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'Scheduled Posts' feature coming soon to Blogger

Posted by bnsullivan • 2/15/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blogger, blogging, blogspot

Finally! Looks like Blogger is going to initiate a feature that has been available in Wordpress for quite awhile: Soon bloggers will be able to post-date a blog post in order to have it automatically publish at a later date/time.

googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008/02/pulblish-blogger-posts-to-future-date.htm...

Long overdue -- but better late than not at all.

Will you use this new feature? I sure will!

User Comments

2/15/08

Anok

Yay! I would love that feature. Sometimes I write a draft, and continue to work on it even though I have already written other posts that have published on my page - and when I try to publish the draft, it always gets lost because it publishes in the time-slot it is stuck in.

Anyway, I would love to be able to properly date my posts so that even long pieces will pop up at the top as "new".

[reply]
1. 2/15/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  Well, you can fix the problem you mention now. Just click on "Post Options" near the bottom of the post form and change the date and/or time. I do this a lot, because, like you, I sometimes do a draft and don't get to publish it until after I've already published something else.
  
  The new feature will allow you to put, say, tomorrow's date on it, and add it to the scheduled queue, and it will automatically publish at the (future) date and time you put on it.
2. 2/15/08
  
  Anok
  
  Oh, right! LOL. You know what I've been doing? I've been copying the text and pasting it into a new post LMAO....
  
  Oh I feel silly now....
  
  I'll still use it though
3. 2/15/08
  
  sellytapgirl
  
  Anok- I do that too. It's so annoying when it does that and I have to copy and paste. I didn't know I could fix it lol
4. 2/15/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  LMAO!!
5. 2/15/08
  
  kristilinauer
  
  Anok, I was doing that too. I never knew about the date/time option.
2/15/08

crpitt

That would be cool!

[reply]
1. 2/15/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  Too bad it's not already available. I'll be traveling next week, and I could schedule some posts to publish automatically while I'm away. THAT would be great!
2/15/08

stephaniec

I would love that feature!

[reply]
2/15/08

riverstyxxx

Why would I want to write something then have it published later? Publish it now, goddamnit.

[reply]
1. 2/15/08
  
  markstoneman
  
  Because sometimes you might not be able to blog and want to plan for that period so as to keep your readers happy.
2. 2/15/08
  
  shadowknight
  
  If you plan on a break scheduled posts will allow your blog to "appear" active in your absense. It is a great feature that has been in WordPress for a considerable time. Good to see blogger finally catching up.
3. 2/15/08
  
  riverstyxxx
  
  That makes procrastination too easy then. I'd never get anything done if that were the case.
4. 2/16/08
  
  Cromely
  
  I would use it when I might not get to blog each night.
  
  One of the key ways to keep traffic coming back to a blog is to always have fresh content. I try to have a new post for 5 out of every 7 days (I actually hit about 6.2 out of 7 days).
  
  A daily visitor will see a new post each time they stop by and will read each post.
  
  If, on the other hand, I have a burst on creativity and put up 7 posts at once, my daily visitor may only read two or three and miss the other posts that went up one day. Plus, the next day they come there, there will be no new content. After several days of no new content, they may stop coming every day.
  
  This new feature will also be really helpful when I want to do a theme week.
2/15/08

WilDip

Awesome! Thanks for the headzup!

[reply]
2/15/08

graphicidentity

Cool !!! I'm a stubborn Blogger nerd lover, can't wait the first launch of this feature.
I'm also looking forward for 'related post' feature based on labels. Do Blogger team accept feature request from the users?

[reply]
1. 2/15/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  I'm certain you can request a feature. How they select which features to add, however, is a mystery.
2/15/08

jackpayne

Can't really see the value to this. If you stockpile in your own Pending Drafts file you can edit right down to the time of submission.

[reply]
1. 2/15/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  I can see the value this way. I travel fairly regularly. When I travel, it's sometimes difficult to blog. With the 'scheduled posts' feature, I can write something -- or several somethings -- ahead of time, and schedule them to automatically publish during the days when I am unable to sit down and do the post.
2/15/08

kristilinauer

That's fantastic! I've started using the "save draft" feature to write posts ahead of time, and then post later. That way, each morning, I go in to the draft, copy, and paste to a new post. It only takes a few minutes. This will be so much easier, though!

[reply]
1. 2/15/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  Kristin - You already have the ability to change the date and time on the post. You don't have to copy and paste to a new one. Just click on "Post Options" -- and when it opens, go into the box on the right and change the date and/or time to whatever you want. Look above at the first post on this thread by Anok, and the replies.
2/15/08

tenforty

it is already available in blogger in draft! am testing it out now, just scheduled a post to show half an hour fr now. Just log in to your blogger account at draft.blogger.com and try it out

[reply]
1. 2/15/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  Yeah, I did log in via blogger in draft earlier today to have a look around. I have a post schedule for tomorrow. I'll see if it works.
2/15/08

stevenwilson

It is about time they did that it is a much needed feature.

[reply]
2/15/08

tenforty

It worked! My new post scheduled half an hour into the future came up! :)

Now if only they'll change the comment feature to be more user friendly...

[reply]
1. 2/15/08
  
  kristilinauer
  
  This feature is available now? I don't see it anywhere.
  
  Nevermind...just saw the info above.
2. 2/15/08
  
  kristilinauer
  
  Can you tell us how you did it? I can't figure it out.
2/15/08

tenforty

did u log in at draft.blogger.com ?

prepare your new post as usual, then click post options.
change your post date and time to a future date, and Click Publish Post.

[reply]
1. 2/16/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  I scheduled my post (to VirtualScratchpad.com) for 08:00 tomorrow morning.
  
  So -- does that mean 08:00 MY time? or what?
  
  To be continued...
2/16/08

tenforty

You can set your own timezone in blogger. click Settings - Formatting to ensure it's your correct time zone.

[reply]
2/16/08

kristilinauer

It worked! Awesome! I'm going to be using that quite a bit now.

[reply]
2/16/08

bnsullivan

Hmmm -- I'll let you know tomorrow if it worked as billed. It's now 8-something PM here, so a little less than 12 hrs to go before the post I scheduled should automatically publish.

[reply]
1. 2/16/08
  
  bnsullivan
  
  And it worked! I'm very happy to have this feature. (And about time!)
2/16/08

xtremer

it's good to hear this.......but many others are using softwares like MS Livewriter for the same.....hope it's a boon for them.....

[reply]
2/16/08

ThriftShopRomantic

Oh, that IS great news. That'll make it SOOO much easier when the holidays come around.

Waaaa and HOO!

[reply]
2/16/08

ghostytwofish

Thank GOD. Do you have any idea how tedious it is to post a daily blog ... DAILY!?

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2/16/08

thegnr

why wait come to WordPress LOL

[reply]
2/18/08

kristilinauer

I love this new feature.

I've used it on my last several posts, and it works great!

I'm bringing this back to the top just in case some people missed it somehow. It's a great feature that I know so many people have been waiting for.

[reply]
2/18/08

kdawg68

I use it all the time on Wordpress so hooray for my friends on Blogger.

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