Blog Reviews by Bloggeries » Recycling Bin

Carollo Classified – Why post anywhere else? – Blog Review

chrissie — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:17:19 +0000

Here we have a blog that is branching into the classified niche and is a blog dedicated specifically for the purpose of classified ads. The blog is called Carollo Classified – Why post anywhere else? and is a giant classified ads site with daily postings of new ads. The blog does not restrict itself to one market, so here you will find ads on everything from job openings to parrots for sale. The most recent ads posted here are Bargain – Well Maintained Aluminum Backyard Set $999, Asking just $200 for my Baby Yorkie, Part Time Receptionist Wanted for Real Estate, Boxer Puppy $300, Loan Offer, and Large Parrot Birds for Adoptions $250. I don’t find too much information about the author as there is no About Me page, and this blog looks like it is strictly being used for advertising and monetizing.

Navigation on the site is easy if you know what you are looking for, and it will be a little cumbersome if you don’t. The blog is full of advertising in both left and right navigation bars and even in the header of the blog as well. The header itself is a giant AdSense ad that has been incorporated into the header. The left navigation bar contains a host of google banner ads, link exchange ads, useful links, and a set as home page link. In the right navigation bar you will find some job openings, more google AdSense, and categories menu, and a link where you can make your own post to the blog. This seems to be the crux of the blog, as the owner is relying on others that use the blog to post the content and use the posts as a means of displaying their classified ads. From what I could tell there is no fee for this service, so this may be a good chance to advertise what you are selling for free. The categories menu is fairly comprehensive, if you are buying or selling something there is a spot for you. Some of the categories include Art and Collectibles, Automotive, Boats, Business Services, Electronics, Employment, Furniture and Appliances, Miscellaneous, Pets, Real Estate, and Tools.

I am going with a 2 on this one, the excessive advertising just really took this mark down. The advertising is located in every section of the blog, and the posts themselves are ads. The content can not be scored properly here since the author is relying on others to make his posts for him. The blog does do well with regular activity and ease of navigation to a certain extent. I think the blog could use some regular content that is not advertising that would still reach his readers and this could include things like how to get that job interview, how to determine a fake from a real antique, and articles of that nature. This way the blog does not only provide the service of where to find these things, but also on how to find them properly. I am not sure what the readership is, as there is regular posting from advertisers, so this readership could be used to the owners advantage by some formatting and cleaning up and adding informative content.

Did you enjoy this review? Click here to join our forum and get a review!

- Chrissie

If you would like feedback from your blog please make one of our Free Blog Poll’s!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Aging Outside the Box – Fabulous Women Over 50 – Bloggeries Review

chrissie — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:05:12 +0000

If you are one of those women who prides herself on aging gloriously, you will want to have a look at Aging Outside the Box. Here is another blog based on a radio program called just that – Aging Outside the Box – Fabulous Women over 50. The host of the show and author of this blog is Shirley W. Mitchell, mom to 3 and grandmom to 8, who hails from Guntersville, Alabama and is a national author, columnist, and speaker. The blog is exactly what it sounds like, and glorifies all of the things she writes about in her weekly column as well as discusses on her Radio Show. You can see specifics to that extent by checking out any of her recent posts: ‘Aging outside the Box’ Internet Radio Show, Accents of Reflections, An Embracing Search, Living Outside the Box Package, Artist First World Radio Network, Special Gift Baskets for all Occasions, Aging Outside the Box Upcoming Shows, Artist First Interviews ‘The Golden Egg of Aging’, Listen in to the Show, and the Aging Younger Schedule.

I would like to say navigation on this site is simple, but the site is extremely busy with colors and advertising that I just found it quite difficult. Posts are left marginalized with a right navigation bar. In the right navigation bar you will find a lot of information with a lot of advertising smattered in between so you will really have to dig. But here you will find the about page, recent posts menu, archives linked by the week, news sites menus, magazines menu, healthy living menu, authors and writers menu, among so much more. I didn’t see a categories menu, and this is definitely something that is lacking from the blog. The posts themselves are very colored with specific colors leading to specific links, but otherwise standard black text on a white background.

I have to say 2.2 on this one, though I love the concept and I think this is an excellent niche, the blog itself needs some design work and alot more activity. The advertising is far too busy for my tastes, and the colors within posts and tag clouds I find extremely distracting from the blog content. The content however is excellently written by this established author so if you can get beyond the distractions, you will definitely enjoy the read. The blog has a readership of 4 at this point, perhaps with some format changes it would see that grow. I think this blog has a lot of potential, again, the niche is a good one to tap into marketing wise, but design is distracting from its overall purpose – the serving of the content.

