Blogger is a web-based application that allows users to create and manage their own online content. It provides users with the tools to share, store and edit their personal blogs, with support for all major blogging platforms such as WordPress, Wix, Tumblr, Google Docs, and Microsoft Office Online (AOL). In contrast, other popular systems include WordPress, Medium and WordPress.com and are referred to collectively as "content management systems" or CMSs. The term blog was coined by Tom Wheelen of Web.com magazine in June 1994, using the name "Web diary".
The core concept behind the technology is similar to Wikipedia,[1] but it differs from most CMSs.[2] Blogger's key features are: [3]
a blogging platform free to use;
easy integration with a variety of third party applications including email accounts, social media platforms, video sites and more;
the ability to embed additional resources and links into website pages.
Additionally, a user can create their own domain and host their own private server, allowing them to access any site the user chooses. Some companies allow end users to take advantage of these capabilities.[4][5]
Blogger was acquired by IntelliSite, Inc., in August 2013.[6] Its headquarters are located at 855 East Alabama Avenue in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.[7] On November 5, 2012, IntelliSite announced they were moving their headquarters to downtown Tampa, Florida for reasons including anticipated growth and opportunities for partnerships.[8] As of 2015, the company reported it had over 30 million active monthly users.[9] The original version of blogger.com was launched through Bluehost in April 2006. An initial list of domains of registered websites was published on October 27, 2007.[10][11]
Features [ edit ]
Blogspot introduced its first tool and blog template editor called 'Blogspot Studio' in 2005. This tool allowed the creation of blog posts automatically, based on predetermined templates. Users could also enter text in form fields to add titles, descriptions and images to blog posts. These forms allowed users to submit blog content directly to this editor, for editing. Additionally, they allowed editors to generate multiple versions of a post from several different templates. After having selected one of the versions available, they could then edit, delete, update or merge selected templates into one single edited version. At launch, there was no standard way for readers to publish comments to their blog, but in 2009 Matt Cutts, founder/editor-in-chief of Wordpress stated that "there have been many issues with comments". He said that if you are going off your theme in WordPress, or your code does not work in word press, comment to someone who knows what to do.[12]
Blogspot now offers various plugins to enhance blogging functionality, such as the plugin 'Bloggers', which allows users to automate their website's design and marketing processes, by creating themes for their blogs, customizing layouts and building automated publishing. Another feature is the addition of live chat. When commenting on forums, users can easily find and engage with those in conversation. If one of the commenters is logged out, a pop up will appear stating "Please log in to view the comment". This is in place so that if the commenter cannot be reached, everyone will be able to see the contents of this comment. A third option is 'Comment Spinner' which lets users enter their thoughts or reactions in a format where they can choose how long it takes for others to respond to them, depending on a number of factors including their speed level. Finally, when submitting their work, they can either embed a link to a webpage or create a page that automatically displays the comment's contents to their reader's screen.
Another important new feature is Live Bookmarksing, whereby users can save a link to a specific website, bookmark your favorite news article or bookmarks entire articles or books or even start a newsletter from within the app. This saves time and makes it easier to keep track of links.
Blogger now has a mobile app where you can browse the information you need from the palm of your hand. To search for something without typing it manually, you just tap once on the top bar to indicate you want to browse. You can search for a short phrase using keywords. For longer searches you have to begin with'search bar'. Search results can be saved, viewed offline, and synced across devices as well as desktop. By using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Tab, you can jump to particular sections at the same time in the main menu.[13]
Features [ edit ]
Blogger integrates with Yahoo! Finance and Google Plus. They both offer integrations with RSS feeds, allowing bloggers to subscribe to email lists, while simultaneously adding their RSS feed data into a central location like blog.
