Google+ Comments on Blogger

It's time for another snippet of technical information for those of you who use Blogger, but this will also be of interest to users of WordPress as well as those of you who don't have a blog.

Google+ has been around for a while now. It's a way to keep your friends and relatives up to date on your activitites, and to share specific information, like photos, blog posts and messages, with specific groups of people who are in your "circles". You can share some things with the people in your work circle, for example, and other things with people in your spanko circle, and the two groups never need know about each other.

Last week Blogger implemented a new system of commenting available to Google+ users. Instead of the usual Blogger comments, you can choose to activate Google+ comments. Perhaps some of you have already done so. While the new comment system has some advantages, there are significant disadvantages as well.

• People without Google+ accounts won't be able to leave comments, or even read them, since comments are dependent on being in a circle. That will prevent a large number of readers from commenting on your blog.

• Previously made comments won't be visible on the blog, although the comments still exist.

• The comment count will show "0 comments" even with comments actually present, and after clicking on "0 comments".

• If you are blocking third party cookies in your browser, you won't be able to see the comments, even if you do have Google+. 

• You won't be notified of new comments by mail, only from inside Google+ if the comment is shared with you.

• You cannot moderate comments from your dashboard. Moderation is done under each post, one post at a time.

• There may be some comments that you may not be able to moderate - for example, if you have blocked a person - but will show up to others in the blocked person's circle.

• The Comments section in your dashboard will disappear, because none of these settings are relevant to Google+ Comments. "Comment Location" will be defaulted to "Embedded".

• If you change your blog address - either a blogspot address change or to a custom domain - existing Google+ comments may not remain visible.

Doesn't that sound like fun? Fortunately, there is a way to go back to the old style of comments. Just go to the dashboard Google+ menu selection, and uncheck the option "Use Google+ Comments on this blog".

And regular programming will resume.