With the pre 2016 Followers gadget, the Followers population for a blog was managed through an Options link on the Followers gadget.
This required the blog owner to sign into the Followers gadget, to access the Options link. Authentication - and an owner specific Options menu - is no longer a pert of the Followers gadget.
It is possible to Block Followers, from a blog - the option is just not part of the Followers gadget, any more.
Previously, the option to Block a Follower was part of the Options menu, in the Followers gadget.
To ensure that only a blog administrator was able to Block a Follower - or do various other blog to viewer functions - the Block option was part of a complex wizard, accessed by a blog administrator.
This required the ability to authenticate a viewer - separately from the Blogger / Google login. This, in turn, made the Followers gadget complicated - and lead to occasional malfunctions.
To simplify the Followers gadget, there is no need to login to the gadget, any more.
Now, the ability to Block unwanted Followers is part of a blog administrator Stats page. On the Stats Overview page, look for the Followers count.
The number which displays the Followers count is now a link. Clicking on the number, one can access the "Manage followers" wizard.
This blog has 4,954 Followers. Click on "4,954" (right now).
And there is the "Manage followers for The Real Blogger Status" wizard. Each Follower now has a "Block" button, plainly visible.
Since only a blog administrator has access to the Stats dashboard page, there is no need for a separate Followers login. Just click on the Followers count, on the Overview page.
And the Followers gadget has only one option - the button, immediately visible to each blog viewer.
- Follow (if not currently Following).
- Unfollow (if currently Following).
The Follow / Unfollow button applies to administrators, authors, and readers alike. Now, there is no need to identify a person as related to a blog - except as whether this person is currently Following the blog.
Simplicity - for blog administrators, blog viewers, and Blogger developers.
When the #Blogger Followers gadget was re written in 2016, the "Options" menu - and the need to login to Following separately - was removed from the gadget.
The ability to Block selected Followers, previously part of the Options wizard, is now part of the Stats dashboard page.
The new Followers gadget is out - and is causing some confusion.
If you are Following a blog - either your own blog, or somebody else's - and you examine the Followers gadget, you will see a button labeled "UnFollow".
Long ago, "UnFollow" was a selection, in the "Options" menu.
The "Unfollow" button is there, to let you stop Following a blog that you are Following.
"Unfollow" lets you stop Following any blog - yours or not.
If you are Following this blog, you should see a button labeled "Unfollow".
Previously, "Stop Following" was just one link, in the Followers gadget Options menu. Now, it's a button, in the gadget.
This blog, with the Followers gadget, as I see it.
If I wish to Unfollow a blog - possibly because I can Follow only 300 blogs at any time - I can click "Unfollow".
Since I am Following my blog, I see a button labeled "Unfollow".
Long ago, "Stop Following" was an "Options" menu selection.
Previously, the "Stop Following"" option was available, behind the "Options" link in the gadget.
What we used to see.
A blog that you are not Following will display a "Follow" button.
We see a "Follow" button, on blogs that we are not Following.
I am not Following this blog.
Since I am not Following this blog, I see a button labeled "Follow".
It's that simple. If you are Following a blog, you'll see an "Unfollow" button. If you're not Following, you should see "Follow".
If you wish to Follow, you will need a Blogger / Google account - though not necessarily a GMail account.
If you see "Follow" when viewing this blog, you are welcome to click on the button.
The "Options" wizard is now titled "Manage followers" - and is accessed through a link in the Stats dashboard page. Right now, the "Block" button is the only "Manage followers" option.
The #Blogger Followers gadget now has an "UnFollow" button, visible to people who are Following a blog. Previously, "UnFollow" was a "Stop Following" selection, in the gadget "Options" menu.
When we use Blogger Following, we create a link to our profile, from each blog that we Follow.
That's the primary purpose of Following - to see, and to be seen. We also create links from our Followers profile, to each Followed blog. That's the purpose of having a profile - to describe ourselves, by the blogs that interest us.
Everybody does not want other people knowing about every blog that we Follow, though. To let us Follow blogs without being seen, we can Follow anonymously - or hide a blog, from our profile on other blogs.
When we Follow a blog, we can choose to Follow anonymously, or publicly.
We can change the option, to Follow anonymously or publicly, when needed. If we Follow publicly, we can hide this blog, in our profile, on other blogs.
We can also hide blogs in Reading List, to keep the list manageable.
