Time runs out on Google+ comments

February 4 is the last day to save your blog's Google+ comments

If you are reading this on February 5 or later, I am sorry. Google did a terrible job of warning affected bloggers that their comments were at immanent risk.

If you are reading this in time, here's what you can do.

Google will delete Google+ comments from all Blogger blogs on February 4.

This will be your only chance to preserve them in any form.

Regular Blogger comments are not affected.

The G+ comments will not be converted to regular comments.

These deletions are the first tangible step in Google's plans to discontinue and eradicate Google+ by April 2.

Do I have Google+ comments?

Bloggers who never switched to Google+ comments are not directly affected by tomorrow's deletion and do not need to do anything.

If you are unsure whether you have these comments, check your settings for the blog at Posts > Comments and sharing > Google+ comments.

Do I want to save my Google+ comments?

It's up to you to decide if you want to preserve these comments or not. 

There is no simple way to add them back into your blog, but if you preserve the words then they are available for you to use later.

You can quote them in new blog posts and even reproduce especially good threads there.

Personally, I value the comments I get on my blog as much as I do my own work.

They are often thoughtful and informed, and they engender a high level of engagement by readers.

How can I save my Google+ comments?

More bad news: The Google+ comments that others left on your blog are not included if you download your Google+ content from Google. (But see update below.)

You can only save them the slow, hard way, by opening each blog post and copying the comments (to paste into a document) or taking a screen shot.

Is it worth all that? Again, that's your call.

Why are Google+ comments being deleted early?

If Google+ will stick around until April 2, why are comments being deleted on February 4?

The promise and flaw of Google+ comments was that they were also Google+ posts. And the posts will persist until April.

What's being deleted on February 4 is part of the framework that connected G+ to Blogger.

That framework includes the connection between those G+ posts and your blog posts (as comments to the blog posts).

So technically, those comments will still exist for a little while. They just won't be connected to your blog.

Update: If you have a technical bent, you may be able to use this solution to archive your Google+ comments.

I have not tried it (since I do not use G+ comments) and do not know anyone who has.