Importing your blog from AOL Journals to Blogger

How to Import your blog from AOL Journals to Blogger

Importing your blog from AOL Journals to Blogger is a fairly simple process. When you import your AOL Journal to Blogger, your posts, comments, photos and videos will be preserved. Blogger is a free blogging service from Google that makes it easy to share your thoughts with friends and the world. Blogger supports most of the features you've come to expect from AOL Journals and is easy to get started. You can learn more about our features here, or view our getting started guide here. If you're ready to get started, please follow the steps immediately below. If you still have questions, you can visit our Blogger Help Group or see if your question is answered in the Frequently Asked Questions. If you've already tried importing your blog to Blogger but encountered an error, please see our troubleshooting tips.

• Step 1: Sign in with the Google Account you would like associated with your blog at this page. If you don't have a Google Account, you can make one here.
• Step 2: Once you've signed in with your Google Account, you'll be asked to enter your AOL Journal URL (e.g. journals.aol.com/screenname/title-of-blog) and click "continue."
• Step 3: On the next page you'll be asked to sign in with your AOL OpenID screen name or email address.
• Step 4: The import process will then begin and may take a few minutes to complete.
• Step 5: After your blog finishes importing, you'll be asked to choose a title for your new Blogger blog as well as a new address.
• Step 6: Once you've chosen a new title and address, you can then select one of our blog templates.
• Step 7: You have now successfully imported your blog to Blogger! Click "view your imported posts" to visit your blog at its new address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: I don't want to move my blog to Blogger, how can I move it to another service?

Answer: You certainly may choose to migrate to another blogging service. Since Journals has no built-in exporting function, you'll need to find a blogging service that has the ability to import from AOL Journals. Blogger.com was chosen by AOL for many reasons, first and foremost reason was our willingness to build such an import tool that would help you build a new blog with most if not all of your postings and comments, as well as pictures intact and ready to publish.


Question: My blog won't import, or my blog is missing information after my import to Blogger was completed. What do I do next?

Answer: Please visit our Blogger Help Group to get assistance with any problems you may have encountered during the migration process.


Question: Will my journal live in two place after I migrate my blogs to Blogger until Oct 31st?

Answer: Yes, your blog will reside on the Journals site and Blogger until AOL performs the Journals shutdown on 31 October.


Question: How secure is the AOL Journals to Blogger.com migration? I don't want my AOL user name or password made available to a third party.

Answer: You can rest assured your AOL data will remain secure as all user name and password activities will be handled securely and only as instructed by AOL on an AOL OpenID Sign In page.


Question: I have a private AOL Journal. How will this be handled in the process of migrating to Blogger?

Answer: As you proceed through the Blogger migration process, Blogger will sense you are attempting to migrate a private journal and will instruct you to log into your private Journal to make it temporarily public. Once you have done this and then finish the migration to Blogger, you'll be able to return your Journal to private. In addition, you can mark your Blogger blog as private. If you want to make your Blogger blog private or limit who can view it, read our help article to learn how.

Troubleshooting

I started importing my blog, but it failed midway or only partially worked.
If this happens and you see a partially imported blog in your Blogger dashboard, then you can delete this blog and re-import it by going here.

My import fails during the final "publish posts now" process.
Refreshing the page will usually fix this.

After I imported my blog I have the option to "publish all posts now" or "edit posts before importing." When I choose "edit posts before importing," by default I only see 50 posts and the option to check "all." However, this only publishes the 50 posts I imported.
You may need to repeat this process until all posts are published. On the "Edit posts" page you can choose to view up to 300 posts at a time and publish up to 300 posts at once.

I'm getting the error message "we cannot find your journal."

There are a few reasons why this might happen:

• Your AOL Journal is still private. You need to make it temporarily public in order to complete the migration process, after which you can make your AOL Journal (as well as your new Blogger blog) private again.
• You entered the URL of a non-existent journal. Make sure you have entered the exact address of your current AOL Journal.
• The journal you tried to import has been deleted in AOL and doesn't exist anymore.
• A disruption in network service occurred during the importation of your blog.

