Imp of the Diverse: Blogger

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Something Troubling at Blogger

I am well aware that if you're getting something for free, you're not the consumer, you're the product. Nevertheless, I had figured that Google had found other ways to monetize other people's work.

A digression: Not long after I started this blog, I was a party where I noted that I was blogging. "Oh, I hear you can make money doing that," said this friend of a friend. Maybe it is possible to make money at blogging, but I have come to conclude that it won't be me who's making it.

Google does have a program called AdSense that allows people to put ads on their pages. Every time someone reads your page, you get some tiny fraction of a cent (the term for this is an "impression," and advertisers buy impressions at a certain rate per thousand). If someone actually clicks on an ad, the web site gets a higher payout. It should be noted here that Google prohibits going to your own site and clicking your ads, or telling people, "hey, please click on my ads."

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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Byword and Blogger. Not Quite the Right Solution

This is three paragraphs.
Can you tell where
they split?

I hate typing in browser windows, but since starting this blog, I’ve been doing a lot of typing in browser windows, but I am seeking to limit it. Many of these posts start off by my typing something into the app Byword, either on my Mac or in iOS (I’ve actually dictated a few drafts into my phone while walking my dog). As a text editor that syncs between a Mac and iOS devices, it’s pretty good. As a blogging tool, it leaves a bit to be desired.

As I noted before, Google’s own Blogger app for iOS is sadly deficient. If you’re going to make an app, it should be better than just opening up mobile Safari. Another mild complaint I’d make about Blogger is that it creates really bad HTML. When you type a line break in Blogger, it just gives you an HTML break (<br />). Ooo. Bad coding. The actual coding should be paragraph tags, which is exactly what Byword produces, and Blogger than translates to break tags.

You can follow my blog on Twitter (@impofthediverse) or on Facebook. If you like this post, share it with your friends. If you have a comment just for me, e-mail me at impofthediverse@gmail.com.

This blog runs solely on ego! Follow this blog! Comment on this post! Let me know that you want to read more of it!