tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240695952026-04-16T00:18:46.585-07:00The Real Blogger StatusWhat Blogger won't tell youNitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.comBlogger2634125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-38920537390750119102018-10-25T08:08:00.003-07:002018-10-25T14:54:28.965-07:00"BlogSpot" Blogs Cannot Be Shared, Using "www"We're seeing a number of reports from blog owners, claiming their blogs are now subject to security alerts - and blocked when sharing.
Frequently, the reports involve blogs published to "blogspot.com" (not custom domains) - and using the "www" alias.
Some services, such as FaceBook, are now requiring "https" for shared URLs - and the "www" alias of "blogspot.com" ("www.whatever.blogspot.com") Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-26504069888140220722018-10-07T04:49:00.000-07:002018-10-07T08:33:03.211-07:00Adding A Favicon - 2018One easy way to make a blog more visible is to add a favicon.
A favicon makes a blog easy to find, in a typical browser window, with lots of open tabs. Adding a favicon is now just a matter of using one more dashboard wizard.
Not so long ago, you would require a pair of files, hosted by a special (non Blogger) service - then you would edit the template, to add the URLs of the hosted files.
Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-40161500630683503162018-10-01T05:25:00.001-07:002018-10-01T13:00:55.624-07:00Hidden Submenu Items in The Theme DesignerThe Theme Designer rocks. There are GUI adjustment / selection wizards, for dozens of theme objects, in any given blog.
You can make font and color changes, using various GUI wizards - and see results, in real time. And the wizards are logically grouped, by function. If you know what objects you need to change, you can tweak your blog theme, without worrying about CSS coding.
But depending Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-32443871461306242832018-09-29T10:24:00.002-07:002018-11-08T06:02:54.357-08:00Domain Ownership Verification, And DNS LatencySome blog owners are confused about how domain ownership verification works - or should work.
The domain ownership verification process involves two challenges. Both accessing the registrars zone editor, and parsing the displayed content, is a challenge - for anybody but the domain owner. Or sometimes, including the domain owner.
Blogger uses an intriguing technique, to verify that the blog Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-6046379350405034192018-09-25T11:17:00.000-07:002018-09-25T15:05:00.680-07:00Stats "Unknown Region" And The "Audience" MapThe Stats "Audience" page is now showing a mysterious entry, in the "Pageviews by Countries" list, for some blogs.
The list of the top 10 most active countries, for the "Now", "Day", "Week", and / or "Month" lists, for some blogs, includes a non country name - "Unknown Region".
The "Unknown Region" entry appears to be associated with a second Stats oddity, a monochromatic "Pageviews by Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-50413565232232844592018-09-22T18:59:00.000-07:002018-11-04T19:25:04.891-08:00HTTPS Migration - Managing The TrafficYour blog depends upon traffic for its success - and similar to custom domain migration, will suffer a period of lower search related traffic, while being upgraded to HTTPS.
Larger blogs get better search reputation, all other details being equal. While your blog is being reindexed, after you enable "HTTPS Redirect", you will have a blog with two different base URLs - and both URLs will Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-83252769123658372482018-09-21T16:29:00.000-07:002018-10-25T04:56:49.557-07:00Responsive Themes Lack Features And OptionsThe exciting, new "Responsive" themes are a move forward, for Blogger.
Like every move forward, though, there's always a couple steps backwards.
The "Responsive" themes are not as easily customised as the earlier "Designer" and "Layout" themes - and they lack some enjoyable features.
This blog, using the "Notable" template in the "Responsive" themes class, is better looking and easier to read Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-66388269222468713782018-09-15T20:29:00.000-07:002018-10-31T07:30:14.631-07:00The "Notable" Theme - Title Formatting ImprovementI published this blog to the "Notable" theme of the "Responsive" class templates, in February 2018.
I never spend a lot of time tweaking and making blog formatting changes - there are so many other Blogger issues to write about. But that ugly big black box, at the top of each post page, was in my list of improvements needed.