Google launching free videoconferencing

Google is all set to strengthen its voice and video chat capabilities. The voice and video chat feature in the company's the email service, Gmail, is currently limited to one-to-one communication, however, Google wants to broaden this capability to more than two participants.

The Google Apps product manager Rishi Chandra told SFGate that Google is set to roll out its first update in a long line of updates that will include multi-user video conferencing.

Chandra told the web site, “This (current Gmail capability) is the first step in a much broader set of features we hope to roll out over the next six to 12 months around video (and voice) chat capabilities.” He added, "It’s a great opportunity for us to push that space along."

Google acquired Web and video conferencing software in 2007 from Swedish company Marratech.

Source: http://news.google.com

All about the Blogger 'Monetize' tab

The Monetize tab in Blogger makes it easy to enable AdSense ads on your blog. Once enabled, Blogger will retrieve your AdSense earnings data directly from AdSense so you do not need to go to AdSense to get basic earnings information.

AdSense Reports
Once you start generating AdSense impressions, you will begin earning money when people click on ads that show on your site.

The earnings report (visible when you click on the Monetize link from your Dashboard, or the Monetize tab when viewing your blog while logged into Blogger) includes a drop-down bar with Today, Yesterday, Last 7 Days, This Month, Last Month, and All time.

Selecting an option will retrieve the relevant report directly from AdSense.

All time
If you are already an AdSense user, you will notice that Blogger created a new channel (with the URL of your blog) in your account. If you have had AdSense ads on your blog before using Blogger’s AdSense integration to insert ads into your blog, it is important to note that All time will retrieve data only from the time you connected Blogger to your AdSense account.

This in no way affects your overall AdSense reporting, available directly from AdSense.

Terminology
The AdSense report visible from the Monetize tab contains basic information about how many ads have run on your blog, how many clicks were generated, and how much revenue you have earned. Each term in the report is defined below:

Page impression: A page impression is generated every time a user views a page displaying Google ads. We will count one page impression regardless of the number of ads displayed on that page. For example, if you have a page displaying three ad units and it is viewed twice, you will generate two page impressions and six ad unit impressions.
Clicks: # The number of times an ad was clicked on in the given reporting period.
Page CTR (Clickthrough Rate): The number of ad clicks divided by the number of impressions for the page of ads that appears when a link unit is clicked.
Page eCPM (Effective Cost Per Thousand Impressions): Calculated by dividing earnings by number of page impressions and multiplying. This makes it easier to compare multiple sites to see which are performing better.
Earnings: Total revenue earned to date. More detail about earnings is available in the AdSense Help Center.

source: www.google.com/support

How to put AdSense in your blog's sidebar

Note: This article assumes you are using a classic template. For Layouts-enabled blogs, you can simply add a new AdSense page element to your sidebar, or drag an existing element to the desired location.

If you're new to AdSense and not too familiar with making modifications to your blog's template, you can follow these instructions for placing AdSense code in your blog's sidebar (using the Minima template as an example).

Assuming you have already signed up and been approved for a Google AdSense account, you should be able to log in here. Once you're signed in, click the AdSense Settings tab near the top of the page. To cut right to the chase, focus on these steps:

1. Choose Your Ad Layout - To fit ads in your sidebar, it's best to choose one of the following ad layouts.

Button (125x125)
Skyscraper (120x600)
Wide Skyscraper (160 x 600)
Vertical Banner (120 x 240)
Small Rectangle (180x150)

2. Choose a color palette - They are very cleverly named but it's really just a matter of your preference.

3. Copy your AdSense code - At the bottom of the page, there's a box with code in it. Highlight all of that code and copy it.

4. Paste the code somewhere - Notepad or Text Edit or something like that is a good place for now.

5. Go to Blogger.com and sign in - Choose the blog you want to put ads on and click the template tab.

6. This is less of a step and more of a precaution - Copy your entire Blogger template and save it in Notepad or Text Edit just in case.

