I Did the Blogger Beta Switch

The feeling of impending doom was over-powering, but I simply could not help myself. I was extremely scared hesitant to do the switch, but after extensive research I felt reasonably safe in switching. Not many of you know this, but I have this...well, let's call it a condition. Dilbert has the same condition.

A few concerns I had:

1. Will my template that I have tweaked and hacked survive the move?
2. Will I be able to edit the template as before?
3. Will my URL be changed?
   

All of these concerns, plus concerns I didn't even realize I should be worried about, were answered over at FreshBlog by Pete and John.

The switch went smoothly, especially since I already had a Gmail account. I know there are some bloggers that have to wait. What made me so special, I have no clue. But, I'm feeling rather superior none-the-less. (They probably drew my name out of a hat.) Anyway, after I got over myself, I got down to business. I logged in and they sent me an email when the 'migration' was complete. Finally I was able to log in and see exactly what was left of my blog. Much to my suprise, it was intact. (Things like that never happen to me. Usually after some big upgrade, I end up having to reformat my computer.) I stuck with the 'edit html' option and shyed away from 'customize design', as tempting as it was. In doing so, I am unable at this time to do anything with many of their new features. But, I suspect it will be coming, as they said the new beta is not complete.

I did get a fancy new navbar that makes working on your blog a click away. And, publishing the blog is a breeze now...no more waiting...waiting...waiting. It is instant! Plus I noticed that on the 'edit posts' page, it shows how many comments you have for each post. Nice. Another new option is a private setting for those of you with deep dark secrets!

The catagory (aka Blogger labels) thing I'm not too sure about yet. I like using FreshTags and having all my catagories picked up by del.icio.us and Technorati. But, I think it will be fun playing with all the new features when they become available to those of us that are not planning to go with the cookie-cutter, plug & go customized templates. Not that it is bad, it just isn't my cup of tea.

All in all, a great upgrade. I'm happy to know they haven't forgotten us.

Tags: Blogger, General, Popular