Have you ever tried to comment on a Blogger blog and been perplexed by the fact that the blog makes you sign in with a mysterious ID or login or some sort before you can leave your two cents? You may have seen a screen that looks like this (right).
With this setup, you need either a Google or Blogger account or what's called an "OpenID" in order to comment, which I think is a bummer. Every blog author should be encouraging good, thoughtful comments, so it's best not to put any roadblocks in the way of your readers. NOTE: Let it be said, however, that I am a fan of the "word verification" function often used to prevent comment spam. This is sometimes called a "captcha".
The reason this Google/OpenID problem is so prevalent is that this particular comment mode is the default option for any new Blogger blog, which means unless the blog author changes their comment settings in their Blogger account, this is what their readers will be faced with when they want to comment. Of course, Google makes this the default because they want more people to sign up for Google accounts. I understand that Google needs ways of getting more people to sign up for Google accounts – everyone's got to make a living, even Larry Page and Sergey Brin – but I think this method of "encouragement" is a little insidious, especially because most new bloggers don't even realize this default setting is stopping their readers from commenting.
The good news is that the comment settings in Blogger are easy to change. If you're the blog author and you've got a Blogger blog, I highly encourage you to change these options and make it possible for anyone to comment!
Here's how to go about it:
When you log into your Blogger account, go to the Settings tab, then click on "Comments". Your screen will look something like this:
In this screen, make sure that you've checked "Anyone – Includes Anonymous Users" in answer to the question "Who Can Comment?". Once you make this change, scroll all the way to bottom of this page and hit "Save Settings". Check your blog again (you'll probably need to hit you refresh button) and make sure the change took effect by trying to comment on your own blog and seeing what happens. It's always good to put yourself in your reader's shoes, so this is a great exercise anyway.
If you're a frustrated reader who would like to see this change on someone ELSE'S blog, write 'em an email note if they have their email address posted on the site, and send them this link so they know how and why to make this important change.
After you try this, drop me a line here and let me know how it went for you, and whether you've seen an increase in the number of comments you receive!
Quick update (Sept.11) - A colleague of mine point out that some bloggers might not want anonymous commenters to be able to post on their sites, but unfortunately there's only one way to get Blogger blogs out of "Google-account-only" mode, and that's to open up comments to "Anyone". Once you've set your comment option so that anyone can comment, people can either post anonomously or by listing their name and URL. Most people will leave you a name (and a URL hot link back to their own blog, if they're smart about marketing), so I wouldn't worry too much!
One of the things I find really frustrating with blogs requiring my Google ID is that they don’t remember my email address and password so I have to look it up every time. Hmm, maybe I should change my password to one I would remember more easily…
Thanks for sharing this great info, Beth!!! I too have been frustrated by my inability to post comments on a friend’s Blogger blogs. I don’t want to sign up for a Google account either…
Just yesterday at the Farmer’s Market, I was talking to another friend of mine who’s in IT, and he doesn’t want to use Google’s new browser–just because it’s another way for Google to keep track of everything we surf.
I suppose someone out there knows pretty much every web page I’ve ever viewed, so I’m probably being naive. However, I like to think I’m maintaining just a little privacy!
Hey Beth, great idea. Maybe that’s why I see so few comments on my frequent posts. I went and changed the setting, now what about the backlink setting?
Hi Viki -
Thanks for commenting, glad this was useful for you. Not sure what you mean by “backlink setting”, though….can you tell me a little more about what you’re looking for?
Great site, Beth. I have my comments open on my wordpress blog, but often new commenters get caught by the Spam-catcher (technical term?) and then have to await moderation. Not very friendly, but I don’t have a clue how to make that not happen.
Sounds like you have some great classes coming up.
All good wishes–
Beth–this is a really useful post. I plan to check my blogs to be sure I have them set up this way. I don’t mind the google signup thing personally because I just figure anything I put on the net in any way is out there forever, just a part of “doing business” in the blogosphere. Good luck with upcoming classes–you’re the best!
Rosemary Carstens
http://artistspotlight.blogspot.com
Rosemary -
The “Google-only” sign in primarily bugs me because it doesn’t allow me to do a regular link to my blog (which as you know is on Typepad). If I log in with Google, then when my comment is posted on that blog it only gives a link back to my Blogger profile, which has nothing on it and is really out of date! So I want to be able to put a link back to my regular blog quickly and easily, and I want to have the same thing for my readers.
Great post, thanks for the info. I just started our own blog yesterday (inspired by some of our colleagues who have great translation-related blogs), so I am glad I came across your blog. I am a blogging novice and grateful for all the fantastic information you provide. I just changed the settings on my Blogger to allow anyone to comment. I am a bit worried about spamming — should I be concerned?
As I find your postings very helpful, can we add you to our Blogroll on our translation blog http://translationtimes.blogspot.com/?
And here’s to women in technology!
Beth,
Thanks so much for posting this! I have replied to posts (sometimes long and thoughtful replies), only to be brought up short by the process to post. I have lost comments this way and have abandoned sites in frustration when I couldn’t seem to do whatever was needed to get the post posted.
I love supporting other bloggers and everything a blogger can do to make it easy for me just ensures my support.
Melanie Mulhall
http://www.melaniemulhall.wordpress.com