The Real Blogger Status

Blogger / Google is becoming a common fixture in the lives of people around the world. Google tries to create forums of relevant subject, and language, to support its customers. Unfortunately, there will always be those issues, and languages, which are not uniquely addressed in a special forum. In some cases, the people needing help gather in the main forum for help with Blogger issues, Blogger Help Forum . In Blogger Help Forum, we try to be tolerant of those whose primary language may not equal the native language of the forum. Even so, when you ask technical questions, and expect coherent and helpful answers, it helps us greatly when you attempt to write answers in grammatically correct English . That way, we don't have to guess at what you are trying to say . If we don't seem to be properly respectful of you, or of your questions, this may be because we are trying to understand your problem, which may not be the same as what you are trying to say about your problem. I...

A blog, by tradition, is an online journal. We write the posts, and when we enable post titles, we choose the post titles. When we enable post pages and post titles, the URLs of the posts are a function of the dates, and the titles, of the posts. We can choose the titles of the posts, but the Blogger post editor chooses the URLs. This is a key component in the Blogger Infrastructure . The static page editor ("Edit Pages") uses the same engine as the Post Editor, and Static Pages (aka "Pages") use a similar basic URL structure.

Setting up a web site is a lot of work. Besides the detail work, which I described in my article Blogging , which discusses the issues of content, structure, and attractiveness, a web site has to have an infrastructure. Server Space. Identity / Structure. Procedures and Utilities. With a web site based on a Blogger blog, all of these are provided for you, and for no direct financial charge. Along with what's provided for you comes what you don't get to choose. Two items that you don't get to choose are directory structure and post URLs . You organise your blog logically, by label and by title, which lets your and your readers access the content in ways relevant to you. How the content is stored is up to Blogger - this is something that you don't have to worry about (which is good), and you can't control (which is occasionally not good). You cannot prove blog or domain ownership by uploading a file to the root folder of the blog; you use meta tags for provin...

Setting up a web site is a lot of work. Once you get past the process of actually setting up a web site , you have to write something. If you want very many readers, you have to write a lot, frequently, and regularly. If you want your readers to return, they have to be able to find what you write. And need I say this - if you want readers to return over and over, what you publish has to be attractive and organised.

In another techie forum, far, far from Google Groups: Google Blogger Help, there are a couple sub forums dedicated to providing advice about Computer Networking. Every couple months, somebody will post in there Can you provide explanation of how Ethernet works, and how was it developed. or What are the advantages of using WiFi over Ethernet? Please cite 5 major factors. These questions are easily recognised by the experienced helpers there, and are quickly labeled, as "Homework Central". And there's an unspoken competition among the experienced helpers there, to quickly and imaginatively label such questions, so no newbie forum members might confuse the threads with others containing serious content. Such threads are not completely unwelcome, when they are occasional, as they provide some relief from the tedium. The experienced helpers will occasionally come up with witty responses - sometimes more questions, sometimes mildly helpful answers. Homework Central trolling...

Last week, I got an extremely distressing bit of email, in my Inbox. I get spam all of the time (I'm sure that you do too), and the content of spam you all know what I'm talking about. Disgusting. This was worse. This wasn't spam, from an anonymous sender. A friend, who I respect highly, sent this bit of email to me. I won't repeat the content of the email, but if you wish, you can read about The Budweiser Story , as analysed by Snopes. This story has been going around the Internet since September 2001. I find it particularly distressing, since The story is a lie , and it has been proven to be a lie . Read about The Budweiser Story , as analysed by Snopes. I've seen this lie , in my Inbox, several times. This lie stays alive because American citizens seem to want to believe that it's true. I've seen this lie several times, and not once has it been prefaced with Here's a nice bit of fiction. or even with Here's a nasty bit of fiction. No, it...

Many times, you'll see an interesting blog, and want to contact the owner. In other cases, you'll be unable to even see the blog, because it's private. Or maybe a popular blog, that you're used to seeing, has been deleted, or is now private. Or maybe you want to use a given URL, but that URL is already in use. How do you contact the owner then? In other cases, maybe somebody has left comments on your blog, you want to read his blog, but he's not providing any link. And, his profile doesn't show any published blogs. Can you figure out if he's actually published any?

If we use each Google Blogger Help forum for its specifically intended purpose , each forum will be more effective. When people have individual problems, those problems will be easier to find and to solve. And when there are widespread problems (like the WildFires from the past weekend ), those problems will be easier to identify, and to show to Blogger Support for resolution. You can have any content in your blog that isn't against the Blogger TOS . But advertise your blog in a forum where advertising is welcomed, not in the Google Blogger Help forums. If you advertise your blog using gibberish, posted as technical advice, you'll be seen as a spammer too. Helpers here have no patience for gibberish, or similar trollish activity. The Google Blogger Help forums are for asking for help with technical blog problems, and for providing genuinely useful advice to others who report problems. They aren't for advertising your blogs, worthy though they may be of promotion. Shar...

