In My Mind’s Zen Garden

I’ve been somewhat disappointed with MyBlogLog.com lately. Ever since they were acquired by Yahoo.com I’ve had nothing but problems as far as my account profile is concerned. Well, that would be considered a major bug on their part.

The Dilemma

Basically, I haven’t been able to update all my profile information on my account. And suddenly my avatar was missing-in-action, and having tried to upload another photo dozens of times already, I think (and it’s sad to say) that I’ve given up on them.

Matter of fact, here’s a quote from MyBlogLog’s site:

Question: My Avatar doesn’t show up when I leave comments on blogs.

Answer: The way that feature works is that it finds you based on the email address and blog address you input when you leave the comment. If those are the same as what you have on file at MyBlogLog, then the system will match your avatar and profile to your comment. If they are different, then it won’t find you in the system and no avatar will appear. However, every once in a while, we do see a few accounts that just won’t match up. This is a bug, and we’ve not yet found out why it’s occurring. For most people, the reason their avatar doesn’t show up is because their email/web address doesn’t match our records, but if you are doing that correctly, then it’s likely that you are an unfortunate member of the bug club. We’re very sorry if that is the case and we are working to fix it.

Okay, let’s re-read those last few sentences here:

For most people, the reason their avatar doesn’t show up is because their email/web address doesn’t match our records, but if you are doing that correctly, then it’s likely that you are an unfortunate member of the bug club. We’re very sorry if that is the case and we are working to fix it.

The Bug Club

So, basically, I am now one of those poor, unfortunate members of the “bug club”. And I’ve noticed countless others who seem to be having the same avatar problems. And, I assume they must be having the same profile account problems as well.

I’d been checking out alternatives to the services that MyBlogLog.com has been providing. Granted, I think MyBlogLog has done some innovative things in the area of social networking and creating new ways for bloggers to interact and find each other on the world wide web. But in an effort to fix my own problems with the site, I’ve been forced to move on and look for similar services that aren’t so “buggy”.

Enter BlogCatalog.com

So a couple of days ago I signed up with BlogCatalog.com as my new replacement for MyBlogLog. And I have to say that at first I was attracted to the site design and organization of the site. But in my haste to sign up with a new social networking site, I forgot to review their rules and they require that you do a couple of things. But most importantly, you have to place a link or widget that links back to the BlogCatalog.com site. And, you have to wait in a queue until you are approved.

Well, I forgot to place a link on my site, and the first time I was denied. Then, I re-submitted and was finally approved today. And guess what? No avatar problems! No profile account problems!

The only drawbacks now?

1. I’m starting anew on a new social networking site.

2. I’ve lost all those connections I had with MyBlogLog.

3. And I have to start building up contacts and join communities, etc…

But, starting anew is kind of fun, and we’ll see where this goes from here….