Monday, April 29, 2013

Blogger Integration with Google+

Blogger lately has pushed the new comments integration with Google+. I figured Google is headed in this direction anyway. First, the Blogger profiles were dropped in favor of G+ ones. Then, the other Google properties did the same. Google Reader, my favorite property is closing, so I think more attention can be given to G+. So it just seemed a matter of time before Blogger became more tightly woven into G+.

Still, I do not really understand the options. First, just like posting something on Google+, the new Blogger integrated comment system has a filter for who can see it. You can pick Public, Your Circles, Extended Circles, or specific circles. But then there is another button called "Also share on Google+".

If I understand it right, then when I make a comment on a blog, then permissions take effect. Hopefully the blog owner automatically sees it, but then others are limited by which the permissions I selected. So, in theory, a very select portion of the readers could see the comment. Is that a good thing? (UPDATED 2014-APR-30: I can see a situation where I leave a comment on someone's blog where my friends can see it. One of them responds to that comment where only her friends can see it. Any of her friends who are not my friends do not see my comment, so they do not know to what she is responding.)

The Also Share button posts the comment on my profile. I think the point is to drive traffic to the blogs.

And of course, whatever one decides is permanent. So think carefully.

It was so much easier when I just had to complete the CAPTCHA a few times.