Change between Anonymous and Public Following.
There are two ways of changing between anonymous and public Following.
- Use the Followers gadget.
- Use the Reading List wizard.
Use the Followers gadget.
If you are Following a blog publicly, you'll have your icon in the Followers facepile (the icon cloud in the gadget). You can edit your profile, and Follow anonymously - or continue to Follow publicly, but with this blog hidden from other blogs.
Click on "Options", when you are logged in to Following, as yourself.
Then, click on "Site settings".
Or, if you are Following publicly, you can click on your icon, then "Settings".
Now, you have the Settings wizard, for this site.
Click on "publicly" - since you can see this, when Following publicly.
If you're Following publicly, you can choose to Follow anonymously - or continue to Follow publicly, but not include this blog on your profile.
If you are Following a blog anonymously, you won't have your icon in the facepile. If you want to now Follow publicly, and you are properly logged in, you'll still have "Options" - then "Site settings".
Use the Reading List wizard.
There are two Reading List management wizards - one for Blogger profiles, the other for Google+ profiles.
Changing Reading List, with a Blogger profile.
If you have a Blogger profile, you use the Blogger "Manage Blogs I'm Following" wizard - that you access from the Blogger dashboard.
If you have a Google+ profile, you'll use Google friend connect "Sites I've joined".
Start from the Blogger dashboard home page.
Click on the "gear" icon, to the right of "Reading List".
Some blogs are Followed publicly.
You can make any publicly Followed blog, Followed anonymously.
Just click on "Change to anonymous".
Some blogs are Followed anonymously.
You can make any anonymously Followed blog, Followed publicly.
Just click on "Change to public".
Changing Reading List, with a Google+ profile.
If you have a Google+ profile, you use Google Friend Connect: Sites I've joined. You can't click to this wizard, from the dashboard.
If you have a Blogger profile, you'll use Blogger "Manage Blogs I'm Following".
Start from "Sites I've joined".
Find the blog that's relevant - and click on "Settings".
Some blogs are Followed publicly.
This blog is being Followed publicly.
If you choose to Follow publicly, using a Google+ profile, you can choose to display this blog, as part of your profile - when your icon is displayed on other blogs. Alternately, you can Follow this blog publicly - but make it non visible, from other blogs.
To Follow anonymously, click on "Follow anonymously", and "Save".
Some blogs are Followed anonymously.
This blog is being Followed anonymously.
To Follow publicly, click on "Follow publicly", and "Save".
If you Follow publicly, you can choose to hide the blog from your profile. You'll be visible, on this blog - but your profile, on other blogs, won't point to this blog.
Hide and un hide a blog, in Reading List.
Besides anonymity in Following, we can hide a blog, to make Reading List manageable.
So, be aware of the options for choosing private ("anonymous") vs public Following.
target="_blank"
When we Follow a blog, using #Blogger Followers, we have several options to control our visibility on different blogs. We can make ourselves fully or partially visible - or non visible.
When you Follow a blog, the blog feed is added, as a subscription, to your dashboard Reading List.
This lets you read the blog content, conveniently, using the newsfeed. Separately from the Reading List, you can choose whether to have your personal Followers icon displayed, in the icon cloud on the blog display.
Besides maintaining anonymity in Following, you can hide any number of blogs, in the Reading List index, to make the index manageable.
You can display your Reading List, with the various blogs indexed in 3 states.
- Hidden, and not shown.
- Hidden, and temporarily shown.
- Visible.
Just learn to hover the mouse cursor in the right spot, to the left of the index entries, to change the state of the individual blogs.
Hidden or not, the blog content will continue to display, in the main Reading List display. Hidden blogs simply appear or disappear - as needed - in the Reading List index.
Here's an example of Reading List index entries.
Start from the Reading List section of the dashboard home page.
Here, we see two blogs that are being Followed, both visible.
To hide a blog, hover the mouse cursor to the left of a given blog name, and click on the down arrow.
To show all hidden blogs, click on the right arrow to the left of "Hidden blogs".
Now, all blogs are displayed - and the hidden blogs are indicated.
To un hide a hidden blog, hover the mouse cursor to the left of the blog name, and click on the up arrow.
And we again have two blogs, both visible.
The actual content of the Reading List display does not change - just the Reading List index, on the left.
