Google Buys Pyra Labs aka Blogger
You probably already heard, Google has bought Pyra Labs the ASP that powers Blogger which is the most famous and popular blogging software out there.
The biggest change for the approx 200k active Blogs using Pyra’s system (1.1 mill are registered, but just like email newsletter’s “3rd issue syndrome,” a lot of folks start writing Blogs and run out of steam quickly) will be that Pyra’s hosting service, Blogspot.com, will move onto Google’s massive servers.
Which is a happy thing because Blogspot is infamous for crashing. In fact it was down this morning as I tried to Blog this online. (You newsletter readers are seeing it before it goes “live.”)
Google has always been a huge supporter of blogs; to the point where many online content folks have found it’s easier to get your Blog entries indexed by Google than it is to get your regular site indexed all the time. A few publishers, including myself, have started Blogs almost more as search engine marketing tools for our main sites as anything else.
Reportedly, every portal out there is now in the process of adding Blog tools to their offerings, just as they once all rushed to add news headlines and free email services.
The best, and first, coverage of the Google acquisition is here on reporter Dan Gilmor’s journal. He includes useful links to other coverage as well (cut and paste both parts if this breaks):
http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000802.shtml#000802
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