Life is Healthy

Posted by the Blogger Team

2010 has been an exciting year for all of us on the global Blogger team, and our platform is now more powerful, reliable, and active than ever before. As we close the books on another great year, we want to take a moment to look back at some of the highlights.

The makeover. The new Template Designer, with beautiful new templates and iStockPhoto™ background images, was one of the team’s biggest accomplishments of the year. Since the launch in June, nearly half of our active users have begun using the new templates (if you haven't tried our new templates yet, why don't you give them a try?) Our efforts to make Blogger blogs look more beautiful continued with the release of web fonts, custom background images, and mobile-optimized views.

Some great new features. 2010 was also a year when we added tons of new features to Blogger. We had a busy summer adding two new admin tabs to Blogger: Comments and Stats. The comments tab introduced a comments inbox and spam filtering; real-time stats, followed by stats gadgets, were also highly requested features. We've also added static pages, new share buttons, WYSIWYG post preview, improved YouTube integration, Zemanta post editor gadget, integration with Google Apps, and many other new features.

Rock-solid infrastructure. Of course features don't mean much when the service goes down, and we've made lots of behind-the-scene improvements to keep our service up and running as reliably as possible. Auto-pagination was one of our many efforts to reduce latency. Sometimes keeping our infrastructure robust meant phasing out features that are used by only a fraction of our users, but have a heavy impact on our system, such as FTP publishing — which some bloggers called a "hard but smart decision."

Reaching out to real users. Perhaps the most exciting thing that we did this year was to get out more and meet the real users, like you. We set up booths at SXSW and BlogWorld Expo (our first ever presence there), and we held our 11th birthday party all around the world. In addition, our face-to-face meetings were accompanied by our conversations with you over virtual channels like our user forum and Twitter. We will continue meeting you, listening to you, and delivering what you want for Blogger in 2011.

It’s been a pretty busy year for us, but we hope 2011 will be an even busier year where we deliver even more exciting releases to you. Thanks again for all your support, and we wish you the best during this holiday season. See you in the new year!

Microsoft and Automattic, parent company of WordPress.com announced that Windows Live Spaces blogging service will be replaced by WordPress.com. Users of these services can transfer their blog via the migration tools from today.

In his statement, Dharmesh Mehta, Director of Windows Live Product Management Microsoft said, in recent weeks, his party and Automattic have discussed about cooperation and integration on the internet.

"When we saw the need for blogging and what is offered by various companies, we are interested in what is done by WordPress.com," Mehta said, as quoted by Mashable, Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

For that, according to Mehta, than Windows Live invest to create a rival blogging service, Microsoft decided to bring them through the WordPress.com blogging solution.

"Starting today, users of Windows Live Spaces will have the option to switch their blogs to WordPress," said Paul Kim, Vice President of User Growth, Automattic, on its official blog. "To simplify, we make the importer from Windows Live Spaces to WordPress.com."

In addition, Kim said, users of Windows Live will be offered to create a blog in WordPress when they will create a new blog.

For information, WordPress.com currently accommodate 14 million blogs. If half of the 30 million blogs on Windows Live Spaces switch, it will be a very significant acquisition for WordPress.

Posted by Caroline Vanderlip, CEO SharedBook


Since we announced the Blog2Print/Blogger program last Fall, we at Blog2Print have been busy enhancing Blog2Print in response to user feedback and requests. Our goal is to maintain the integrity and ease of the blog–to-book creation process while providing you with more editing power and control over your blog books.

I’m pleased to tell you we now offer two different layout options for your blog books: Compact and Snapshot. Compact, the original page layout, arranges your blog posts, captions, and photos into a page that makes the best use of space and minimizes the number of total pages. The new layout, Snapshot, keeps the positioning of captions, photos, and text as it appeared in your posts online.

Meanwhile, we understand that some posts just aren't meant to be preserved, and you should be able to decide which posts you put in your book. Now you can, as individual posts can easily be deleted from your blog book. Especially when given as a gift – sometimes a little editing is needed here or there before a blog book is gift ready. And speaking of gifts, you can now buy a Gift Card for Blog2Print.

A few more changes: we’ve raised the maximum number of photos to 1500 in one book, added Safari support, and modified the User Agreement to clarify that bloggers continue to own all of their content and can resell their books if they choose – just make sure you own all relevant copyrights.

With your invaluable feedback, Blog2Print continues to evolve and improve. Please – keep asking! We’ll keep delivering.

by Jiho Han, Software Engineer, Blogger

When Google Buzz launched in February, many wondered how they could share cool posts to their Buzz stream. That’s why we’re excited to announce that Blogger has made it easy to share to Google Buzz via the Share button in the Blogger navigation bar. Just click “Share”, choose Google Buzz, and you’ll be able to customize your message before posting to Buzz.

In the middle of the Indonesian Police efforts to eradicate terrorism in the country, a lot of supports for terrorist suspects and activities that bring Jihad (an individual's striving for spiritual self-perfection) terms began to appear on the internet. Among others characterized by the presence of a number of blogs praising the terrorist suspects and insulting the police.

You can see the writings in their blogs below: (written in Bahasa Indonesia)

Suara Jihad, Haroky 2000, Rumah Jihad.

Those Blogs have been covering news and stories defending terrorism and terms of Jihad. Eg Suarajihad calls the community to protect the terrorism fugitives in the name of fellow Muslims.

Haroky2000 praising terrorism suspects Ibrohim aka Boim who was killed in Densus 88 Anti-Terror raid in Temanggung. Haroky2000 also called Ibrohim as the sword of Islam. Meanwhile, National Police Chief Gen Bambang Hendarso Danuri (BHD) is said to be America's lackeys.