To help you use the #Blogger dashboard Reading List effectively, you have the ability to display or hide specific blogs in the index. This does not change Reading list content - just the index - and makes it easier to locate important blogs, repeatedly, in the index.
As both custom domain publishing, and social sharing networks, become normal with many blogs, we see anguish when blog owners change the URLs of their blogs, without planning for the effects of the change.
What happened to my Likes?
This blog owner - and many others - do not realise that FaceBook counts Likes, based on the URL, not the blog.
FaceBook Likes, and Google+ +1s, are counted by URL - and are not controlled by DNS redirection, or simple name changes. If you rename your blog, you get a new URL with a new popularity counter, in FaceBook and Google+.
Some social sharing services allow for URL changes.
BlogLovin lets you transfer Followers from one URL to another.
BlogLovin, for instance, provides for transfer of Followers, to a new URL - as long as the blog owner owns both the old and new URL.
First, make sure that you've claimed both of your blogs.
Once both blogs are claimed, navigate to "My blog" and select the "Edit Blog Info" option next to your original blog.
From the "Move Followers" dropdown menu, select the blog you'd like to move your followers to and click "Move". This will remove your original blog and move your followers to your new blog of choice.
Start from any BlogLovin page.
Select "Blog analytics" from the drop down menu.
Click "Edit blog info".
Select a blog, from the drop down blog menu, in the "Edit blog info" wizard - and click on "Move Followers".
Whether you have a blog with a new URL, or a blog with multiple feeds and groups of Followers, BlogLovin lets you consolidate / move Followers so you can address your Followers, conveniently.
Blogger Followers stay with the blog, automatically.
With a Blogger blog, and Blogger Following / Google Friend Connect, your Followers Follow the blog - not the URL. You can rename the blog, and change the URL - but as long as you don't change the BlogID, your Followers remain with your blog.
FaceBook and Google+ give you a new counter, for each URL.
Neither FaceBook or Google+ provide a similar option. To both FaceBook and Google+, if you change the URL of the blog, you have a new blog. Google+ Followers - unlike Blogger Followers - Follow the URL.
With custom domain publishing, and the BlogSpot to domain redirect, the attention of your Followers may end up on your redirected blog - but the +1 counter and Followers community, that was based on the BlogSpot URL, stays with the BlogSpot URL. With the blog published to the domain, your blog gets a counter and community for the domain URL - and starts over.
With a BlogSpot to BlogSpot URL change, and a domain to BlogSpot URL change, everything starts over.
FaceBook Likes are counted, within FaceBook - and Google+ +1s are counted, within Google+. Both are based on the URL of the blog which accrues the Likes and +1s. If you change the URL of the blog, you get a new counter - and a new Followers community.
A URL change is effective for different changes, to a Blogger blog.
- BlogSpot to BlogSpot name change.
- BlogSpot to custom domain republishing.
- Custom domain to custom domain change.
- Custom domain to BlogSpot republishing.
All of these are URL changes - and are treated as a different blog, for most social sharing services.
BlogLovin supports URL changes. Neither FaceBook, Google+, or LinkedIn provides this ability. You change the URL, you start over with +1 / Like count, Followers community, and sharing reputation.
With most social sharing services, if you change the URL of a #Blogger blog, you start over accumulating +1s, Followers, and Likes. BlogLovin appears to be alone, in letting you transfer Followers from one blog to another - if you create a new blog, or change the URL of an existing blog.
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/ZiozKZOS07Q
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/gkmBV6s03Ck
We're seeing confusion, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about unfairly limited Blogger / Google support policies.
Why can I not Follow my favourite blog, without using a Google account?
and
Why must I upgrade my computer, to be able to use Chrome?
Some blog owners and readers take the support policy limits personally, as if Blogger / Google is punishing them - or their readers - for not using the right account to login, or not upgrading their software.
Every different account host - and every different browser or operating system - requires more unique code, that must be provided by Blogger / Google, in their libraries.
Blogger / Google are trying to make their products efficient and stable.
Blogger / Google is trying to make their applications and browser more stable. More stable products yield happier users, and more users.
Complex code libraries, caused by the need to support every different non Google account (previously supported by Blogger), and every different operating system of every age, cause Chrome and Followers to be slow and unstable. Slow and unstable applications and browsers yield unhappy users, and less users.
More complex code libraries require Blogger / Google to spend more time updating their code, for every change made outside Google.
