Blogger finally gets an update and stops being neglected. Here are the new features of Blogger Beta, a new blogging platform:
• Dynamic pages
• Access control
• Labels
• Layouts
• More Feeds
• Cleaner dashboard
• Migration to Google Accounts
The new Blogger version will be available as invitation-only for the moment. "The Blogger in beta program is going to start out small, so only a low percentage of people who log in to Blogger will see the option to switch over. If you're one of them, you'll see a blue box in the sidebar of your dashboard highlighting the new Blogger in beta."
If you want to test the new Blogger by creating a new blog you can do that at
beta.blogger.com. Here's a
test blog created with the new platform and a
tour that shows the new features.
I must say it's much faster to publish posts and upload pictures. Blogger also looks much better and it's more responsive. Although the advantages of the dynamic pages are obvious, it will be interesting to see if they will handle the traffic the same as the static pages. There's one area where I don't see improvements: the comment form is still on a separate page. All in all, the much expected Blogger update is one of the biggest Google news of the year.
The Jump