Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

This essay proposes a plan for revitalization of Google Blogger. I argue for a premium subscription model, trendy features powered by Gemini AI , and a focus on actual user needs, not perceived ones. This is a high-level summary of a much detailed documentation I’m working on.

Blogger, once the dominant force in the ‘Blogosphere’, has stagnated in recent years. It’s not like the whole blog/newsletter market is less viable these days either. Competitors like Medium, Substack, and Ghost have thrived in the ‘writing and publishing’ space. Other companies in adjacent and very similar field, like Squarespace and Wix have done great and received multi-billion valuations. Blogger has remained mostly unchanged, its ability to attract and retain users is limited.

I love Blogger. I have used it since 2007, writing over 7000 posts and 2.4+ Million words in my personal journal using the Blogger platform. So it hurts me greatly the product has remained stagnant (and not in a good way) for the past two decades. There have been limited changes or updates in the product since the early 2010’s.

Here I present high-level ideas to revamp the product. I will go into specifics in future posts. I have expanded this post to about 25 pages in an Amazon Kindle Scribe document that I might potentially digitize. Until then, here you go:

The potential of a Premium Blogger

Blogger should look into a subscription-based premium version.

Introducing a premium tier opens a revenue stream, beyond ad revenue. Just working towards a premium subscription-based product would force the team to clarify its vision. Such a version could offer features for power bloggers, such as:

Better subscription and monetization models for creators: If Substack can do it, so can Google. The market for newsletter and blog subscription is IN right now. Why Google has decided to throw the game just as it was about to win, that’s unclear tome.

AI-powered writing tools: Google’s LLM Gemini can help bloggers of all skill levels. Consider a writing assistant that provides sensible grammar and phrasing suggestions. It could offer feedback to re-organize the content. The feedback would be personalized based on the user’s writing history and style. Such a tool would be useful to bloggers looking to improve their writing and improve reader engagement.

Better editing tools: It’s surprising that basic features like word count, and other editing tools are currently missing from Blogger. The free version of Blogger should have these features, to have a baseline experience comparable to competitors. The premium tier could offer advanced features, like grammar checking, stylistic suggestions, and plagiarism detection.

Writing tutor based on past writing: Gemini (Alphabet’s AI product) can act as personalized writing tutor for users. By analyzing a user’s writing history, the AI can identify recurring errors, overused phrases, and suggest alternative wordings or sentences. Such feedback would help creators improve their writing and refine their craft. The AI tutor could also link to relevant past blog posts within a user’s content (on demand). That would improve internal linking and help readers discover more relevant material in the website.

What would be the strategic gains for Google from the New Blogger?

The benefits of a revitalized Blogger extend beyond generating additional revenue for Google. By adding prioritizing user needs, Google can achieve several objectives:

Distinguishing “clean data” from “AI-assisted data”: As users interact with the AI editing tools, Google can gain understanding of the editing process. By observing how the AI suggestions are accepted, modified, or rejected, the company can develop a clearer understanding of how humans and AI interact with language. This knowledge can be important for differentiating between human-generated and AI-assisted content, a growing concern.

Building user trust: Investing in the development and improvement of Blogger shows Google’s commitment to creating useful products beyond ad revenue generation. This commitment can strengthen trust and goodwill among users, who will appreciate that Google is actively working to improve their experience.

Why the hell is Google Blogger in a big funky rut?

Several key factors have hindered Blogger’s growth and contributed to its current state:

Over-reliance on ad revenue: Google’s primary focus on ad-based income has overshadowed alternative monetization models. This over-reliance has limited investment in product development and innovation specifically for Blogger. It has hindered its ability to compete with blogging tools that offer premium features and subscription options. See: Substack!

Lack of vision and user focus: The absence of a clear vision for Blogger’s future, coupled with a disconnect from user needs, has led to stagnation and a lack of direction. This has allowed competitors to surpass Blogger by offering innovative features, user-friendly interfaces, and a strong focus on the specific needs of bloggers. The company must ask itself: why EXACTLY does it hold Blogger if it doesn’t intend to make it a profitable business?

Engineering-centric culture: Google’s emphasis on engineering talent and an interview process prioritizing specific skillsets overlooks important skills for successful product development. To put it differently: an engineering-driven, engineering-centric org isn’t the best ‘general purpose’ product org. If Google cares about making money, it must value product vision, user empathy, and understanding of specific market segments more.

Aversion to customer interaction: Google’s perceived anti-customer behavior, evident in its approach to handling support requests, might be pushing it away from subscription models. They need direct user interaction and a commitment to providing responsive customer support. This might be the cause of the lack of interest in developing a strong and loyal user base.

Now what?

Here’s what I think Google must do.

Hire visionary leaders: All issues can be fixed if Alphabet prioritized product and engineering leaders with a clear vision of the product. They gotta be bold enough to take risks, and be able to sell their ambitious goals for the product to the management. It’s clear that Blogger has been served by managers, administrators who are great at maintaining the status quo who falter at uncertainty and risky projects. Alphabet needs to invest in leaders, not managers, to rejuvenate Blogger.

Prioritize user research and feedback: Understanding what bloggers want is important for successful product development. Google should conduct regular user research and gather feedback through surveys, focus groups, and user testing to gain a deeper understanding of what bloggers want and need from a blogging platform. As it stands, google is likely not investing anything into it.

Embrace diverse talent: Create a culture values skillsets beyond engineering prowess. Test for product vision, user empathy, and an understanding of the specific needs of the user during job interviews. Take a more holistic approach to talent acquisition and development. The team responsible for Blogger must have diverse skillsets and perspectives to drive towards success.

Explore alternative monetization models: Experimenting with subscription models, alongside exploring other potential revenue sources beyond just advertising, can provide sustainable income and lessen dependence on a single source of revenue. This financial diversification can allow Google to invest in long-term product development and innovation for Blogger, ensuring its continued competitiveness in the market.