Using Google Talk chatback from Blogger

If you're interested in allowing readers of your Blogger blog to chat with you, it's pretty easy to do so with Google Talk chatback.

To add chatback to your blog, first go and create a chatback badge at http://www.google.com/talk/service/badge/New. Configure it to your liking with the "Edit" link, and the copy the HTML from the box at the bottom to your clipboard (Ctrl+C, or Apple+C)

Then, log in to Blogger and choose the "Layout" tab for your blog. Decide where you'd like the chatback widget to go, and choose the appropriate "Add a Page Element" link.

When presented with the list of possible elements, choose "HTML/Javascript". A window with a "Title" and a "Content" box will pop up. In the "Title" area, you can type whatever you want for a heading, such as "Contact Me". In the "Content" area, paste the HTML you copied before (Ctrl+V, or Apple+V). Click "Save" and the window will close.

You'll then see the new page element show up on your blog layout. Choose "Save" again on that page, and you should get a message indicating that "Your changes have been saved". Your chatback badge will then be live, and will show up the next time you view your blog.

Tip: You can customize your chatback badge to match the look of your blog by specifying the font and color used in the badge. Learn how to do so in this post on the Google Talk blog.