I have a half dozen different blogs that I semi-regularly use and they've worked well for me until last Friday when I woke up to this dreaded email message about one of my blogs:
Your blog has been reviewed and confirmed as in violation of our Terms of Service. In accordance to these terms, we've removed the blog and the URL is no longer accessible.
What?
I've always been one of those who doesn't worry about things and thinks the worst probably won't happen to me, but it did. Thankfully it wasn't this blog or my Book Blast Blog so there was nothing really lost but it did get me thinking. I've seen this happen to multiple bloggers recently. I go to look for a Blog Tour post on their site and all I find is this:
Not a great thing to find. Yes many eventually get their blog back after days or weeks of downtime if they are persistent and keep pestering google to get it back. I don't want to pester and I don't want to worry about it happening to one the blogs I really care about.
So I'm transitioning to a self hosted wordpress blogs.
I started Friday with my Feed Your Reader Blog, yesterday I moved one of my personal blogs, next month I'll move my Book Blast & Blog Tours blog and then I hope by May to have officially move I Am A Reader, Not A Writer over to wordpress.
It's a lot of work and there is a big learning curve but I don't want to risk waking up to another message from Blogger saying one of my blogs has been removed.
Wish me luck, I'll need it.
Good luck! Of course, now I'm worried about my blog....
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, Wordpress.com sites cannot post most JavaScript. Rafflecopter widgets get stripped out. Wordpress (self-hosted) can post them, with a little finesse.
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, Wordpress.com sites cannot post most JavaScript. Rafflecopter widgets get stripped out. Wordpress (self-hosted) can post them, with a little finesse.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with self hosted :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Kathy! I'll follow you to the moon. Haha. I will be making the switch sometime soon too! Scared!
ReplyDeleteOooh let us know when you do! I'll be interested in how you go about it. You know you're my blog ninja inspiration! ;P
DeleteGood luck!!!! And, please, share with us what you'll learn
ReplyDeleteBlogger pulled that on me last year on a blog post where I offered my readers a bunch of Kindle books that were free. I had too many pictures and not enough words and that was apparently not acceptable. I deleted the post and then emailed them. I made sure I let them know that my blog is a Book Review/Book Promotion blog and the content I post is conducive to that. Now I just make sure that I babble on about stuff, post the blurb about the book, and post the buy link so I don't have to worry about there being too many pictures and not enough other content. We'll see how well that works.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and I'll follow you to Wordpress :)
Saph
That's crazy. What terms of service did you supposedly violate?
ReplyDelete"spam" Too many links to amazon in a single post.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Kathy! It will be the best decision you ever make. Wordpress is SO MUCH better!!
ReplyDeleteWow - I mean, a little note from Google that says, "Hey, did you know that this many links is a violation?" would have been nice. I have my author blog on SH-WP, and I download the xml for New Adult Addiction pretty regularly, so I'm not worried about losing stuff, but I think finding out your website/blog is down (or GONE!) is not a good way to start the day.
ReplyDeleteYeah it was not a great start to the day. I had other things on my to do list for the day. The problem is there is it is all automated, there is no easy way to appeal, no one who can readily answer questions... It would be so much better if they would give you a warning message.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to hear more about your process on swtiching over and your transition/learning curve on Wordpress. It seems there are a lot of people interested in such a move and it might be cool to see how one blogger does it to perhaps help guide the potential masses. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm on WP for the past 2 years. I still don't know how to fully use it, but for the most part I got it working.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the transition. Honest, I'm glad you make the switch cuz guess what? I'll pester you with questions about the things I don't know. And--knowing you--I bet my coffee you will be able to clarify it for me. Yay!
I agree with others who have said to post about your journey to word press. I have no idea how to even start out doing this.
ReplyDeleteAngie
Good luck!!! I moved to Wordpress a year ago. It's a lot of work but worth it -- I think.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the dark side! You will love it! The widgets are great and there are so many fantastic themes. I made the switch after Blogger shut me down for no reason and no explanation and have tried to live as Google free as possible. The only thing I still use in Google Docs for my giveaways and they are shared with another user who is still me so if the shut me down I have another way in. Just don't trust them. They have retired so many services Blogger could go soon, you just never know. It is stressful making the switch but you will be so glad you did.
ReplyDeleteWow! I had no idea they could or would do this. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. I too didn't know they can do that to a blogger. Fortunately I have both Blogger and Wordpress and post the same things on them so that followers on both blogs can see them. At least now I can feel secure that I won't lose much if Blogger ends up sending me an email, I'll still have Wordpress.
ReplyDeleteOh Wow, Now that would truly send my day into crash and burn central! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have a self-hosted WP blog and haven't actually ever used Blogger or another service (Unless livejournal.com counts).
ReplyDeleteWP isn't too difficult to use, and if you find a widget or javascript isn't showing up properly in a post, then switch to html mode and re-paste the code. It should then show up correctly in the post.
are you moving it yourself or having someone else do it? I keep going back and forth on if I should or not. I've heard of this happening to other bloggers, but none I follow (until you now! eek!).
ReplyDeleteI'm doing the initial move myself but Lori who designed this blog is going to help me get graphics moved over.
ReplyDeleteI have my blog on a self-hosted WP blog for years..while blogger was nice, I wanted more control.
ReplyDeleteWishing the best in moving over to Wordpress. I've seen a few other bloggers move to Wordpress recently. These changes that Google's enacting don't appear to be in their favor. Tsk Tsk.
ReplyDeleteI've heard and seen many blogspot users move to wordpress, and Since I've considered moving my blog too for various reasons. Like the others, I hope you'll post about your "journey" 'cause we all need some expert advice and guidance ;) i'm just concerned with the google friends we made, will it be lost?
ReplyDeleteYeah I've heard about that happening to Blogger users and I've been wanting to move to Wordpress for the longest time. Just can't afford all the fees right now. I mean I want a self-hosted one and someone to help me move everything so I need moolah first.. :P
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the move! I'm sure it will be great! :)
By the way, your post just prompted me to back up all my blogs again. :P
ReplyDeleteI've always been on Wordpress and it's really, really good CMS easy to use + great themes. + plugins and... I could go on and on. It's a wise choice!
ReplyDeleteThat's shocking! And seriously worrying... I use blogger although recently my website was moved to a self hosted Wordpress site. I think perhaps I should moving all my current blog content over to it as well.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! --Would your GFC followers move there automatically or do we have to change the address to follow you? --In general, curious how GFC will be affected because I might consider moving too just not jazzed about potentially losing the follower I worked hard to get. --Self hosting means you pay for it?
ReplyDeleteYes self hosting means I pay for it... GFC will not follow to the new blog. But my understanding is GFC is being replaced by Google + soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a headache! Please keep us posted. And good luck.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually thinking about it as well! Great thing is that one can move the bloglovin' followers!
ReplyDeletePlease keep us posted!
I just made the move myself so I know how you feel. It's definitely a lot to learn but I think it's worth it in the end.
ReplyDeleteYou'll be so glad you did it! I had another blogger do it for me (Spilled Milkshake Designs), it was well worth the money I spent. Good luck with it!!
ReplyDelete