• Econsultancy.com, Thursday, September 1, 2011 11:30 AM

Google this week relaunched Blogger with the hope of streamlining the "blogging experience," making it easier to add or edit posts from any screen, providing a more spacious editor and overhauling the dashboard. "The goal: make it a more competitive tool," Econsultancy writes -- something, it adds, Google has failed to do since acquiring Blogger in 2003.

"Under Google's watch, Blogger has gone from one of the most popular self-publishing services on the Internet to a has-been in a market that is now dominated by platforms and services like WordPress and Tumblr." According to figures compiled by Web Technology Surveys, WordPress currently controls nearly 55% of the blog-hosting market, while Blogger commands less that 3%.

Who cares? Well, while Blogger certainly isn't crucial to Google's core business, the company must have some disappointment over Blogger's decline," Econsultancy insists. "After all, blogging is an important market, and many blogs are monetized by Google AdSense." Is there hope for Blogger? Not according to Econsultancy. "Intentional or not, Blogger's 'fresh new look' doesn't look all that fresh if you're familiar with WordPress."

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