 "Google+ Comments comes to Blogger")
Watch out Facebook, Google is snapping at your ankles already. The search giant has announced that it is making Google+ comments available on Blogger now. Quite similar to Facebook comments, Google will allow the G+ comments to not only be shared on the blog, but also on the social network.
“Reading and responding to comments can be one of the most rewarding aspects of blogging. Not only do they help you connect with your readers, they can also inspire later blog entries,’" wrote Yonatan Zunger, Principal Engineer at Google. The challenge, Google says, is to be able to follow conversations around your content on both Google+ and your website.
If you have a Blogger website or blog, you can straight away go to your dashboard to enable Google+ Comments on it. Enabling the Comments feature will give you two “important benefits”, writes Zunger – you will be able to view your blog and Google+ comments, all in one place, and you will also be able to help readers comment and connect with their circles. Essentially, your blog’s comments section is about to level up.
Google sinking its fingers deeper into its own services
The Comments feature will allow you to see activity from direct visitors as well as people talking about your content on Google+, all while you’re browsing your blog’s comment threads. “For example,” reads the blog, “if there’s a public Google+ discussion about one of your blog entries, those comments and replies will also appear on your Blogger blog.” Thus you’ll be able to engage with more of your blog’s readers, without having to scour multiple pages.
If you thought the Google+ Comments feature had nothing in it for the people who’re actually commenting, think again. Your blog readers will have the option to keep their comments public or restricted to just their circles on Google+. While browsing too, they will have the option to either view all of them or just the top ones made by people in their circles.
Both you and your readers will only see comments that you, as the blog’s owner has the permission to see. “Giving people these kinds of controls not only encourages more meaningful sharing—it can lead to more blog traffic,” explains Zunger.
Enabling these Comments is not default in Blogger, at least not yet. To enable Google+ Comments on your blog, head to your Blogger Dashboard and go to the Google+ tab. Check on “Use Google+ Comments,” and you’re set. Make note that the older comments on your blog will continue to appear in the new widget.
Google+ Comments is indeed an indication that Google is very serious about incorporating its social networking website into pretty much all their services now. Google had earlier enabled Google+ integration with its Android Play Store too. In fact, it is now compulsory to comment using your Google+ account on the Play Store. This serves the dual purpose of making users accountable for the comments they make while cutting down on spammy and fake reviews, as well as make users embrace Google+ faster.
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