And last week, I found the motivation, and instructions, to improve Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-52229635121216635622018-09-12T18:25:00.001-07:002018-09-12T20:37:45.637-07:00The Google+ Share Counter Was UnreliableOne interesting feature of Blogger, now removed, was the Google+ Share counter.
Similar to the FaceBook "Like" counter, many people used to enjoy watching the Share counter increase, for a given blog or post. I, personally, used to share my blog posts to Google+ - then watch happily, as the numbers climbed.
The Share counter is no more a part of Blogger.
One of the less socially responsible Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-85681915241025660982018-09-09T11:12:00.001-07:002018-09-09T17:22:58.591-07:00SMS Verification Being Replaced By 2 Step VerificationOver the years, we've seen various problem reports mentioning attempted use of SMS for identity verification, for emergency Blogger account access.
It's possible that SMS based identity verification is one more service that has been replaced - by Google 2 Step Verification.
SMS is an obsolete service - but there are better replacements.
5 years ago, we saw "Go Blogger" being silently replacedNitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-29152911577948324602018-09-02T20:46:00.000-07:002018-09-09T14:03:51.790-07:00The "w i d g e t s e r v e r" Abandoned Domain Is MaliciousWe've been dealing with a minor recent deluge of reports, from blog owners reporting mysterious redirection of their blogs.
The original typical report, which started like any report involving a respected Internet service going out of business, was annoying - yet benign.
Today, the status changed to malicious.
Right now, "w i d g e t s e r v e r . c o m" is redirecting to "l i b o s t u d i o Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-71212249722581654602018-08-31T11:34:00.001-07:002018-10-30T06:21:09.210-07:00Now, Ya See It - Now, Ya Don'tFor those not yet familiar with the new "Responsive" class themes, I offer my demo 4 "Responsive" blogs - one blog per exciting theme.
You can see the links to the 4 demo ("Test") blogs, at the top of the sidebar. You'll also see links to 2 live blogs, for a better idea.
You have to make an effort, to find the sidebar, however. The effort is necessary, to help the "Responsive" class templatesNitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-27259465847759147182018-08-27T17:34:00.000-07:002018-09-26T20:08:47.289-07:00Custom Domain Redirection, And "A" Referral ServersOne of the advantages of custom domain publishing, and the domain root to published URL redirection, used to be transparent redirection of the URLs.
As Blogger blog owners become more sophisticated with their blogs, and custom home pages (aka "landing pages"), become more popular, we have blog owners with concerns about home page access and domain root redirection. We are also seeing concern Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-74660103873524835472018-07-20T15:22:00.003-07:002018-07-22T02:30:13.800-07:00"HTTPS Redirect" And Private BlogsURL redirection is a Blogger magic trick, similar to a common sleight of hand trick in stage magic performances.
The Blogger HTTPS Redirection, a recently added feature in Blogger security, may be a similar Blogger magic trick - and a possible problem. Some browsers treat websites with multiple redirects as possibly malicious.
Private blogs, accessed through the Blogger / Google interstitial Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-40680674701829582322018-03-28T07:24:00.000-07:002018-10-04T04:36:35.417-07:00HTTPS Availability For All All Blogger BlogsAfter years of waiting, this blog is now readable, using HTTPS.
This blog, and others published using properly setup custom domains, now provides optional HTTPS connectivity - joining BlogSpot published blogs.
I looked at the Settings - Basic page of my Blogger dashboard, a couple hours ago.
Previously, I might see the HTTPS options "Availability" and "Redirect" when accessing my Draft BloggerNitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-65433151754806752452018-03-19T14:52:00.001-07:002018-03-19T18:30:55.571-07:00Edited Posts Will Not Produce Updated Newsfeed ContentI've written a few posts about editing post content - and discuss clearing cache after editing, to see updates.
Generally, my posts reference cached posts content. Sometimes, blog owners need to clear cached feed content, in addition to / instead of clearing cached post content.
There is a difference between post content, and newsfeed content - and how both are cached. Newsfeed cache is not asNitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-27704458363544468112018-03-15T12:00:00.002-07:002018-03-20T15:06:44.360-07:00Publish To Your Readers In Multiple LanguagesSome blog owners speak / write in multiple languages - and want to interact with their different readers, separately, in each different language.
