The New Blogger

If you're reading this blog, one of the most obvious changes to Google since the publication of Googlepedia is the beta launch of the new Blogger. (I wish Google would give it a name, like Blogger 2.0 or something, rather than forcing everyone to call it the "new Blogger.")

The new Blogger has several nice new features, most of which have to do with personalization. You can choose from a variety of new templates, as well as modify the font and color choices via an an easy-to-use color picker (that modifies the accompanying CSS template). There are also a ton of items you can add to the basic template, including pictures, links, and lists. And you can move everything around on the page simply by dragging modules around on a template-builder grid.

Behind-the-scenes, the new Blogger is built on a completely new platform. This removes the old need to republish your entire blog after any template change; changes are immediate, with no "republishing lag." Plus the new spell checker is actually usable. (Yay!)

The only drawback to the new Blogger is that it's still in limited release. You can't yet move your existing blog to the new platform; for the time being, the only way to see the new Blogger is to create a new blog with a new user name. Google promises to make the new platform to existing bloggers at some point in time, however, so hold on tight -- it's coming!