With Google Reader shutting down on July 1, we've added Bloglovin' as an alternate way to follow us:
I imported the blogs I follow into Bloglovin', which took one click, but I'm still getting used to Bloglovin's interface. I also have to reorganize my folders to the way they were set up in Reader.
The demise of Reader makes me wonder about the future of Google Friend Connect, which is sort of tied to Reader (i. e., following a blog with GFC automatically added the blog to Reader). With Google really promoting Google+ (which I have no idea how to use), I'm thinking that GFC's days may be numbered, too. As the person who handles all of the techie stuff around here, the potential disappearance of GFC is yet another concern on a growing list. Lately Blogger has been throwing a lot of error messages about how it failed to auto-save a post (in fact, the message just popped up while writing THIS post). In February, the blog inexplicably disappeared from Google search results for about two weeks. On average, about a quarter of our traffic comes from search, and I noticed that it had dropped to absolutely nothing. After a ton of online research and learning about Google Webmaster Tools, which I highly recommend checking out along with Google Analytics if you don't already use both, I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I hadn't received any messages about the blog being removed by Google from its search results, and it showed up if you typed in the whole URL. I was at my wits' end and about to try to seek some tech support from Google when, happily, we started turning up in search results again.
So what I'm trying to say is, I'm considering a move to WordPress down the road. It definitely wouldn't be until I had money to spare for things like hosting fees. Starting from scratch is a rather scary prospect, but with so many changes to the way I'm used to blogging happening anyway, I feel like now is the perfect time to start researching a switch to WP.
Yep! I did the same thing :D I put the Bloglovin button up high on mine and am already following you that way. I haven't organized yet either though! Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven
ReplyDeleteI had a little more time to mess around with Bloglovin' today, and I like it. I even find it a little easier to organize my folders than in Reader. If GFC does go away, I think I'll be very happy with Bloglovin'.
Delete*Sigh* The whole google thing is really dragging me down, and like you, I have given some thought about wordpress. I'm just not sure I'll be able to do it, you know? I'm so scared, and also, as a student, I have absolutely NO money to pay for any of the costs. But...I've heard amazing stories of people who HAVE made the move and had it pay off. So maybe sometime in the future... Anyway, if you do decide to move to wordpress, I wish you all the luck! :)
ReplyDeleteAs you can tell from my mini-rant, I'm a bit disillusioned with Google products at the moment, lol. The cost of moving to WordPress is definitely a huge consideration in switching. When it seemed like Feedburner was shutting down, I moved our RSS and email subscriptions to FeedBlitz, which charges based on the number of email subscribers you have. We only have a handful, so it's not that much of a financial burden, but having to pay hosting fees would be a huge monetary investment in blogging. I can't manage it right now, but I am going to look into it because WP seems to offer a lot more than Blogger.
DeleteI love Wordpress! So easy to socialize and keep up with comments!
ReplyDeleteI've heard so many WP bloggers say that they love the features it offers, especially the SEO plug-ins. I figure that starting to research it now certainly can't hurt.
DeleteThose worries are completely valid, but the thought of transferring, redoing the layout, even figuring out a new RSS feed just makes me ill.
ReplyDeleteI can see myself moving there, but probably not until I'm forced out by blogger.
Having to redo the layout intimidates me most of all, especially when I remember how much work went into tweaking it for Blogger. Moving is just an idea, though, until I have the funds to seriously consider doing it.
DeleteGosh,moving would be quite the project! It's been on my mind too as all the people in my writing group are WP peeps. Blogger has really allowed me to be creative and taught me to use html. I'm so used to it I'm daunted by the thought of switching.
ReplyDeleteI'm now following you on Bloglovin, I've had the account for ages and the last time I looked I had 7 followers. I think lots of people have headed there because of the demise of Google reader as I see it's now jumped to 75 followers! I'm happy, but also feel guilty for having sort of given up on checking Bloglovin. It seemed most of the interactions would happen between fashion blogs and I felt all left out as a reading blog, but now it's looking as though more of my peers are there :)
I've gotten very comfortable with using Blogger, too, and having to learn a new platform does frighten me. At the same time, the tech geek in me really likes the challenge of learning something new.
DeleteI felt a little lost when I first signed up for Bloglovin' because my Reader folders got a little scrambled on import. Resorting them has been pretty straightforward, though, and I like how you can see the whole post without leaving Bloglovin'. It does indeed look like they've gained a lot of new users recently!
I can't figure out how to tell who the 75 followers are, so following back isn't easy. If I click on your profile I can see the people who are following you, but when I click my profile all I get to see is the number and not the who behind the follows.
DeleteIf I click on "View Profile" and then my blog's name, it takes me to the profile page for the blog and shows the number of followers. When I click on that tab, I see who I think are the most recent followers, but it doesn't show the complete list. You're definitely right about it not being easy to follow back when you can't see everybody who's following you.
DeleteAlready following you guys on Bloglovin' ♥ Oh and I'll be curious to your updates on making the switch to Wordpress when you do get around to switching...it might be something to consider eventually o.O
ReplyDeleteI never thought I'd consider leaving Blogger, but it's been super glitchy for me lately. I've also been emboldened by a number of bloggers who I follow regularly switching to WP, and they all seem very happy with it. We're staying put on Blogger for the time being, but the idea of moving has picked up a lot of momentum.
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