Not Done with Blogging, but Done with Blogger

I have used the free Blogger software to write this blog from the beginning and it has always seemed adequate. However, I am far more impressed with the blogs and web sites I see that are built on WordPress. (You can see if a site you like is built on WordPress by choosing "View Source" under the Mac's "View" menu, and search [Command-F] for "WordPress." If the word is found in the HTML source coding, it's a WordPress blog.)

The company that produced Blogger software was bought by Google a while ago, and the long, controlling arms of Google have much of the Bloggerati, including me, up in arms. I was out of town for a few days and came home to find that my G-Mail (Google mail) address—which I never use for anything—was showing in the header of my blog. Since that is not my primary email address, I didn't want it there for the public to mistakenly think it was my email and contact me at that address since I never check my G-Mail account. But I couldn't remove it. (I am assuming the G-Mail address is visible to all, not just to me.)

I also discovered that I had to sign into the Google system to make any changes in my personal blog—change any existing features, create a new post, etc. And I realized that it was when I am signed in to the Google system that my G-Mail address appears at the top of my blog; when signed out it goes away. But I can't access my blog without signing in.

Here's the upper right corner of my blog page when signed out, showing no email address:

And here it is when signed in—automatically showing my G-Mail address:

I also found that I had been switched to the new Blogger posting software which everyone is going to be forced to use. I have tried it in the past and found it really cumbersome compared to the original posting tools. The forums are full of people complaining about the new software.

So—I'm not done blogging but I'm done with Blogger. As soon as I can, I'm going to switch to WordPress on a dedicated web site of my own. That won't be free (WordPress does have a free version), but at least I won't have Google intruding into my life and telling me what I can and can't do. (I realize this post will have very limited appeal. I'm posting it in hopes that it will add to the voices of others not happy with Google's actions vis-a-vis Blogger.)