7. Find the place in your template that says this; you might have to scroll down pretty far:

8. Paste the AdSense code you saved earlier right after that part.

PUT YOUR ADSENSE CODE HERE!

9. Save your template changes and republish your blog.

source: www.google.com/support

How do I show ads between my posts?

If you want to show ads between your posts but chose not to do it while initially signing up for AdSense, first go to your Template | Page Elements tab. Then, in the "Blog Posts" section, click on "Edit". A pop-up window will appear with options to configure your blog posts. Check the box next to "Show Ads Between Posts". (Note: You must be signed up for AdSense before you can check this box.)



Once you check this box you'll see the configuration options for your ads. You can then select how often you would like ads to be shown after your posts.



For example, if you want ads to be displayed after every post, select "1" from the drop-down menu. (Please note that AdSense policies limits you to a total of 3 ad units per page and Blogger will automatically prevent you from going over this limit.) You can then select your ad format and colors. Once you have finished configuring your ads, click on the orange "Save Changes" button in the bottom right corner.

Google Voice has more than 1.4M users

Google Voice has more than 1.4 million users, and of those, 570,000, or 40 percent, use the service every day, according to a confidential part of a letter Google sent to the FCC, which was disclosed by BusinessWeek. Additionally, according to the letter, Google may expand the service internationally. The figures on the growth and popularity of the service give some greater context to a fierce debate over the service between Google and AT&T.

Last week, Google sent a letter to the FCC about Google Voice in response to a series of questions that the FCC had posed to Google about the nature of the service. Several portions of the letter were redacted and marked as confidential. A formatting error led to the accidental publication of the confidential material. The FCC has since replaced Google's response with the version that has the material redacted.

"We had intended to keep sensitive information regarding our partners and the number of Google Voice users confidential," Google said in a statement to BusinessWeek. "Unfortunately, the PDF submitted to the FCC was formatted improperly." The confidential portions of the letter also state that Google has inked contracts with a number of "international service providers for inputs to Google Voice," but that the services had not yet been launched.

Until now the extent of Google Voice's popularity wasn't known. The service started in 2005 and remains invitation-only, yet has been the subject of an intense debate in recent weeks. AT&T has argued that the service is improperly blocking calls to rural areas and should be regulated like a traditional telephone service. Google has countered that it blocks calls to fewer than 100 specific phone numbers due to what Google said were high-cost "traffic pumping schemes." Google also said that the service not be regulated like a traditional telephone service because it is a "Web-based software application" that is "completely distinct from the user's telephone access lines/services."

In other Google news, Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google, quashed a rumor that the company was planning to release its own phone based on its Android platform. In October, TheStreet.com reported that Google was planning to release its own branded, unlocked, Android-based phone this year. Rubin said the company was not going to "compete with its customers."

"We're not making hardware," Rubin told CNET in an interview. "We're enabling other people to build hardware."

Source: www.fiercewireless.com

What is Google Adsense

AdSense is an ad serving application run by Google Inc. Website owners can enroll in this program to enable text, image, and more recently, video advertisements on their websites. These advertisements are administered by Google and generate revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis. Google beta tested a cost-per-action service, but discontinued it in October 2008 in favor of a DoubleClick offering .

What is Google Adsense


Google AdSense is the program that can give you advertising revenue from each page on your website—with a minimal investment in time and no additional resources.

AdSense delivers relevant text and image ads that are precisely targeted to your site and your site content. And when you add a Google search box to your site, AdSense delivers relevant text ads that are targeted to the Google search results pages generated by your visitors’ search request.

Earn more revenue

You can maximize your revenue potential by displaying Google ads on your website. Google puts relevant CPC (cost-per-click) and CPM (cost per thousand impressions) ads through the same auction, and lets them compete against one another. The auction takes place instantaneously, and, when it’s over, AdSense automatically displays the text or image ad(s) that will generate the maximum revenue for a page -- and the maximum revenue for you.

