"Going, Going, Gone"

We have been hearing from all kinds of sources that Google Friend Connect is going away as of March 1 for non-Blogspot bloggers.  It irritates me to no end when makers of computer stuff just make unilateral decisions to upset everybody's apple cart for no discernible or logical reason.  For those of us who know only just enough about computers (and by this I also include software, hardware, the Internet, and all such things) and their use to make the darn things work and not one pixel more, change usually leads to great difficulty in getting the new stuff to work right.  It is never an easy fix.  It is never as good as the "old" stuff.  Its more complicated, more complex, and more convoluted. 

I wish that computers were more like cars.  I can drive a car.  I don't know how to fix a car. If a car is broken there is someone to take it to for repair.  If a car is changed it is NOT changed so that it is unrecognizable.  They don't put the steering wheel in the back seat or print all the directions in Swahili!  I can still pretty much still get in and drive it away.  And if I encounter some change I don't understand, there are wonderful people called mechanics who can usually explain it to me, in English and everything!  No one needs to be a mechanical engineer to operate a car.   The computer industry could have learned a lot about making their products user-friendly from the auto industry. 

Oh, sorry, I got off on a tangent there.  It's a rant I've ranted before....and it obviously still rankles! 

What I really wanted to write about was the loss of Google Friend Connect might mean to us run of the mill bloggers.  Even in a best case scenario, it appears that following other blogs will become more limited and we will have to reconstruct the connections to the blogs we want to follow. 

I spent some time this evening trying to set up followers and following through Linky Followers, and as was absolutely no surprise to me, I couldn't get it to work for me.  It's that same old problem, explanations of new stuff make assumptions about the level of knowledge and expertise that a blogger would have .  Well, I don't have that knowledge and expertise.  I know just enough to make it work.

The new stuff will take time for me to figure out and learn and in the meanwhile, I fear that I will lose followers as well as those I follow.  If that happens, I will be very sad.  I love the blogs I follow and I feel like those folks are at least, "almost" friends!

So if at some point, I am no longer showing up in your comments or stats, it will not be for lack of interest, but only that Google doesn't want us to play together anymore!  I will try to find my way back, but I don't know how long that will take.  If I am never able to reconnect for whatever reason, I just wanted to tell everyone how much I have enjoyed the glimpses into your lives, your interests, your families, and your accomplishments.  And I wanted to thank you for your reciprocal interest in what I share.

I'm not leaving willingly, so don't ever take it personally.  I did want to tell you all at least a tentative goodbye and farewell before Google carries out its plan to sever our connection!  As it is now officially March 1, we'll soon see if it is "Going, Going, Gone!"

Au revoir, mes amis.  Vous me manquerez!

  [Goodbye, my friends.  I will miss you!]