Blogger, and Google, support the need for publishing multiple blogs, each written in a different language. The "hreflang" tag, added to a blog, identifies other blogs, published to different languages, with identical or similar content.
There are Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-32119009098934945592018-03-11T08:56:00.002-07:002018-03-12T00:14:52.297-07:00AdSense, Blogger Blogs, And Social Network SharingMany people who publish blogs also have FaceBook pages - and one of the easiest ways to get traffic, to the blog, is to share the blog to a FaceBook page.
Some people want money for publishing their blogs. AdSense is a very popular way to earn from publishing. AdSense produces the best results, with lots of readers to read the blog, click on the ads, and buy the products and services Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-4926915469110020422018-03-10T08:42:00.001-08:002018-07-20T16:21:09.096-07:00HTTPS Availability For Custom Domain Published BlogsAfter many years of waiting, people who publish blogs using custom domains can provide HTTPS connectivity, to their readers.
Right now, HTTPS Availability / Redirect can be enabled, for custom domain published blogs, using Draft Blogger.
Since Draft Blogger is used by Blogger for beta testing new features and problem fixes, you will do best using it selectively.
Use Draft Blogger only to Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-83515876337998644692018-03-05T09:08:00.002-08:002018-03-07T10:36:34.937-08:00Chrome Browser, And Elegant Disappearing Scroll TabsThe disappearing scroll tab, in the latest Chrome browser version, is tres elegante - for some blog owners.
Personally, I'm not convinced.
Hover the cursor in the scroll tab area, to get the tab to pop out.
If you use the Chrome browser, and the display content is longer (or wider) than one physical screen, you may not realise that.
Some people may think that part of their blog - their post -Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-86886216460814075662018-03-03T15:22:00.002-08:002018-03-09T11:53:44.024-08:00Post Editor Displays A Bogus Error When Updating PostsSome blog owners report a problem with editing posts, in post editor.
With any changes made to a published post, an attempt to update shows another monolithic error.An error occurred while trying to save or publish your post. Please try again.But the mystery does not end there. Even seeing the error, a curious blog owner, refreshing the post as displayed, may find a surprise.
Even with the Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-84752522184851658382018-03-02T12:34:00.000-08:002018-09-19T06:29:02.258-07:00The Blogger / Google CDN, And Logout ProblemsRecently, we've been seeing queries from some anxious blog owners
Why should I have to sign out a total of three, four, or more times?
With blogs that use a template that shows the navbar, the owner may logout, using the "Sign out" link - but the navbar may continue to suggest that they remain loggedin.
This problem may start with how we connect to Blogger, as part of the mysterious Internet Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-30723204116796458542018-02-20T12:09:00.002-08:002018-02-20T19:26:07.724-08:00Make Your Blog Searchable - Where To StartMaking a blog searchable is the first step in getting search traffic, and readers, for our blogs - when we want them visible to the public.
Not all blog owners want their blogs visible to everybody. Complementing the ability to publish a blog, and have it visible only to invited readers, Blogger gives us the ability to make the blog invisible, to the search engines.
If we want readers for a Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-87976554138797875152018-02-03T20:59:00.001-08:002018-10-30T14:26:32.936-07:00The Real Blogger Status Moves Into The FutureEarlier this year, I took a leap into the future, and upgraded this blog to use a "Responsive" class template.
There are four "Responsive" templates - Contempo, Soho, Emporio, and Notable. The differences between the four include more than merely the visible design.
My serious opinion about template choice is that two people, each starting a blog about the same subject, and using the same Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24069595.post-49504359574264661292017-08-30T19:50:00.000-07:002018-09-02T18:02:10.986-07:00What Is The Mysterious Custom Domain "Error 12"?Both the historically infamous "Another blog ..", and the currently infamous "Error 12", are part of the custom domain publishing process.
Similar to the mysterious "bX" codes being an enhanced version of "We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.", "Error 12" (and variants) is an enhanced version of the monolithic "Another blog or Google Site is already using this address.".
"Nitecruzrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08069634565746003311noreply@blogger.com0