Get started in minutes

Becoming an AdSense publisher is simple. All it takes is a single online application. Once you're approved, AdSense takes only minutes to set-up. Just copy and paste a block of HTML and targeted ads start showing up on your website.

Access thousands of advertisers

With Google's extensive advertiser base, we have ads for all categories of businesses-and for practically all types of content, no matter how broad or specialized. And since Google provides the ads, you have no advertiser relationships to maintain.

The AdSense program represents advertisers ranging from large global brands to small and local companies. Ads are also targeted by geography, so global businesses can display local advertising with no additional effort. And you can use AdSense in many languages.

Google grasps the meaning of your content

AdSense can deliver relevant ads because Google understands the meaning of a web page. We've refined our technology, and it keeps getting smarter all the time. For example, words can have several different meanings, depending on context. Google technology grasps these distinctions, so you get more targeted ads

Make extra money with a Google search box

Place a Google search box on your site, and you can start monetizing the results from web searches. Not only does this keep your users on your website longer—since they can search from where they are—it takes just minutes to implement. And you pay nothing to participate.

Show only appropriate ads
Google's ad review process ensures that the ads you serve are not only family-friendly, but also comply with our strict editorial guidelines. We combine sensitive language filters, your input, and a team of linguists with good hard common sense to automatically filter out ads that may be inappropriate for your content. What's more, you can block competitive ads and choose your own default ads. It's your show from start to finish.


Competitive Filter
Enables you to filter out specific competitors or specific advertisers
Contextual Filter
Eliminate delivery of ads that would be inappropriate to serve on pages
Editorial Review
All Google ads are reviewed and approved before being served on your pages
filters keep out inappropriate
and competitive ads.
Customizable default ads
In the unlikely event that Google is unable to serve targeted ads on your page, we provide the option to display a default ad of your choice

Customize AdSense for your site

You can customize the appearance of ads, choosing from a wide range of colors and templates. Ditto with your search results page. Your reports are customizable, too. Flexible reporting tools let you group your pages in any way you want so you can view your results by URL, domain, ad type, category and more to learn where your earnings are coming from.

Source: Google.com

How do I put AdSense on my blog (using a classic template)?

The Quick Answer

* Go to the Template | AdSense tab and sign up for AdSense, if necessary.
* Select the size and color of your ads.
* You'll see a preview of your blog as you make changes.

Note: This article assumes you are using a classic template. On a Layouts-enabled blog, just add a new page element and select the AdSense option.

Adding AdSense to your blog is easy. Go to the Template tab in Blogger and you'll see an "AdSense ads" tab below it:



If you don't have an AdSense account already, you can sign up for it right here within Blogger. Just enter a valid email address, choose a password, fill in some contact information (so you can get paid!) and then Blogger will register your account for you right away. If you do have an account already, just use the "sign in" link instead.


Once you've completed the sign-up form, or logged in to an existing account, you'll see a special preview version of your template, showing your blog as it will look with your new ads:


Using the menus above the preview, you can easily change the size, shape, and color of your ads, without ever needing to edit the code directly. The color menu has some preset color schemes, but also some flexible options that try to match, contrast, or blend with whatever template you happen to be using. Try them all out and see which setting works best.




Once you've decided how you'd like it to look, just save the changes and republish your blog. Then go check your email.

While you were deciding on layouts and colors, you probably received a confirmation email from AdSense. Find that email and click on the link it gives you to confirm your email address. Be sure to read the rest of the confirmation email as well, since it will contain other information on finishing the registration and approval process. Until your email address is confirmed and your AdSense application is approved, your ads will only show public service announcements (PSAs) rather than targeted ads. Since you don't get revenue from PSAs, you'll want to be sure to do this soon, so the AdSense bot can crawl your site and determine appropriate ads to show.

And now you're done! Congratulations -- you've got AdSense!

