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Guest post by David Kutcher Editor’s note: We invited David Kutcher, an innovative web developer from Northampton MA, to write a guest blog post to share how he uses Blogger to create robust, beautiful and easy to use websites for his clients. Hi, my name is David Kutcher. I own Confluent Forms LLC , a graphic design and custom web-based software development firm in Northampton, MA. We specialize in creating gorgeous and engaging websites with custom content management systems. As curious as it made sound, we’ve found that Blogger can be a great platform for web development when a custom CMS isn’t needed. Blogger provides a ton of functionality and design freedom for our clients, and not just for blogs! You’re probably thinking: “what? using blog software for a website?”. I know - it sounds a bit unconventional, but it’s true. I think that most users do not realize the value and flexibility that Blogger offers, including free hosting, complete customization, personalized domain options...

Posted by Brett Wiltshire, Product Operations In keeping with Google’s public commitment to make copyright work better online , our team has been working on improving the copyright environment for bloggers and copyright owners alike. As access to the web grows, bringing new content and services online, it becomes even more important to ensure the rights of everyone involved are protected and understood. To that end, we’re happy today to announce the release of two significant improvements to Blogger’s copyright handling toolkit: 1.)  Streamlined submission tools for rightsholders.   Working alongside industry representatives, we’ve built a better submission and handling system for our high-volume DMCA takedown submitters that simplifies the reporting process and reduces our average response time to less than 24 hours. 2.)  Streamlined counter-notice tools for users.   Built right into the dashboard, Blogger now offers a simple way to counter-notify incoming DMCA take...

Post by Lisa Ding, Community Manager Of the blogs that I read every day, more than half are blogs that link me to news articles, websites, or other blog posts on the web. It used to be that bloggers were expected to write original content. While original content remains highly valued by many readers, it's no longer taboo to simply share things that you find elsewhere on the Internet. Followers will read your blog to see the great content that you surface. Essentially, every blog can be a small gallery of a blogger’s interests and taste. One of my go-to blogs for Internet trends is Brandflakes for Breakfast , which states its mission is to “read the internet, so you don’t have to.” The posts are short and quippy, and the contributors work for a digital creative agency, so I trust the content that they’re surfacing will be relevant to the Internet, marketing, and branding -- some topics that interest me. While I’m a fervent reader of blogs, I’ve struggled to post original content on ...

Posted by Inci Atrek, User Education Specialist Hi Bloggers, At the beginning, life can seem a bit lonely in the blogosphere, so kudos to you for taking that first step and starting a blog. Whether your purpose has evolved over the years or you’ve stuck around for the same reasons that got you started, we truly enjoyed reading your responses to our #bloggerasks tweet on why you blog. @CprincessUK broke it down in list form, music blogger @LinerNotes crafted a mission statement, and @fortnow blogged about blogging for Blogger’s 10th anniversary. Others of you kept your raison d’être under 140 characters. Here are a few of them, short and sweet: “I started blogging because I loved my wedding and talking about weddings and my fiancé didn't - I needed a community” ( @CMatlick ) “Main reason: creative writing outlet. Aux reasons: counteract stereotypes/preconceived ideas abt Pakistan, Pakistanis, & Islam :)” ( @desigurrl ) “I started blogging after a near death experience to crea...

Posted by Brett Wiltshire, Product Operations Our team has been thinking a lot recently about browser support, and wanted to make you aware of our new plan moving forward. For web applications like Blogger to continue to evolve at a rapid pace, our engineering team needs to make use of new capabilities available in modern browsers. For example, Dynamic Views, which we previewed in March, and Web Fonts both require advanced browsers that support HTML5 . Older browsers just aren’t able to provide you with the same high-quality experience. For this reason, starting next month Blogger.com will only support modern browsers. Beginning August 1st , we’ll support the current and prior major release of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari on a rolling basis. Each time a new version is released, we’ll begin supporting the update and stop supporting the third-oldest version. As of August 1st, we will discontinue support for the following browsers and their predecessors: Firefox 3.5, Int...

Posted by Lisa Ding, Community Manager I wouldn’t consider myself a “fashionista,” but I do follow a good fashion blog or two. Aside from The Sartorialist , which is one of the most frequently-viewed blogs on Blogger, I’m an avid follower of The Man Repeller . The blog is filled with photos of beautiful clothes, and I love the sassy attitude of Miss Man Repeller herself. This lady really seems to embrace the phrase “dressing for other girls.” Men, don’t worry about it. There are quite a few popular fashion blogs on Blogger, but one thing that I’ve noticed many have in common is the use of a simple template with a customized header image. The simple template allows you to highlight the most important part of a fashion blog -- the images. And instead of have just text for a title header, you can draw readers in with a splashy colorful image that leaves a strong impression. What are some of your favorite fashion blogs on Blogger? I’ll take some of your suggestions via comments and featu...

Posted by Bruce Polderman, Product Manager Hello Bloggers! I’m relatively new to the Blogger team, but have been a Product Manager on Google’s “Geo” team since 2006, specifically for the Google 3D Warehouse . Product Managers work closely with software engineers, designers, and marketing to establish product requirements and define product features. What initially attracted me to Blogger was the impact that it has on people’s lives. Blogs, by their very nature, enable people to express themselves. Some blogs attract our readership from an intellectual perspective, some for their entertainment value, and still others stir our emotions. That’s powerful stuff. On the Blogger team I hear frequent use of the term “bloggers.” While it’s natural to generalize sometimes, what’s fascinating about Blogger isn’t the entity of a blog, but instead the interests and motivations of the real people who are behind each and every one. As human beings, we enjoy listening to and sharing stories. This is w...

Posted by: Inci Atrek, User Education Specialist Hi Bloggers, We've set out to learn more about blogging from the people who know it best -- our users. I’ve really enjoyed your responses to our #bloggerasks tweets over the past two weeks, and spent a good amount of time reading through the blogs and posts that you’ve sent us. Something that always astounds me about blogging is how the core experience of sharing stories pulls together an incredibly diverse group of people. The emphasis you all put on connecting with each other really speaks to the power of community among bloggers. Here are some of my favorite responses to the question, What’s the best blogging advice you’ve ever received? “Write to build community; link to others and participate in the conversation” (@ LisaSpangenberg ) “To blog consistently, respond to comments, and to read and comment on other people's blogs (especially those who read mine).” (@ kelblogg ) “To not only be active within your own blog but on ot...