What Blogger through yonder window breaks? Or wherefore art thou, Google?

I've thought about posting this a number of times. But I didn't. Because Blogger has been good to me. I've used it since early 2000. Since the early days. And I've always loved its ease. And the "Blog this!" button. I like Blogger.

And you know how I feel about Google.

But I can't hold back any more.

Blogger is broken. It needs to be fixed. It's getting ridiculous. And if Google doesn't dedicate some real resources to it, soon, it's going to tarnish Google's brand. Severely.

For those of you who haven't heard, Blogger has been sucking proverbial wind lately. It's crashing more often than not. And while some folks seem to be concerned about it, the fixes don't seem to be coming with much speed. Or communication.

About two weeks ago, I noticed I was having more problems than usual with a couple of my blogs posting efficiently. They were timing out or crashing. I thought it was just me. And then I started to see the posts. Stuff was being done. Great.

But nothing has been resolved. It's still crashing. It's still haphazard. And I still see the griping posts. Like this one, I'm writing right now.

Do you get the irony here? Blogger isn't listening. And if they are, they're behaving like every other company. One of the most influential instruments in blogging, one of the original tools for having a blog conversation, doesn't appear to be listening. And it isn't blogging about it either. Because it can't. Blogger employees use Blogger. So they're just as tongue tied as the rest of us. Or so they say.

I can hear you. I can. "Blogger isn't for real bloggers. It's for a casual blogger. There are real tools for real bloggers. Quit using a free tool and put some skin in the game."

So what if it's free? So is every other service Google offers. Is Google not a real search tool? If their Web search crashed every few attempts or timed out, how happy would you be? If gmail suddenly said "inbox full" at 10k, how would that feel?

I want to use Blogger. I like Blogger. I like it because I know it. Sure it's lacking in some ways, but I like it. I've recommended it. I'm a champion for it. And let me let you in on a little secret: I'd be willing to pay for Blogger to be more reliable.

"Go to TypePad," you say. "You can pay them for more reliable service."

I don't think you're hearing me: I like Blogger. I have a great deal of respect for the Six Apart folks and the Squarespace folks and the bevy of others who offer for-pay blog hosting. I do. But I like Blogger. I want to use Blogger. Why won't Blogger let me use it?

I latch things on to Blogger so that it works like other blogging tools. I hack code so that Blogger is more kind to the search engines (another bit of irony there: Blogger isn't exceptionally search friendly). I work hard to stay with Blogger.

Why won't Blogger work to help me?

What's promising a service and then not delivering? It's evil. And Google needs to realize that. They're starting to perturb a very, very vocal minority.

What's not blogging about the issues surrounding your blogging tool? Ironic.

Are you having problems with Blogger? Is it affecting your perception of Google? I'd love to hear your comments. Is some other tool so much better that I should switch? Tell me. But, in any case, please return.