"America's lackeys, Republic of Indonesia's Police to ensure that the Mujahid's (martyr) body was Syahid (Killed to defend Islam) in Temanggung, Central Java is Ibrohim. In that ambush, Ibrohim surrounded about 600 America's dogs, the members of Detachment 88 Anti-Terror squad with other combined personnel," said the blogs on one of its posts Wednesday (9/9/2009).

Not only the Police Chief who'v been reviled in these blogs, Police Headquarter's Head of Public Relations Inspector General of Police Nanan Soekarna also be sprayed. Nanan was mentioned as a braggart.

"He (Ibrohim) is being prepared, hidden for preparation, said the Police braggart, laddie Inspector General Nanan Soekarna at Kramat Jati Hospital, East Jakarta," said the author of the blog.

In fact, State Secretary Hatta Rajasa also said to boast in his statement that states that President SBY gave appreciation to the Police in the fight against terrorism. "According to State Secretary Hatta Rajasa, it does not affect the appreciation of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on police work. The President was not disappointed. However Ibrohim are [members of] terrorist group, said Hatta the swashbuckler," he added.

While Suarajihad wrote to the fugitives of terrorism to not need to be grieve. "For those who run and captured, do not be sad. Indeed Allah with us," the blog writes.

In the past few months, Indonesian blogging world has rang with a variety of contests, ranging from just a review contests to an SEO contest. In those contests which was well received by Indonesian bloggers, there is a contest that I think most prominent, Stop Dreaming Start Action, hosted by the most famous Internet businessman in Indonesia, Joko Susilo ST.

Popularity of Stop Dreaming Start Action blog contest other than the rewards that I think is the biggest than other similar contests, also caused by the initiators of this contest is a netter who was so controversial in Indonesia.

Joko Susilo who have been success with eBook products of Automatic Money Machine System / Sistem Mesin Uang Otomatis (SMUO) and the Blogging Secret / Rahasia Blogging, by some is considered as a seller who is marketing waste product and has no benefits and educational value.

According to my personal opinion, it seems inappropriate and unfair if we categorize or even judge Joko Susilo as a fraud and deceiver. I have read and tried to examine what was described by Joko Susilo in SMUO eBook. Its contents are not "Trash". I believe the eBooks are written by long experience and deep research.

All right, let us return to our main theme for this time, Stop Dreaming Start Action, What really conceived by the fourth word is. Is it just a slogan used to attract some attentions, or there is a deeper meaning that we can take as a lesson.

I'll continue on my next writing. For a while you can read an article that I think deserve to be made as the guidelines (In Bahasa Indonesia):
Stop Dreaming Start Action : Mengurai Makna Dreaming untuk Action

Blogshop, part of The 2009 Blogger Party: One Spirit One Nation (Pesta Blogger 2009) to be conducted in 10 major cities in Indonesia starting from the city of Malang. Chairman of the committee, Iman Brotoseno said in Malang, other than the city of Malang, nine other cities that designate to be crawled by bloggers are Semarang, Bandung, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Makassar, Surabaya, Medan, Palembang and Yogyakarta.

"This Blogshop initiated to encourage more people in Indonesia to involve in responsible blogging activities , critical, constructive and have a high social awareness," he said as quoted by ANTARA.

He admitted, at this time there are many bloggers who thought that they could write anything in his blog and even think that the rules of law in the real world are not binding their activities in the virtual world. Views need to be straightened.

Imam also said, all bloggers are also bound to remain with the rules of law applicable in the real world so that the blogger also suggested to blogs with full respect, responsibility and highly social awareness.

According to Iman "Trash" Blogs will disappear naturally by itselves. For the entire blogs will be selected naturally and if considered as "Trash" Blogs by the blogger communities it will disappear.

Organizing this event is a collaboration between the American Corner at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) and the United States Embassy in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the Public Diplomacy Officer United States Embassy in Jakarta, Tristram Perry said, the U.S. support to organize the 2009 blogger party wichs is already the second time since the first in 2008 and now in 2009.

The supports, he said, not only financially alone but also morally. For the blogger events in Indonesia have similarities with those in America who does not have restrictions so that people actually live in the democratic environment when deliver the bright opinions and ideas.

Based on the browse results of Pesta Blogger, the internet users in Indonesia in July 2009 to reach 25 million people and about 500 thousand of them have become a blogger. Year-end 2009, Indonesian bloggers estimated can penetrate the number one million people.

This year, internet users in Indonesia is estimated to reach 30 million people. Surprisingly, 1 million of them are bloggers. In fact, in 2008 there were only 600,000 bloggers.

"Bloggers in Indonesia has become the media of expression which can not be deemed frivolous. Politician and businessman is building a relationship with the blogger," said Iman Brotoseno, Committee Chairman of the Blogger Party 2009.

This year's Blogger party carrying theme of One Spirit One Nation. By the end of the election, now is time to restore ourselves and make a consolidation, so that we can make progress together as one force based on one Indonesia. "This is why we are carrying theme of one spirit one nation in the blogger party this year," he said.

The different things that will be presented in this year's Blogger Party is a blogshops (blogging shops) that will take place in 10 major cities of Jakarta, Semarang, Bandung, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Makassar, Surabaya, Medan, Palembang, Yogyakarta. "The peak will be held in Jakarta," said Iman.

According to Iman, Blogshop held to answer criticism that the Blogger party only for the Jakarta people. In addition, the held of Blogshop is to encourage more people in Indonesia involved in blogging activities and to do it responsibly, constructive, critical and with a high social awareness.

Blogger Party is a place of national blogger meeting where the first time held on 27 October 2007, as a media to provide a forum for bloggers in Indonesia to make direct face-to-face gathering, exchange information, discuss, and expand the network.

At the first blogger party in 2007, the Minister Of Communication And Information Muhammad Nuh set the date of October 27 as National Blogger Day.