Aug 17, 2006


Yesterday after Been inside Blogger v3.0 and having talked with a lot of guys in the know all day.

I lost it.

I was upset and i was mad after it when i realized in what situation we are now into.

Blogger Beta, is not a beta per se., the only thing it has of a Beta is the name, i have been confirmed that it indeed was launched before it was ready, not becuase Blogger v3.0 was not finished or much less, but because if this were a piece of software, we had to call this actual blogger a RC (Release Candidate), yep, the only thing being tested its the reception of it, and what they want and are going for is to check their own market studies with the final feedback studies they will have under the spotlight to see in what percentage they get of approval and what are the most requested features from where they will decide what is what they are willing to add from a set of already developed features they have reserved and are going to keep underwraps for future use.

Sounds like weird don´t it?

It´s a regular and almost standard practice now, so i can understand that.

But you see, that is not the part that bothers me,the part that bothers me has to be how they established the "beta" launch set up of this new blogger, and it has a good logic with why they have given priority to new users and relegated the power user in the current userbase.

Because the current set up is completely handicapped to no end. besides a much needed feature upgrades and some new features, the management in the current setup could not be more worthless to a power user or very active blogger.

The Style editor they implemented comes from their layout editor experiment in googlepages, (good to know google likes to recycle) but how can i put it....even if is actually really easy to work with, it could not be more restricted.. why in hell the full canvas is not entirely dragable and adjustable?, why it don´t allow direct inserts in the header and in the Footer that as Taoski made me rememeber, is the #1 edit question on Blogger Forums since the original blogger v1???

And to not have raw code Editon from the start is like holding a race without notice of when it will start having the engines running...Worst Tease Ever.... (yeah, i made a comicbook guy reference)

How come, google is messing with the semantics with their labels?, yes they should act like filters and then let the user have a organized list with them for a true categorized displays, but they should be Broad and not let them run rampant. right now the label do some triple work, they are a category index, archive cues and tags.

The latter should not be unified with the labels, the user should have an actual and proper Tag index, that can work for the intercontextuality of the blog and that serve as sub categories or related themes from the labels and it even could be used to serve later google purposses

But hey, i know am the only one that actually gives a damn about nomenclature and concept usability, so that is just a nitpicking on my part but i think you can cut me some slack on that.

Why they are using or letting use the Google accounts in a limited fashion, because as some users have reported, they don´t actually have synched accounts, meaning they don´t merge and in some cases they don´t even let you use a former account?..

Maybe that is caused by errors in the system, i do hope so, becuase if that is not the case then it means that not all international users are being treated with equality.

And finally i want to highlight some points on all this:

1.-No Blogger Beta

Besides the Buzzword factor behind it, there is no beta, this we are experiencig is a RC, pure and simple, becuase if experiencing some glitches and shortcomigns in Blogger means it´s a beta then we have been living in a beta for 3 years now..

2.-Blogger v3.0?

As i said before in More About Blogger Beta this would not be Blogger 2.0 because this is actually Blogger third version since it started under Pyra Labs.

And because if they are going for the Web 2.0 Angle, they surely have it wrong.
Many people ask what Web 2.0 actually means, i will give you a example of what it actually is:

Web 2.0 is a web fueled by and for the people while using web powered apps and services to interact with each other while empowering themselves.

Because in Web 1.0, content was served and the user was powered by web services without the chance of using the service back to conect to other people using it and to improve the actual service or use the service to create other services powered by the user.

The final Philosophy of what Web 2.0 should be is that every web service should let itself evolve into a ecosystem in wich the users interact with each other and let the users interconect that service into another to extend it and to give context to it in the internet.

So, that is why the new Blogger is not web 2.0 yet, because the new beta is partly frozen in time, awaiting for the final setup in wich we can have acces to code editing and because if there is one thing that is completely broken in blogger that must be the completely obsolete and limited profile system along with the also completely worthless user search and user index.

3.-Why Not A General Upgrade?

Back in to what where the two warning calls of something shaking up in Blogger, i told everyone that the main reason to not upgrade Blogger was that it needed a huge amount of resources in server terms, and that is the truth. something like 4 months ago serious hardware problems began to be more evident that usual until tehy had to change servers, the problem was in a tenth of the blogger network, and interesting enough they are testing the new blogger in that 10% that was upgraded, replaced, adjusted servers..

Wich is the true why of the so called Blogger migration, they are going to let it flow as fast as they can adjust/replace/upgrade servers so the new blogger can finally replace the old one along the old users.

And there is always the common doubt on this: But Google has all the resources in the world, how come they don´t have given Blogger everything they need?.

And to answer that question you better read my next post when i tell a good old story that explains it all(if you like reading between the lines)

Until then we will be living in this Devided Bloggerosphere where there is not much drive left or just the idea that everything we get done in the old Blogger will have to be redone or readjusted once we are in beta is really daunts a heavy shadow on us that will requiere some days to get used to.

Welcome to the new Blogger Reality.

And if you want to check into more useful information go to this posts from that young gun all Bloggeratto readers know:

Relaunch and The Day After Yesterday



17 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my god, you are really upset to the core! Hope you don't meet any blogger employee :))

Efendi said...

my... my... my... an RC ?!
*speechless* .....

Avatar X said...

