Monday, January 09, 2012

Old Dogs, Google and Lautrec Updated

Hey, Merci here.  Just a quick post and I'll be back to napping.

I am the oldest dog here, and if this is how we'd know we're old, Buddy, Sam and I are far from there!  


If the video doesn't play, click here.

We are really disheartened with Google/Blogger.  Our last post addressed the problem of Google deleting blogs and forcing bloggers to give them a cell phone number - ANYONE"S cell phone number! - in order to contact them to get their Google Account (gmail, Blogger, Picasa & any other Google apps being used) reinstated with a text messaged code.  We consider it on a par with Google telling users to ask a friend to let the user give Google their friend's credit card number.

Just yesterday another blogger we know had their blog deleted and were forced to come up with a cell phone # in order to contact Google to get it reinstated. 

We were asked to remind folks how to back up their blogs and we just tried to walk through the steps with the new interface and we were shocked to find how much is missing from this new dashboard setup.  We googled for directions and did find the new place to back up the template.

But when we followed the directions to find the import/export/delete tool, it isn't there. Not for a single one of our own blogs. So where did this and other tools and information disappear?  Check your new Blogger dashboard .  Do you have import/export/delete in your new interface Settings/Basic?  You need to be able to export to save a copy of your blog posts.

You might want to find out, even if you aren't using the new interface yet. You will be when everyone is switched to it, so now is the time to learn it. Our settings options have been greatly reduced in the new one.  But to not be able to import, export or even delete our own blog(s)?

UPDATE:  Fuzzy Tales sent us a screen shot of where import/export/delete is located in the new interface.  How strange that it is in the first place we looked last night - Settings/Other - and it wasn't there.  Not on JFF and not on any of our other blogs.  So we googled Blogger Help and they sent us to Settings/Basic. We looked through every settings tab on each of our blogs and it was not to be found.

So where was it hiding?  We have no clue!  But it is there today at the top of Settings/Other.

We are grateful to Google for making so many things available to us for free over the years.  We have enjoyed using Blogger, gmail and Picasa, and we hope to be able to continue for a long time.  But we do believe they need to revise their policy on cell phones and find a more reasonable way to verify non-spamming accounts.



We are sad that Lautrec had to leave suddenly for the bridge Sunday.  His family is greatly missing him.  His mom would appreciate a word of encouragement, if you haven't already been by.  His blog is Wees Da Bad Cats & Da Meen Doawgs.



14 comments:

  1. Google is really getting on my bad side and if this all continues I will just move everything to Wordpress and stay there. We were sorry to hear about another of the sweeties going to the Bridge. Thank you so much for keeping us up on all you find out about Google and Blogger. Hugs and nose kisses

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  2. That bird!
    Google/Blogger! Sorry about all those issues!
    And sorry to know about your friend Lautrec.
    Take care
    Kisses and hugs
    Lorenza

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  3. On your last post about Google, I checked and found that I'd already done the necessary, but it does seem to me that they are gradually taking more and more control, leaving us, the users, rather powerless! I found the new blogger dashboard more difficult to negotiate, so didn't realise that we couldn't import/export/delete anymore! They ask for feedback, so maybe we should give it to them! I've already complained that stats aren't exactly accurate - not even remotely! Thanks for the heads up x

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  4. Me and Charlie love the cheeky wonderful bird taking a bit of fluff off the sweet doggie! LOL!! How cheeky!

    Oh the new Blogger interface!! LOL! I switched back to the old one when I realised the new blogger wouldn't publish my posts in advance.

    Take care
    x

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  5. That video was too funny! Great nest material though. LOL.

    We're still using the old Blogger interface, switched back to it right away when they first went to the new one. How can they not offer a back up option for blogs with the new interface? That's stupid. And worrisome. Eventually a lot of us will be forced to pay for web hosting and go with Wordpress, apparently.

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  6. Importing and exporting are under the settings menu in the new interface. You have to look under "other" and then you can get access to it. Just sent you a screen shot.

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  7. Some little birdie is going to have a nice fluffy nest! BOL

    Blogger is getting really scary. We'll hold on desperatly as long as we can until they boot us off. I still backup with the old interface every time I post. I don't even want to see what the new interface has to offer because we'll probably get booted long before the old one goes away. :o(

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  8. Google is making me nervous. I haven't done any backup of my blog but I should have time to look into it tomorrow. Until then, I hope Google doesn't do anything to my blog.

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  9. I might be the only human left in the US of A who does NOT have a cell phone! I'd give it to them when they ask, but I don't have one ... what to do, what to do?

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  10. Google is getting stranger all the time. We were very sad to hear that Lautrec had to leave.

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  11. We LOVE the video of the berd collecting for it's nest! Sorry to hear about your blog troubles and it is very sad to hear about your friend Lautrec.

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  12. Sorry to hear about your friend Lautrec.

    We are very concussed about all this google stuff!

    Big Nose Pokes
    The Thugletsx

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  13. We bet those furs will make a very warm and toasty nest! MOL

    Sorry to hear Blogger is being a pain. We always try to back up our blog ... better go do it now, just in case.

    We're very sad that Lolo had to run off to the Bridge. We know our Maggie, Graphite, Bitsy and Lady Madonna are there to make him feel welcome.

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  14. That video is so funny! Made me laugh to see the bird.
    Yea, we noticed Picasa was a pain, too, lately.
    And we're so very sorry about your friend Lautrec going to the rainbow bridge. :(

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