Blogspot

I was planning on writing about something else this week, but this trumped all other topics.

I consider myself a generally intelligent person. And ironcially, while I'm studying a computer-related field, I'm not a gadget geek, and don't necessarily keep up with the newest and greatest technologies. I am somewhat technology savy, however.

So this is my first "blog", and then the only reason I'm writing is because I've been forced to by a professor (sorry, Rachel). I am, however, generally familiar with websites, and can read English.

Which brings me to the problem I'm having. I have spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to post a new topic to my blog. I remember having a bit of trouble with this last week as well, but apparently did find the right link in the end. Today, for some reason, I can't find it at all (I'm currently typing in a word processor and will paste into blogspot when I figure out where to put it.) Perhaps it's right in front of my face, and I'm just being oblivious? Maybe if I come back in an hour it will jump out at me. But I somehow doubt it.

I can reply to other people's posts without a problem, and can reply to their replies to my posts, but somehow can't find a way to create a new topic on my own site. It seems like this would be a huge button on the page, once I sign on, since how often am I likely to log on to read my own stuff? Generally I'm likely to want to post something new.

So while I'm analyzing their site...I like the little logo inconspicuously in the top left corner to take you back to the blogspot home page. The search function is nice, and clear. The 'flag blog' button to me means that I can flag it for myself to come back to later - like a bookmark. However it is to 'notify Blogger about objectionable content on this page'. Not what I was expecting, but at least they tell you that, and before you click on the link, with a small line of text. 'Next blog' is nice, but I don't know what blog is next after mine, so am not sure where it will take me or how that is decided. What does 'next' mean in this type of setting?

'Create blog' and 'Sign in', on the right side, are clear, although since I've already signed into my page, 'Sign out' would be a better option, and one that is missing on this site entirely. Not good design.

The overall layout of the page is clear, and I like that I can choose the colors, font style, etc. from a set of pre-designed templates to give my blog a bit of character. The archive section on the right is clear and functional. The ability to view my profile or change it also works nicely. (I won't go into those pages or this will get too long.)

Now if only I can figure out how to post this...

...and the mystery is solved. I posted a reply to someone else's site first, which required me to put in my login and password. Which I did. So I assumed I was logged in. And when I went to my own blog, it appeared as though I was, since I could edit my profile - presumably not something I could do unless I'm logged in as me. However, the only way to get to all the other functionality of the site - like posting a new blog entry - is to click on 'sign in'. But I'm already signed in! So why would I do that? I'm not sure, but that seemed to do the trick (although I wasn't asked to re-enter my login or password, so clearly the system did acknowledge that I was logged in). And now I've got all sorts of options for settings and posting new entries. And I do see a 'sign out' button. Excellent. That's what I'm going to do now...