So THAT'S Why! - Google Changes Something Else

Over the past few weeks I've noticed my followers dropping. Now that just includes my GFC followers, as I don't really know who follows in various feeds that don't get counted by Google--I don't think I'm savvy enough to figure that number out. I'm used to a follower or two here and there deciding they don't want to read my drivel anymore--fair enough. But a drop of about fifty in the past month left me thinking "What did I say?" I know my blogging has been sporadic and sparse (something I want to rectify), but I didn't think it was bad enough to lose so many followers, either.

I'd still be in the metaphorical dark if I hadn't read a post this morning by Daryl at Patchouli Moon Studio. I'm not the best at keeping up with Blogger 'news' and I know that if Google were to email each blogger individually they'd crash their own server as the number is immense, so I'm grateful that others have a watchful eye on things.

Anyway, Google has made some changes to their GFC (Google Friend Connect) service. Previously, emails-other-than-gmail were able to follow via GFC. And THAT's what changed. If you don't have a Google account and previously followed via GFC you'll need to sign up for one and RE-follow my blog. This irks the business out of me, because it forces people to have another email account, just to read blogs as they have done with no trouble for years and years. Not cool, Google. I fear those who have been dropped due to this change may not see this post, and therefore might not be aware of these changes.

This also brings up something else--I believe it has affected blog comments. I used to get an email every time someone left a comment. This made it very easy to respond in a timely fashion. That doesn't happen anymore unless commenters have a google account. I have to remember to go to my blog post and check the comments there. This makes me feel quite rude in my lack of response as I have to develop the habit to go to each post and check for comments, something I've never had to do before.

So, to sum up, if you want to follow via Google and don't have an account there, you'll need to sign up for one and re-follow. Alternatively, in my sidebar I have a 'follow by email' button that might suit you better. Of course, if you use a separate reader service (like Feedly or Bloglovin') then you don't need to do anything. And apologies on my part if any of you think I ignore your comments--I didn't realize until recently that I simply wasn't seeing them.

Hopefully this picture of Charlie staring at me while I eat a cookie-that-I-didn't-share will convince you to still be my friend.