That although you've probably bookmarked or clicked a link to 'www.chertsey130.blogspot.com', you are now in fact reading 'www.chertsey130.blogspot.co.uk'. Unless you are in the States of course, in which case you still get the .com version. Or in any other country, where you will have got the relevant nationally-specific suffix. And if you use Blogger, the same thing will have happened to your blog. A different (though the same) version for every country in the world.
I must admit I hadn't noticed, until Diamond Geezer pointed it out. He explains why they've done it here. (And how to get round it if you need to)
It probably won't make any practical difference to any of us boaty bloggers, although it seems it will clog up search engines other than Google, who own Blogger of course.
It does get you thinking about the unsettling aspects of the web, and of depending on Google for so much, but there's no point complaining or wringing our hands about it. You can have your own domain under your own control if you're prepared to pay for it, but if not - as one of dg's commenters puts it - you just have to remember that if you're not paying for the product, then you are the product.
Dazzling Jewel on test
4 days ago
Two points. A domain is really cheap: a pay about £10 a year for mine. The server on which to run it more expensive, but no more than most people spend a month on broadband. What costs in the expertise to put is all together and run a blog platform, email server, web server, etc etc.
ReplyDeleteSecond point. Censorship on the internet is bad. All internet censorship is bad. Even the anti-child porn stuff done by the IWF does more harm, by legitimizing the idea and procedures of censorship, than the good achieved by suppressing (some) child-porn.
MP.
Yes, I should have been clearer; I know there are other costs too. I guess my point was that people would rather pay with their soul than with money.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, you are probably right that all censorship is bad; I was just saying that me getting cross on my blog probably wasn't going to help much.
I'm not that bothered about Google owning my blog, which is entirely public; I'm getting increasingly nervous about them owning my email though...
I think Google is losing the plot a little - what's the old saying 'Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. I notice that when I go to my own blog it stays as .com but when access from a link in my E-mail, for example, it does change to .co.uk. I think what I don't like most of all is that it was done without any advance notice. They may own the platform for producing the blog but I don't think they own the intellectual property right of the content (text and pictures) which in each case I hope stays with the creator/updater of the blog. Google know very well who creates and updates blogs so a quick E-mail explain what, why, when would have been, in my view, (and as someone who looked after major systems for a large airline) good manners.
ReplyDeleteKathryn
There is no "probably" about it, Moomin has spoken and as always he is right.
ReplyDeleteJ