This is the question asked constantly. How do I get more traffic to my blog? Everybody would like lots of traffic. Duh. This is the part with lots of hard work. Put accurate, attractive, complete, relevant, and timely content into your blog. You start with the content . Get your friends to link to your blog, where your blog is relevant. Participate in forums, where your blog is relevant, and include the URL. Comment on other blogs, in relevant comments, and include the URL. When you have done all of the above, your blog will have some weight. Submit your blog to the search engines, for indexing. http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/ 2006/07/publicising-your-blog.html Remember though, none of this happens overnight. Search engines can take months to index your blog fully. And even when indexed, don't expect for a search, to some key element in your blog, to give you an entry on the first page of the search hits. http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/ 2006/08/patience.h...

The Earth is a wonderful place, full of a melange of cultures and geographical regions. There's something here for everybody. But when you travel to a distant land, do you expect the residents there to acknowledge your presence, and to change their customs and language to suit your needs? If you were at home, would you expect to constantly adapt your customs and language, to accommodate every visitor from a distant land?

Online forums, which are part of the Internet (in general), and the Web (in particular) (and no, the two are not the same) are used for many purposes. Some are advertisements, others social, and still others for requesting, and providing, advice. Since they are part of the Internet, many folks find it useful to provide some information (advice, discussion, or other content) in the forum itself, and link to additional information elsewhere on the Web. The discussion of whether to provide advice in the forum itself, or in linked articles, is a constant issue in many forums. Some argue that it's more friendly to the one seeking advice, if the help is provided in the forum thread. Others think that it's more effective when provided in a linked article. Only one thing is known for sure - you can try to help everybody, but don't expect to please everybody . These are all results which can be obtained from a Progressive Publishing strategy. Accurate . The post itself, and...

Blogger Blogs, and similar online and other IT products, use peer support to help their customers. Blogger, similar to other companies, provides Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , where Bloggers with various problems can write in and say I have a problem [My Problem]. Can anybody help me? If you properly compose your problem report in Blogger Help Forum, and state your version of [My Problem], one of several things may happen. A solution will be known, and will be instantly provided by one of the many helpers. A solution will be derived, from subsequent questions by one of the many helpers. You will be advised to report your problem, to Blogger Support . Now, if you are so fortunate to have scenario 1 or 2 apply in your case, it is possible that the solution can be found in either Beta Known Issues , Blogger Help , or Blogger Status . It's possible - but not too likely - if it was, you (or someone like you) would have found it, and publicised it, long ago. If...

The Google Blogger Help Group is the official help area for (Google) Blogger Blogs, where the users help themselves (with slight exception). There are 6 forums in Google Blogger Help . How Do I? Something Is Broken Publishing Trouble Login Issues Customizing Templates Share Your Blog Some people occasionally confuse the first 5 with the last. How Do I? Something Is Broken Publishing Trouble Login Issues Customizing Templates are for providing help. People write in when they need help, they ask for help, and the helpers try and answer their questions. The contents of these forums is generally relevant to current issues , as all properly provided advice from the helpers is posted as answers to the various questions. Share Your Blog is a different forum. There, everybody gets up and yells, Hey everybody, check out my blog! Hey everybody, check out this neat article that I just wrote! Hey everybody, here's some useful advice! Some people ignore the amenities of Share Your Blog, and...

So you put a lot of time and effort into making a blog that's entertaining and useful . To keep it that way, you regularly watch to see who's viewing your blog , so you can keep your content useful . And one day, you check out your incoming hits log, and you find a visitor to another web site, with content identical to yours. Except for the ads, or other amenities. My content, their web site! My work, their ads??!! Everybody who publishes interesting or useful content will find this happen, at some time or another.

So today I see the report (paraphrased to protect the guilty) I just finished publicising my blog , My Blog. I setup a Google Sitemap for my blog myexample.blogspot.com. I submitted it to Google, MSN, and Yahoo. I even did Dream Submit. I waited a couple days, and Googled some of the keywords in my meta tag. My blog wasn't in the search list. I even Googled for my blog by name - nothing. What now? Well, what now is that you have to wait. The search engine spiders won't be there, checking out your blog, immediately. It could be days, or weeks, before your blog is even noticed. And weeks before it's indexed to any degree of usefulness. Even after your blog is indexed, if it shows up in any typical search lists, it will probably be at the end. To get listed on the first page, you have to have weight. To have weight, you have to have content, plus people have to click to your blog, and hopefully link to it. None of this will happen during the first week. And BTW, i...

There are several ways to instinctively ask for help , in an online forum like Blogger Help Forum , don't allow the helpers to help you as effectively as they should. Let's see if we can identify some problem areas.