightly connected to Google Friend Connect, possibly as part of the coming rebranding of Blogger, as Google Blogs.

The main change, for those of you who are not yet Following this blog (for instance) is that you now see a white on blue button labeled
Join this site
The new button replaces the "Follow Me" button previously labeled
Follow
Right now, the navbar still has the familiar "Follow" link.

We'll see, soon, if this involves any functionality changes. Right now, we're seeing terminology changes - and some confusion over the terminology.
  • A person who uses Following was called a "Follower". A person who uses Google Friend Connect is called a "Member".
  • To become a Follower, you would "Follow" a site. To become a Member, you "Join" a site.
  • Note that Following a site, using Friend Connect, will not be the same as Following a site, using a FeedBurner Email Subscription gadget.

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Comments

sweetybird09 said…
I saw that difference too, not sure what the friend connect is all about really, and how it differs from Following someone in their blog, I better read up on it all...thanks for the heads up
Jayarava said…
Interesting. I hadn't noticed this change. Presumably they are also thinking of the new social networking thing they've launched and tying everything together with that.
Nadja said…
I noticed!
Very annoying that blue thing on my black page!
Sure hope the blog ain't going to look more and more like a Google publicity page!
:-//
Suzanne said…
Ah, that explains it! I kept doing a double take and wondering if it had always been blue...I thought I was seeing things. Thanks again.
I'm hoping you can answer a question, or direct me somewhere.

I've had a problem joining sites ever since they started switching it from "Follow." It requires me to sign in to my Google account (or twitter, etc.), which I am already signed in to while viewing blogs, and it won't work. It keeps taking me back to the sign in page over and over again. No problem "following", just joining. I use both Firefox and IE (I can't make comments on most blogs through IE) to try and Join.

Any thoughts? I'm wondering if this is why my new "members" have slowed to a trickle.
Nitecruzr said…
Melanie,

You have the well known Blogger login loop problem, which has been reported in a few different scenarios.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2011/07/frustration-of-bloggers-caught-in-login.html
Luminous said…
Hi, I would like to know the code for the opaque background color (or is it an image?)

I have been trying to set the color semi-transparent but it only works on dynamic (which I discarded already as non-functional)

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