Post 1: Tinkering With Blogger! - A Powerful Tool

Purpose and Solved Problems 

Blogs. Many have heard of them, many have used them, but what exactly are they? Blogs are an informational post or discussion about a variety of topics. Blogger, which currently sits at a global rank of 249 according to Alexa, is a blog-publishing service. Users of the Blogger service can create their own blog, which is filled with blog posts about whatever they wish. Blogging however, is a lot more powerful than one may first think, it can be used for more than just documenting personal travel, and that use is business. Blogger, and blogging as an extension, solves a lot of problems for a business person. In that it allows customers and potential customers to interact with a business on another level, it provides communication with customers, insight into target customer segment(s), and can increase search engine optimization or (SEO) (McCormick 1).

Attempting to use Blogger 

One of the first tasks for this course was to obtain a Blogger (or another blog-publishing service) and subsequently utilize it. At first, some of the user-interfaces were slightly confusing, and didn’t provide much to go on. However, upon navigating through several pages, things became progressively easier and I could find a place to sign in (which I happily integrated with my Google account). From there, it was rather intuitive and simple to pick a theme, and begin filling in subsections throughout the blog, creating a canvas for myself to paint on.

While on the desktop, things were intuitive and provided the user with ease of use, the Blogger app was a different story, and at times, proved rather difficult to utilize and to function. Pictures would frequently not want to load (and upon checking reviews, I was not alone in this struggle), functions were extremely limited, and uploading pictures was an absolute nightmare. While it isn’t too big of a deal for me, I can see how companies “on the go” may need that portability to keep up to date, rather than be tethered to a computer. My investigation has led me to believe that until the app is updated, desktop is the way to go.

The Blogger Interface - Courtsey of: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJW5qulwItrmTlb9YHjsGmD9O54qyaqQr9q59LkvqEXkOHpCkpXneyLEOi4ewy5ORfv7TS9ffqW3Qxz0UgwQ5oLp3PLtq0K_6O0zB6DQxVwMwqzym7RiH77gehguMwDVyDNXHvPm1Fvug/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/Blogger_interface.png

Blogger Features

When viewing the main page of Blogger, one is promised customization options, a free domain, earning money, having analytics tools built in, and joining the already populous community of Blogger (Blogger 1). These features are handy for personal use, all the way to large company use. Two of these features are prominent to me for all user types. One, Blogger provides a free domain to its users, handy for saving some money for all user types, and two, Blogger has analytics tools built into it. Though the tools appear to be limited (I’ve played around with them a bit, but don’t have much to go on since the blog is brand new) I find that they would provide a useful overview perspective before delving deeper with more technical analysis tools.

It is important however, to note that Blogger is in competition with WordPress, who I believe may provide services more aligned with what businesses are looking for. I feel as if it is my duty to highlight these to give readers an unbiased record. A free Blogger account appears to be the way to go over a free WordPress account, but when it comes to customization and professionalism, WordPress is the way to go. The WordPress source below details all the customizations possible, notable customizations include custom design options and VideoPress (for hosting videos) (WordPress 1). Blogger appears to be less of an enterprise model and more of a personal user model, while WordPress provides the opposite experience.

My Experience 

Blogger is a pivotal tool for businesses to reach out and establish deep connections with their customers. When utilized correctly, a powerful impression can be left on others, ensuring that businesses reach out and touch targeted users on a more personal level. By providing a casual communication channel to customers, they have a chance to voice their opinions and provide valuable insights to a company. Target audiences can be more deeply analyzed and studied thanks to the included analytics tools, while also allowing for increased SEO position for increased exposure of the company. Like any tool, Blogger, when used correctly offers and efficient and effective way for a business person/business to get in touch with a target audience and readers.


Sources

Alexa Web Rankings, Amazon, www.alexa.com/siteinfo/blogger.com.

“Blogger (Service).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 May 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger_(service).

McCormick, Kristen. “Why Your Business Needs a Blog.” ThriveHive, ThriveHive, 24 July 2017, thrivehive.com/why-your-business-needs-a-blog/.

“WordPress.com.” Support, en.support.wordpress.com/category/upgrades/.