I switched to using WordPress because Blogger simply lacked the tools I wanted to use. I wanted categories (tags), I wanted a customizable template (but not necessarily free-code), and I wanted speed and efficiency. I may have all that now.

There’s now a beta Blogger available, Mike tells us. Here’s a rundown of some of the cool things Google is finally adding to their blog software that hasn’t been updated with new features for roughly three years.

• Integration with your Google account
• Labels (tags)
• Template customization
• ‘Widget’-like customization
• Free-form coding still available
• RSS feed widgets
• Javascripting (there’s something they will have over WordPress)

I’m playing around with the features, viewable over here. As I learn more and tinker, I’ll see if this is something I feel like staying with permanently. I’ve used Blogger for several years now (my very first blog was setup on Blogger back in 2001), so I feel that now that they’re beginning to add features and improve the system, I owe them a second look.

I’ll report back here on my experiences periodically.