Three Years for ... This?

Jim is trying so hard not to be snarky.

For years I've been complaining that Google bought Blogger and then let it sit there in the corner.  So this morning we are blessed with the news that Google has "improved" blogger.  Wow!  There's been so many changes since Google first acquired Blogger that I was anxious to see what they'd incorporated and what new innovations they'd added.

It must be HUGE because Marshall Kirkpatrick says:

Google’s Blogger.com, one of the trailblazers of the whole medium, is about to undergo a substantial upgrade

So, I followed the link above to Blogger Buzz and it tells me...

Take a look at the tour to see all the new things you can do (well, a lot of the new things ... they didn't all fit in the tour).

The tour covers Five features.

It is Five screens long.

What does "didn't fit" mean?  Google can't afford more than five screens on a web page?

The updates to blogger that they show are long overdue.  But there is no joy in blogville over these updates. 

Yes, I agree with Marshall, Blogger is still the easiest way to start a new blog quickly and for free.  I have recommended many a new person to blogging use Blogger simply because it's easy and free.   Powerful it has never been and powerful it still isn't.

I mean, they didn't even tie Blogger in with their stats engine.  Why not have your blogging dashboard give current stats for your sites?  Stats are still entirely outside the Blogger domain. 

I'd go on, but my other recommendations won't fit in this blog post.


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Comments

[Jay Fienberg]

On one hand, yes, the creative forces that made Blogger great did not live long at Google. And, specifically, Evan Williams left Google and has been doing stuff at Odeo that is as creative and interesting today as his work at Blogger was five+ years ago.

But, for me, as someone who uses a bunch of different blogging tools for different blogs, I still think Bloggers is one of the best. And, specifically, the fact they aren't adding lots of features is what is so good about it.

I use tools other than Blogger for complicated sites that are somewhat blog-like, and for complicated blogs. But, for just "blogging", Blogger not only is uncomplicated, but it removes all temptation of complication.

I think the situation is comparable to something like: I think the iPod isn't very interesting because it doesn't support FLAC files, and playing mp3s doesn't impress me much. But, 99% of everyone else out there can appreciate a better mp3 player.

Similarly, Blogger's features will be appreciated by people who like what a blog allows them to do, and who have little interest in becoming a blog geek or doing something beyond basic blogging.

[Jay Fienberg]

Just saw that Evan has some comments about the upgrade on his blog:

http://evhead.com/2006/08/new-blogger-embarking.asp