@Ramani: i used to know one back in the day. and yeah am hardcore......zero pretensions......pure fire.

@Efendi: Remember that is meant as a alegory..but you speechless is ok.. just smile.

Anonymous said...

Your post confirm the opinion I had when i played with this Beta: They made a simple tool for the masses, by given priority to the basic than the technical stuff.
They should call it: Blogger for dummies!

I don' t want to replay the game "Word press vs Blogger" , but frankly speaking,
: what wrong with this people? What is too hard for them? Why they don' t acheive Blogger one time for all?

I got the feeiling that Blogger just act like Microsoft: "If we can have the maximum with the minimum, so let's do it.?"

Ok, why not? Anyway, you will still found out some great people who are concepting some hacks, trying to compensate the gaps.

Hey you know what? Blogger should pay all the hackers to clean up their sh*ts.

Sorry but i waited so long... for nothing. I hope i am wrong.

Avatar X said...

@KCA: this means that WE, the power users have to wait from 1 to 3 months to get the "option" of having to WORK for what we want..

And watch it with the MS angle. in windows if you are power user you can get away with almost anything...there is no"Don´t touch me" in windows. you just have to be brave,as we have been with this current Blogger...

Avatar X said...

HAHAHA..i normally erase spammenters a.s.a.p, but i find hilarious that he is pushing phetemine (mental drug) on this very post....i mean, the new blogger is insane right niow, but not me Mr. spammenter...

Aditya said...

What makes you think that was spam? Hehe!

Anyway! Yes, kca, you shouldn't say anything about Microsoft where Avatar is in charge. I've come to learn it with time, just saving you the effort! ;)

I don't know how much of a release candidate this is, because if this is what they release with, then I'm sorry, but I'll stick with my old template, no labels, and my hacks. I thoroughly prefer them to how they have implemented things around here. Pathetic! Absolutely so! (except for the feeds, which are simply awesome!)

I hope the new template editor is the saving grace, because believe me. If its not, then I'm definitely not switching to the new Beta, no matter how quickly they gimme the link!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Blogger is starting to follow the Web 2.0 crowd too closely with regards to "beta"'ing things and "simplify everything".

Avatar X said...

@Aditya: hahaha yeah, that spammenter sure knows his thing..

And well, i don´t like the tags thing, they should have added it separately.

For the MS thing....shadap.

@Chubbs: yeah, what a bunch of teasers and buzzers they have become....

Greg said...

Allow me to air my conspiracy theories ...

Google is a search company. It makes money out of running ads during search. It wants more people to spend more time searching a bigger pile of (text) content. It needs more (text) content[*].

Blogs are a useful/easy/cheap way of creating masses of (text) content. There are many blogging platforms, including those for "pro", "serious" or "geek-elite" bloggers. Google doesn't care about them, since they will blog no matter what. Millions of people use the internet but elect not to blog. These are the people Google are targetting.

Google's platform will always be focused on picking up these hesitant/reluctant bloggers, so it will get easier and easier while offering the bare-minimum features. Google would be delighted if its users moved to WordPress or whatever, since they would still be generating (text) content (=revenue) but not using Google resources (=cost).

The future of Blogger is something akin to online PowerPoint.

[*] There's also a competitive reason for ensuring there's millions of blogs out there: the barrier to entry into the search market get raised. This means it will be harder for bright young kids to come along and "out-google" Google, since the resources required to even get a foot in the door of the search market become too great. Remember, Google gazumped others with their garage operation when the web was many orders of magnitude smaller. Could they have done the same now?

Avatar X said...

@greg: i am aware of everything you have just said since i have been online for 14 years, from the days of the unfiltered modern web.

And of course that every new player has to get it´s own place, there almost impossible to have a new microsoft right now, a new yahoo, and yes a new google.

But what i am talking about here is the way they do things. and that is a what i am into, it´s not like blogs don´t make money for google, they do, that is why they pushed even more the adsence in one click, that is why they only unlist regular splogs and only delate massive splogs automatic networks.

And if they wanted, they could do easily five times more money with blogger than they do now. but yeah they prefer to use it as a content filler. andif we know they are targeting the new users and the avarge user that represent the 95% of the Blogger userbase, why they tamper with the power user and the blogger elites, that have always been the most vocal promoters of the platform?..

This is the same situations as fox holding down the hardcore Myspace elite...it´s fucked up.


And i don´t see the conspiracy angle....this is more like the consumer board reports... so please stop saying that because it´s not like that.

Unknown said...

//Blogs are a useful/easy/cheap way of creating masses of (text) content. //

I like that. very true.

Aditya said...

Haha! I just saw the [SORT OF] you've added in! :P

Ok, here's a conspiracy theory for ya! How is it that Blogger relaunches within a week of Phyd announcing his leave? Hmm.....

Avatar X said...

@Aditya: now THAT should be a Conspiracy!!!

Quick, lets tell JOHN at freshblog so he can then post it along with some cowboy and tiki jokes together in just one line!!!

I mean, i guess he just can´t help himself.

Avatar X said...

@Aditya: oh and that SORT OF was there since i posted it.

;D

Anonymous said...

in you want a conspiracy theory.

I think this is to makes us blog about it.

-gaby

Avatar X said...

hah.

Again Gabs, to you to, this is a report. and not a conspiracy theory.

But thanks for the kind words..;)

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