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Google's unprecedented lapse

On August 3, a bug in Google's automated security system disabled hundreds, and probably thousands, of Blogger blogs.  ¶  Robot run amok! Google fixed the bug two days later, and many are reporting that their blogs have been restored.  ¶  However, as of today Google has still not explained to English-language bloggers that they must request a review to get their blogs back. Or even that the bug is fixed.  ¶  Indeed, Google's only explanation or announcement seems to have been in the Spanish-language help community for Blogger, through that community's manager.
Recent posts

Smile! (and account security)

Google is unrolling a new way to make your Google account recoverable if you forget your password, are hacked, or otherwise lose access. ¶ 

Three saffron-robed Buddhist monks taking cell-phone pictures of each other and themselves

Your picture. ¶ 

"Selfie for sign-in" joins the other three methods (or four, depending on how you count things) for verifying your identity in case there is ever a question. ¶ 

Do not think this cannot happen to you. ¶ 

Like these other methods, there is a catch: you have to set it up before you lose access.

The jump-break feed is best for engagement

Children jumping

You've got five feed options in Settings:

A dialog box titled "Allow blog feed." "Use Jump Break" is selected.
  • Full • 
  • Until Jump Break • 
  • Short • 
  • Custom • 
  • None ¶ 

Your feed lets people read your blog in a feed reader, and is required for some things. It's enabled by default.

I have already made the case for using jumps on your blog. So how about in feeds? ¶ 

Below are your feed options. I think you'll agree that Jump Break is best for engagement.

Pesky floating links thing settles down

A circular button with a star and a pencil icon and the text "Automatically insert Google Search links into your post."

Still in Beta ¶ 

The brightly colored Google tool stands out agant the otherwise grey tollbar interface. It deploys two options: Insert Google Search widget and Auto add links to Search, shown,

For those that have it, Google's awkward "Auto add links to Search" tool now has a name, and a place to live that is not floating in front of the editing window. (Previously it had several other names that were not so nice.) ¶ 

It has joined "Insert Google Search widget" on the new "Insert widget and AI-powered enhancements" menu in the editor.

Copyright: Do not steal

It's super easy to steal work that does not belong to you. I think you know that you should not do that.

A statue in black granite of two tablets bearing the Biblical Ten Commandments in white letters.
Photo: See number eight. ¶ 

Ask the owner for permission. If you do not know who the owner is, and there's no public license, don't use it.

Pasting into Blogger

It sounds like a cool hack: draft your post in your favorite app, photos and all, then paste that into the Blogger editor. ¶ 

A man is pasting a poster onto a wall using a long squeegee-style brush.

Grab that thing you're quoting from the web and paste into the post. ¶ 

The good news is that this will usually work (with some quirks), but you need to take extra steps to protect your blog from junk code.

When a blogging account is deleted

Have you seen this blog? ¶ 

Deleting an account might delete the blog or blogs it owns—but it might not. ¶ 

And deleting the account might have other effects on a blog, too.