Blog Reviews by Bloggeries

Reviews of blogs from around the globe since 2006.
Bloggeries

Archive for October, 2008

Quixoting – New Ideas Blog Review

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

rate4 Quixoting – New Ideas Blog ReviewFor those of you that like to mix up the pace a little bit and find the grind of the every day well, boring, then you may be looking for something fresh, new and exciting to add some spice to your life.  Here is a blog that feels just like you!  The blog is called Quixoting – A Blog for New Ideas, and is just that, a blog that is written by someone is on the constant search for new ideas, wants to hear about new ideas from the readers, and wants to spend time exploring and experimenting with those ideas. This is a blog that is on a quest for new ideas, and wants to bring new ideas to life and to release them to the world.  Still not sure what exactly that means? See for yourself through any of the most recent bloggeries: Seems Clear to Me – What about a See Through Car Cover?;  (Key-ho-ting) In Case You Were Wondering; When your ideas aren’t as obvious as you’d like…, What to do with your old and new ideas?, Google offers $10M for 5 great ideas…Ok, I’m listening; Please don’t drink and drive – really don’t; and How about a coffee mug that Fits in more places?.

donquixote Quixoting – New Ideas Blog ReviewThe blog is organized in a blogspot template, and this makes it very easy to navigate.  Bloggeries are left marginalized and are in black ink on white background with a double right-sided navigation bar. In the navigation bars you will find on the left the About Page, Contact Information, Categories Menu in the form of a Tag Cloud, Blogroll, and some Directory Widgets.  In the far right navigation system you will find an Introductory Post, Recent Posts Menu, Archives Menu, and a Recent Comments Menu.  A handy Book List is also available in this navigation system which is another great resource for those who are as passionate about ideas as the author of this blog.  All bloggeries are associated with relevant pictures or graphics that add humor to the blog and offer a unique element to each bloggery.

This blog gets a 3.6/5 at the time of review, and given that the blog is only a month old, that shows that the blog is off to a great start.  Content wise the blog does very well, with well written content in a personal voice that adds flavor to the blog.  Navigation is easy with the blogspot template as well, and all essential blog items very easy to find. The blog is also found in a unique niche, and this alone allows it to stand apart from many other humor blogs.  And the activity on the blog is consistent, and daily, which is enabling the blog to bring in much traffic as evidenced by its healthy amount of comments.  The appearance of the blog is the only thing I would make some tweaks to.  I would first change the size of the font in the bloggeries, as the small font is very difficult on the eyes when reading, and this same suggestion applies to the navigation bars.  The font in the navigation bars is so small, that essential elements such as the About Page may get overlooked.  There also seems to be quite a bit of white space in the navigation bars, and I would suggest that the blogger either move the two bars together, or find some filler to alleviate this white space as it can give the impression of an ‘empty’ blog.  Overall however, this blog is doing very well in its first month, and I would encourage the blogger to keep the pace of the consistent posting, as this is definitely an asset to a newly growing blog.  If so, this blog should see growth and success.

-Chrissie

Want your blog reviewed? Click here!

Veganbilly Blog – Review

Friday, October 3rd, 2008
rate3 Veganbilly Blog   ReviewThose that follow the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle will certainly appreciate the Veganbilly Blog. The Veganbilly blog is one that is by a vegan and for vegans, and here you will find all kinds of tips and tricks as well as recipes when it comes to living the vegan lifestyle. If you like to cook the vegan way, this blog will help you as this blogger offers graphic pictures of recipes in progress to help you in your vegan living. See this for yourself by checking out any of their most recent bloggeries: ternet First: Liveblogging my Tap Water, Hard…gooey…wet….whipped, So Cherry!, What Rough Pakora, Its Hour Come Round at Last…., and Eating out While Vegan — Humor as a Digestive Aid.
2761599644 bbcf0d37cd Veganbilly Blog   ReviewThe blog does not have a lot of blog meat and focuses more on its blog content, and this makes navigation very simple. Bloggeries are right marginalized and there is a single sided left navigation bar. Bloggeries appear in yellow font on black background, with links highlighted in red. In the left navigation bar you will find feed and subscription information, Blog Archive Menu with direct links for recent posts, and a Blog Catalog or Recent Viewers Widget. Also in the navigation bar you will find various directory widgets and a blog award. Each bloggery is accompanied by relevant and colourful pictures that catch the reader’s eye, and are brought to life by the black background. What I do see missing from navigation are an About Page and a Categories Menu. Adding these elements would certainly assist readers in navigation, as well as allowing for a stronger connection between the blogger and its readership.

Overall this blog gets a 3.4/5, as it simply lacks some meat and at this point, looks a little sparse. The blog is also not consistent with activity, with few bloggeries appearing in the month of September. More consistent activity such as daily, or a couple of times a week would certainly assist growth in traffic to this blog, as well as more subscribers and regular readers. The appearance of the blog is good at this point, I generally do not go for the black background, as this makes for difficulty in reading, but the blogger has offset this challenge by using a large sized font that is very easy on the eyes. The background also allows the colourful pictures to stand out more, and given that they are recipe pictures, they really bring the blogger’s recipes to life. Navigation could use some work as previously mentioned with the addition of some blog meat, but the content is well done in a strong personal voice that makes for easy reading, and easy to follow recipes. Overall, this is a great concept blog but needs some tweaks to improve and see future success.

-Chrissie
Are you a blogger? Come join our blog forum?

© Blog Reviews by Bloggeries. Powered by WordPress.
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).