Which choice makes more sense?
- Less complex applications and browsers, less time spent maintaining less complex code libraries, more customers, more satisfied customers.
- More complex applications and browsers, more time spent maintaining more complex code libraries, less customers, less satisfied customers.
My money says Door #1 makes the most sense, from a business viewpoint.
Efficient and stable applications require effort by users, as well as coders.
Blogger / Google simply can't support every different non Google account in their applications, and every different browser and operating system, and maintain a business. People who want to use Blogger and Google have to make some effort, and help Blogger and Google to help them.
Blogger cannot support non Google accounts, and provide an efficient and stable Followers gadget.
If you try to update Chrome - and you see advice
Sorry, you can't update Chrome, using this operating system.
or if you (or your readers) try to Follow your blog, and see
We're sorry, the site owner has blocked you from joining this site.
Neither refusal is Blogger / Google being petty, and forcing you (or your readers) from having unlimited choice, capriciously. This simply represents Blogger / Google making a tough choice, and trying to provide efficient and stable products, for their customers who are willing to make some effort.
Some blog owners do not understand the need for #Blogger and #Google to support use of a limited range of non Blogger / Google products, in their various features. Support policy for products like the new Followers gadget, which now supports only Google accounts for Following - and Chrome, which supports only newer versions of Windows operating system - are not understood.
This month, we have a few reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about problems Following some blogs.
Why am I being blocked, from Following?
Some would be Followers are taking this personally. Please, don''t do that.
What you're seeing (maybe, when trying to Follow this blog, too) is not an owner initiated conspiracy.
The Blogger Followers gadget rewrite is taking shape.
If you're trying to use a non Google account to login to Following, you'll be seeing this, for some blogs.
If you want to Follow some blogs, you will need to use a Google account. The OpenID and similar non Google logins are not usable, with Following, any more.
We were warned, several months ago, about changes to Followers.
As we mentioned some weeks ago, starting this week, we’ll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. To follow a blog via Google Friend Connect now, readers will need a Google Account (the same they use for Gmail or YouTube).
It's happening, finally. One day, we'll have a new - and more stable - Followers gadget.
The #Blogger Followers gadget rewrite is continuing. This month, some would be Followers are seeing a notice, instead of the gadget, when they try to Follow some blogs, without Google accounts.
The Followers Gadget Rewrite Continues
Would Be Followers Being Blocked By The Blog Owner
One question, that I have never seen specifically asked, is about our following, reading lists, and blog subscriptions in general.Why do I have to login to Blogger, to maintain my Reading List?
The blog follower / owner has asked a question that is involved in various problems, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue - but with this question so easily overlooked.
The Blogger dashboard Reading List, which so many use transparently, is unique to each of us.
Similar to the confusion about the email address, mysteriously displayed on our Blogger dashboard, is the unstated detail that each of us has our own personal set of followed blogs - and consequently, our own Reading List.
If you want to maintain the (Blogger Following / Google Friend Connect) Followers community, on your blog, you are forced to do this, as part of the Followers GUI. When you are able to access the Reading List "gear" icon, and "Manage Blogs I'm Following", you have already logged in - possibly, without realising.
Sometimes, blog owners have learned of various dashboard shortcuts - and use them transparently. All blog dashboard access requires a login - to simply prove, to Blogger, that you are the owner of the blog in question.
Most blog owners understand, instinctively, that they must login to access each blog dashboard. Not everybody realises, however, that they have their individual Reading List - also accessed by their own login, on the dashboard "home" page.
Along with having your own Reading List, you have your own reading list maintenance wizard (aka "Manage Blogs I'm Following" - or possibly the Google Friend Connect equivalent, for Blogger accounts that use Google+ profiles). To access your own wizard, you must identify yourself, by logging in to Blogger.
Failure to use the right Blogger account, or using a computer that prevents proper identification, leads to an empty Reading List - or to a list with just one entry. This is one reason for some people claiming that the Reading List is unreliable.
We get occasional odd problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken about mysterious display oddities.
Why is my sidebar vibrating?
Here I'll note that the problem about "vibrating" has been reported, using various synonyms - in different syntaxes.
This symptom has many possible phrasings, as mentioned in different forum problem reports.
- Dancing.
- Jiggling.
- Jumping.
- Leaping.
- Moving.
- Shaking.
- Shimmering.
- Trembling.