Notes:

* There may be a bit of a delay before the AdSense bot gets to your site and you start getting targeted ads, though that should happen within 48 hours. Just be patient and it will get there in time.
* This feature does not currently provide a way of moving the ads, though the default location used is one that tends to provide the best results. If you would like to move it elsewhere, such as to your sidebar, you will need to edit your template code directly. See How to put AdSense in your blog's sidebar for more details.
* You can see how well your ads are doing by checking the 'Reports' tab on the AdSense website to look at your Ad performance. Keep in mind that reports appear an hour or so after a change has been made (and may sometimes be delayed up to 24 hours).
* To change your payment information, or other account details after you've signed up you'll need to go to the main AdSense site and log in to your account there.

How do I put AdSense on my blog (using Layouts)?

First of all, choose the blog that you want to put AdSense on, and go to the Layout | Monetize tab. You can get there by clicking the Layout link on the dashboard, or clicking the Template tab from the posting or settings page of the blog.

Once you're there, choose one of the three options to display your ads: in your sidebar and posts, just in your sidebar, or just below your posts.

The next page asks you to either sign up for a new AdSense account or use an existing one. Once you've signed in or created or account, you'll get a confirmation screen. If for any reason you need to switch to using a different AdSense account, click the switch AdSense accounts

About AdSense for Your Blog

Blogger provides a simple way for you to make money with your blog. AdSense is Google's content-targeted advertising program. This means that you don't select keywords or categories for your ads. Instead, Google's servers determine what your posts are about and display the most relevant ads to your readers. So, if you blog about baseball, there might be ads for Major League Baseball memorabilia next to your post. If you blog about painting, there might be ads for art supplies.

Blogger requests access to your AdSense account in order to allow us to create and place ad code on your page through our layouts and template tools. As part of this process, you may notice that Blogger is receiving "0%" of your AdSense earnings - this means that you will receive the same amount for clicks or impressions as you would creating the ad code from your AdSense account. To view any partners that have requested access to your AdSense account, and their associated revenue shares, please log in to your AdSense account, click the "My Account" tab, and choose the "Account Access" sub-tab. If you see a "grant access" link next to blogger.com, you must click this link in order to create ads with Blogger tools.
Putting AdSense on Your Blog

This integration between AdSense and Blogger is intended to make it easier for you to get up and running with AdSense on your blog. To place AdSense on your blog quickly and easily, see our help articles here:

* How do I put AdSense on my blog (using Layouts)?
* How do I put AdSense on my blog (using a classic template)?

To take full advantage of other AdSense options and settings, you can sign in to the AdSense site and have a look around. That's where you can see how much money your ads are earning and all that good stuff.

See Also: What Is AdSense?

Google adds more personalization to Reader

Google has added new personalization features to Googel Reader, its RSS feed aggregator, the company wrote in a blog post Thursday.

One new feature is dubbed Popular Items. Using algorithms, Reader will "find top-rising images, videos and pages from anywhere (not just your subscriptions)." From there, the app will lump all those pieces in the new Popular Items section. Based on a user's subscriptions and what someone is reading, Reader orders those stories by what it thinks a person likes best.

Reader's recommendations have been moved to the app's Explore section. Google also renamed it Recommended Sources. Like before, that feature will employ the user's Reader Trends and Web History to find a list of feeds he or she might like.

To make it easier for users to find the information they're most likely to care about, all Reader feeds now feature a sort option called Magic. According to Google, Magic "reorders items in the feed based on your personal usage, and overall activity in Reader, instead of default chronological order." Google said that the ranking is tailored to the user. The more the user clicks the "like" and "share" buttons on stories, the better the Magic sort will be.

Here is the Magic setting in action:



Source: http://news.cnet.com

Google Orkut Data currently not available

The message Data currently not available appears when we're not able to display one part of your homepage, profile, or a community. We show this message to you instead of giving a Bad, bad server error so you can still use the other features on the page.

Please be assured that we haven't lost any of your friends or communities and the missing sections should re-appear next time you visit this page.

