First play with the new Blogger

We were "upgraded" to the new version of Blogger Pro this weekend and, to echo Jack's comments below, I'm not hugely impressed. The interface is a inelegant thing, and there are little changes to the usability which grate. You can't see previous posts from the create new post page, which means it's harder to get a sense of context as you create your new post, for instance. I can't post and publish - only preview first. And some of the RSS settings weren't copied over correctly. Still, at least it works in Apple's Safari browser, which is something, and it feels a lot faster than the old interface. What it needs - real soon - is some new features, to keep up with the Movable Type crowd. For all that system's complexity, it is starting to look very attractive to me...

Paying up to look back

Dave Winer has posted an interesting piece on his DaveNet site about website archives. He mentions the BBC and Guardian as both having intact archives of what's appeared on our respective sites over the years - we had a brief exchange earlier today about the Guardian's unique ownership structure.

Howell has it all

If you're interested in following the various debates here at the business blogging conference, Denise Howell is sitting a few seats down from me, furiously typing a very detailed transcript of proceedings. Denise, you may recall, made some headlines recently for blogging proceedings at a conference where the journalists had been muzzled by agreeing to keeping everything off the record. The organisors had not, alas, told the audience. Dan Gillmor had some interesting thoughts on that at the time.

More on webloggers, Google and journalism

In today's Observer, John Naughton joins the weblogs-taking-over-the-world-and-Google fray a little late, but adds some well-judged comments on what weblogging is all about, and why these wee sites do so well on Google.

API is the missing link

A dedicated member of the blogging community, Ben Hammersley has a new addiction to feed: APIs. Find out why he uses them to link his site to just about anything that moves

A US weblogger tours Wales

Philip Greenspun writes: "After two days of touring Wales, a country that apparently has yet to discover the mixing faucet, it has become apparent that there is better mobile phone coverage in the remotest sheep pasture or coastal outcrop than in downtown Boston. How can such an otherwise backward place be so far ahead of the U.S. technologically?" (via Scripting News)

Bloggers tool up

A service announced this week will allow anyone, irrespective of technical ability, to build a top-quality weblog. It is also a vote of confidence in the industry, writes Ben Hammersley

The blogs of war

For every story that comes out of the war in Iraq, there are hundreds of news services and weblogs putting a different spin on it. Emily Bell asks: how can we find out what really happened?

Get caught mapping

The net has long been a global conversation. Now it's bringing local communities together too, reports Jim McClellan.

Should Google^h^h^h blogging be regulated?

"Is it time to set up Ofsearch, a regulator of search engines, asks technology consultant Bill Thompson" on the BBC News site. Reader responses include one from Danny Sullivan, founder of the SearchEngineWatch site.

The genius of blogging

The traditional media may be baffled, and even alarmed, by the blogging phenemenon. But Google's latest acquisition will make it even more difficult to ignore, says John Naughton.

On the warpath

Blogs are now so powerful that the media are playing catch up, says Glenn Reynolds, a rightwing commentator and pioneer of the medium

Evan at the Blogosphere

Did you watch Evan Williams breaking the news of Blogger's sale to Google at the Blogosphere in Los Angeles on Saturday? You could have done -- I provided a link to the live coverage below. Hm, no, I didn't watch it either.... :-)