- Vibrating.
- Waving.
- Wiggling.
Identifying the words used, in the problem reports, is one challenge.
The problem appears to involve the Followers gadget (possibly, specific versions of Followers), being positioned at the top of the sidebar, above other accessories.
One can only wonder what terms are used, in non English speaking countries.
This problem is not easy to identify in quantity, because of the many different synonyms used - and with some synonyms used, in different syntaxes.
Why does my sidebar vibrate?
or
My sidebar vibrates!
instead of
Why is my sidebar vibrating?
for one example. This makes any forum text search, to look for similar reports, require multiple, exhaustive attempts.
The list of 11 words, above, is just a list of examples, alphabetised (as I do with most lists). I have seen all 11 words (33 possible syntax combinations), and more, from time to time, in various blog comments, blog posts, and forum questions.
Positioning of the Followers gadget can affect multiple template gadgets.
Some blog owners have positioned the Followers gadget above the posts column - or even beneath the blog title / description (and spread across the entire blog width). This will make the posts column - or even the posts / sidebars (the entire blog width) - subject to this effect.
The problem appears to involve the Chrome (possibly Safari too) browser - and is visible only at specific Zoom levels.
If you see this problem when viewing someone else's blog, try zooming in or out, and see if the problem persists. Chances are, it will stop. Also, try using a different browser.
If you see this problem when you are viewing your blog, try repositioning the Followers gadget lower in the sidebar. Observe what gadgets are positioned below the Followers gadget, as you move the gadget downward.
Occasionally, we have people expressing confusion about loss of Followers.I updated my template, and I lost my Followers!
If you only update your template and nothing else, your blog should still have its Followers. You may lose various gadgets from the template, when you make changes - but even if the Followers gadget is lost, the existing Followers continue. Just look at the Followers community, from your dashboard, and you'll see the Followers.
If you look at the code behind the "Follow Blog" link in the navbar, you'll see an odd code snippet. Here's an example of what you might see.
<script type="text/javascript">function follow(blogID) {window.open("/follow-blog.g?blogID=" + blogID, "followblog", "height=600, width=600, toolbar=no, menubar=no, scrollbars=no, resizable=no, location=no, directories=no, status=no" );} </script>
The key there is "blogID" (blog number), not "URL" (blog address). When you Follow a blog, you Follow the blog by number, not by address. This gives two very interesting results.
- If you setup a new blog, to maybe test a major template change, use that blog only for testing, and copy the tested template into the existing blog. If you swap URLs, and make the test blog your operational blog, your Followers will remain with the old blog.
- If you change the URL of your blog, setup a stub blog at the old URL, with a redirected feed. Your Followers will Follow the feed from your new URL, just as they Followed the the feed from the old URL.
That does mean, though, that renaming your blog will not affect your Followers - though it will affect their ability to Follow you using the blog newsfeeds. If you care about this detail, immediately after renaming your blog, setup a stub blog, at the old URL - then use the Post Feed Redirect to point to the new URL.
Occasionally, we see queries from bloggers who are unsure what anonymous Followers are.How do I know when someone Follows my blog anonymously?
andHow do I block anonymous Followers?
When someone Follows a blog publicly, he / she gets two things:- A subscription to the blog newsfeed, in the Following Reading List, and / or in Google Reader.
- An entry in the Following community for the blog.
When someone Follows a blog anonymously, she / he gets one thing:- A subscription to the blog newsfeed, in the Following Reading List, and / or in Google Reader.
If you Block someone from Following your blog, you remove their entry from your Following community. Newsfeed subscriptions, though, are universally open - if a feed is available to anybody, it's available to everybody. Your anonymous Followers, as well as your Blocked Followers, can read your newsfeed - just as any reader who wishes to subscribe, without using Following.
If the blog feed is routed through FeedBurner, anybody subscribing to the feed can be counted. If you have a visitor meter installed on the blog, anybody viewing the blog using a link from the blog feed (called "reach" in FeedBurner statistics) will be logged through the visitor meter. Short of FeedBurner or a visitor meter, you won't know anything about anonymous Followers, or about Blocked Followers.
A Blocked Follower appears in your Following community (in the "Blocked" list in your dashboard). An anonymous Follower is simply anonymous, and appears nowhere.
And, just as you can't track an anonymous Follower, you can't Block an anonymous Follower.
>> Top