Browser requirements for Google Orkut

For the best experience, please access orkut via one of the following fully supported browsers:

* Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) version 6 or later via PC (download)
*We also recommend the IE6 Service Pack 1, which has some important security patches.
* Mozilla Firefox version 1.5 or later (download)

You can also access orkut via the following browsers, although the UI quality may not be as high:

* Apple Safari 2.04 or later (download)
* Netscape Navigator 7.2 or later (download)
* Opera 9.2 or later (download)

Note: JavaScript and cookies must be enabled on all browsers.

Google Orkut Invitation failed

If you're trying to register for a new orkut profile and you're getting an error that says Invitation failed, please note that you can also join orkut by visiting www.orkut.com and clicking the JOIN NOW link.

If you have a Google Account, just enter your account information and click Sign in. You'll be prompted to create your orkut profile.

If you don't have a Google Account, click the Create a Google Account to access orkut link and follow the instructions. Don't forget your username and password; you'll need them to sign in to orkut whenever you visit.

Google Orkut Page not loading

If your page is not appearing correctly, here are a few things you can try:

* Clear your cache, then try accessing your profile again.
* Make sure that cookies are enabled in your browser.
* Try accessing your account from another browser.
* Try restarting your computer.

If your friends are having difficulty seeing an updated version of your profile name or photo, please forward these instructions.

Reporting a problem with Google Orkut

If you discovered a bug on orkut.com, we'd like to hear about it. But first, check out our Known Issues page to see if we're already working to fix it.

We'll review your report but keep in mind that we'll only contact you if we need more information. Thanks in advance for helping us improve.

Prevent viruses and spyware on Google Orkut

Due to orkut.com's open nature, we realize that users can unwillingly infect their computers with viruses, spyware, adware, and other unwanted junk. This can result in strange behavior, such as sending unintended scraps to friends. To help prevent this from happening, we recommend the following safe practices:

* Don't click on any link you suspect to be malicious, even if sent by someone you trust.
* Scan your computer regularly for viruses, spyware and adware.
* Never run any script while logged into orkut.com, no matter what it claims to do.
* Make sure you supply your sign-in information only on www.orkut.com.
* Change your Google Account password regularly and keep it secret.

If you suspect your computer's security has been compromised by a virus, spyware or adware, you can download free applications to resolve the situation. We highly recommend Norton's AntiVirus software, available as part of the Google Pack. In addition, we recommend the following anti-spyware programs:

* Spybot - http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download
* CWShredder - http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip
* Ad-Aware - http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download

If you think someone is using your account without your permission, read about impersonation on orkut.

Additionally, we'll never send you spam emails asking you to download anything or to send us personal information, such as your password or bank account information. orkut.com is a free service, and it will remain safe with your help.

Unable to perform actions on Google Orkut

As part of our effort to curb spam and viruses on our site, orkut has a limit on how many actions (scraps, messages, friend requests, testimonials, topics, events) you can perform in a certain amount of time. After you perform one of these actions many times within a day, you'll see a word verification box for subsequent attempts, as long as you haven't yet reached the limit. If you try to exceed our current limits, you'll see this error message: "You are temporarily unable to perform this action. Try again later."

If you encounter the word verification box or the temporary block when you're performing one of these actions for the first time in a 24-hour period, your computer may have been infected by a worm or virus. We encourage all orkut users to install the Google Pack and use it to run virus and spyware scans on your computer. You can also read more about preventing viruses and safeguarding your orkut profile.

Google Orkut 'Page not found' error

You may see an error message on orkut when trying to send or delete scraps quickly. This error is occurring to prevent automated systems from using orkut. You should be able to perform these actions again after waiting for a few hours. We appreciate your patience and help as we try to keep orkut safe for everyone!

Google Orkut Issues with hot-list, crush-list, and teasers

The add to hot-list, add to crush-list, and send teaser buttons are only visible if you've filled out the personal section of your profile.

Follow these steps to enable this feature in your profile:

1. Select Home in the blue bar at the top of the page.
2. Click edit profile under your photo.
3. Click the personal tab and enter any information you'd like to share.
4. Click update at the bottom of the page before exiting.