Blogger offers three basic templates: Personal Homepage, Business Profile and Family Tree. There are two plans in each plan that differ only slightly in many things:
Personal Website includes a blog template with a minimum of 15 posts, but includes widgets like Facebook status updates which increases the number of posts from 20 to 50
includes a blog template with a minimum of 15 posts, but includes widgets like Facebook status updates which increases the number of posts from 20 to 50 Business Profile includes a blog template with 7 posts, and widgets like Google Alerts and email alerts and email subscription service from Gmail
includes a blog template with 7 posts, and widgets like Google Alerts and email alerts and email subscription service from Gmail Family Tree contains 3 different blog templates, each containing 2 blogs plus 1 guest post template
includes 3 different blog templates, each containing 2 blogs plus 1 guest post template Customizable Stages allows users to create multiple stages for their blogs. Each stage has customizable buttons to hide stages during certain periods of the day. You can adjust the schedule of how long you want to show the stage that contains more details. Additional options include setting which posts should show first.
allows users to create multiple stages for their blogs. Each stage has customizable buttons to hide stages during certain periods of the day. You can adjust the schedule of how long you want to show the stage that contains more details. Additional options include setting which posts should show first. Advanced Settings allows editing and Saving Posts and linking to external sources.
allows editing and saving posts and linking to external sources. Integrations [ edit ]
Blogger connects via HTTPS with Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn, among others. The following methods work with each provider:
Facebook : allows commenting directly on blog posts, viewing and saving posts or drafts, subscribing to groups, connecting with friends about your posts or viewing stories from authors, reading about the author's work or responding to requests through DM or email.
: Directories - allows commenting directly on blog posts, viewing and saving posts or drafts, subscribing to groups, connecting with friends about your posts or viewing stories from authors, reading about the author's work or responding to requests through DM. Twitter : – Twitter widget allows displaying, interacting with, sharing and forwarding tweets, along with accessing twitter as part of the default Twitter home page.
: Tweet– Twitter widget allows displaying, interacting with, sharing and forwarding tweets, along with accessing twitter as part of the default Twitter home page. Yahoo! Finance : Comment (yahoo.com/blogger) – Yahoo! Finance widgets allow posting comments directly on blog posts, viewing and saving posts or drafts, subscribing to group discussions, connecting with friends and following or leaving conversations. Email: Send (yahoo.com/blogger@mail.) – Blogger supports sending emails to contacts as an attachment within the journal. Email is sent to the recipient's mailbox once a week.
: Contact- Yahoo! Finance widgets allow posting comments directly on blog posts, viewing and saving posts or drafts, subscribing to group discussions, connecting with friends and following or leaving conversations. IMAP: Import (Yahoo! Finance) – Create an account and add an Internetmail/IMAP account. Add a contact account to create a subscriber relationship to receive notifications and can send messages, set reminders, and get notified on the progress of an item.
Import (Yahoo! Finance) – Create an account and add an Internetmail/IMAP account. Add a contact account to create a subscriber relationship to receive notifications and can send messages, set reminders, and get notified on the progress of an item. Instapaper: Export (Yahoo!) – Create an account, import existing files and export any changes. Connect your Instapaper account to Gmail, Outlook or Evernote to sync your documents.
Export (Yahoo!) – Create an account, import existing files and export any changes. Connect your Instapaper account to Gmail, Outlook or Evernote to sync your documents. Flickr: Export (Flickr) – Create an account, upload photos, connect Dropbox, Amazon S3 storage and upload videos or music. Share folders with collaborators to organize documents.
Export (Flickr) – Create an account, upload photos, connect Dropbox, Amazon S3 storage and upload videos or music. Share folders with collaborators to organize documents. Instagram: Upload (Instagram) – Upload photos, videos or audio to instagram posts from Camera Roll or Photos Library. Quickly capture clips with filters, stickers, fonts and borders. Select multiple photos or videos with filters, stickers, fonts and borders. Edit and share directly from camera roll. Post directly from IGTV without downloading pictures. Follow others who subscribe to instagram and send updates. Interacting with friends and family.
