Too Clever By Half

A CATALOG OF DISCONTENTS ¶ 

So why do the Responsive blog themes, introduce by Google in 2017, continue to give me pause nine years later? ¶ 

Don't get me wrong: the fact that these are responsive means they provide a superior user experience on mobile. That is huge. ¶ 

Most web traffic today comes from phones, and a responsive theme makes your work easier to read, find, and navigate from there. ¶ 

Nonetheless, there are tradeoffs.

Google introduced three new features to Blogger this year.

• In July, Google introduced a new system for backing up our blogs. 
• As the year ends, we're randomly seeing two "beta" features that use machine intelligence to add hyperlinks from your posts to related Google searches.

The changes shared one thing in common: the absence of direct communication or explanation from Google about the new features. Bad Google!

The above links will take you to my unofficial guide to these new features.

Spoiler: Yes, Google can delete your blog. ¶ 

But someone else could have deleted it, if it is missing. Including you, by accident (or otherwise). ¶ 

It's easy to tell if Google is the culprit. Google will tell you, if you've let it.

"And when they went back to the blog, IT HAD VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE!" ¶

Not to scare you, but it's easier to lose your blog than you think. ¶ 

Secure your blog by understanding what can go wrong:

•  (1) you delete your blog
•  (2) a co-blogger deletes it
•  (3) you are hacked
•  (4)  Google deletes it

Trusted contacts for account recovery ¶ 

Google last month created a new tool to recover your blogging account if you are ever locked out.

It's insurance that you have to set up while you still have access. And it involves a trusted friend or family member.

This isn't permanent, but as of today, and for maybe a month or so, this blog will be rendered according to the responsive theme I have been working on lately. ¶ 

What do you think? Your questions are also welcome. ¶ 

More below.