Did you enjoy this review? Click here to get your own blog reviewed!

- Chrissie

If you would like feedback from your blog please make one of our Free Blog Poll’s!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Blogging South Beach Florida – Bloggeries Review

chrissie — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:59:08 +0000

Take a minute to check out a little bit of the glamorous side of life and tour the famous South Beach. This blog will give you all that you need to know about the beauty that is South Beach including news, reviews, events, places to see, and things to do. The blogger loves and lives in South Beach and gives you both an insider’s and tourist’s point of view about this town. This blog is intended to provide something for everyone whether you are a tourist, frequent visitor, or seasoned local of South Beach. Check out some of the events and activities that are blogged in recent posts: Corona Light EVP Beach Volleyball Tour Hits South Beach; Art Basel Miami Beach December 7-10 2006; What moves you Miami?; Versace Mansion – Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask; Best of Miami 2006 – Miami New Times; and South Beach Dining Guide.

Navigation on this blog is fairly straightforward and that is probably because at this point there isn’t much left to it. Posts are left marginalized with standard blog features contained in the right navigation bar. These include blog stats (over 40,000 visitors), recent posts menu, recent comments menu, blog calendar, blog roll, and top posts. I really liked the comments menu, it keeps the author in touch with her readers and it gives them a personal ownership on the blog. Also, this blog does have (or did have) a fairly large following, with many local businesses seeking notoriety or mention through the blog. I also thought that with over 40K visitors, the site must be doing pretty good. However, with a years worth of posts on the main page, it is hard to say too much more than that that is positive about the blog. Further, I did not see a categories menu, and with a blog like this, I think it could really use one. Categories can include dining, attractions, history, shopping, beaches, and so much more. This specific niche is perfectly set up for a categories menu. The same thing could be said for an archives menu, which is nonexistent on this blog.

I am going with a 2 for this one. I love the niche and concept behind this blog, but a severe lack of updating has pretty much put this one in the dusty pile for me. Local business has obviously signed on to support this blog, and this is a marketing tool the blog is not taking advantage of, and one that could give it serious notoriety in the community. Again, having a years worth of posts on the main page is probably doing the score the most damage here, even a weekly post with some activity, highlighted attraction, or restaurant review would do this blog a world of good. Throw in a few pictures and this would be a fantastic South Beach blog. If the author decides to keep this one going, with these suggestions this could be a very successful blog.

Did you enjoy this review? Click here to get your own blog reviewed!

- Chrissie

If you would like feedback from your blog please make one of our Free Blog Poll’s!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

HodgedUp – Join the Community – Or Not! – Bloggeries Review

Bloggeries — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 14:11:09 +0000

If you are looking for a weird site, well, then I sure as heck have one for ya. It is called HodgedUp and they are calling themselves the coolest community. Of what, you ask? Hmmm….I am still trying to figure that one out. The blog is described as a collection of unique and funny articles, videos, and funny pictures. They were self-described as something different or twisted to laugh at. Well, I wasn’t really laughing when I was going through here, and seemingly, I wasn’t reading any articles either. In fact, this website does not even look like a blog at all. Some blogs disguise their blog status well, however this one was very strange. It has all the looks of a major online community, but lists only 3 members. Perhaps you have to register to take full advantage of the blog, but then, is it really a blog if that is the case? At any rate, I didn’t register, the few tidbits I got on the page were not enough to make me go that length. I did see some odd videos though, odd is a better word for me than twisted, but again, twisted is in the eye of the beholder. These videos included: “Kelly Clarkson joins Metal Skool with her friend Jack Daniels, David Hasselhoff – Hooked on a Feeling, Dave the Hoff Hasselhoff – Jump in my Car, and Chris Daughtry Singing Plush.

What can I say about Navigation? I just flat out did not understand this site. When you are browsing the videos you will see a browse links menu, and here you will find links such as “Zodler the Virtual Sim Baby”, and Free Online Games. The Top navigation bar contained links to My Desktop (AKA Home), My Contacts (the 3 members of the community), Search Blogs, Inkspot, Media, Login, Register, and a Help button. I don’t really know how recent the blog is, or if it is even used, the front page seemed to change while I was in the process of roaming and navigating, so I am going to guess it is pretty recent. The right navigation bar has a login section for members, as well as some AdSense code. In the bottom navigation bar there are pics of the blog members listed as “random members” but you will notice they are the same ones that appear in the “My Contacts” link. There is a search bar for members here, and also a menu for “Important References” such as Tell/Invite a Friend, Contact Us, Report Abuse, Bookmark Us, and their Privacy Policy as well as Terms of Use. It is links such as this that lead me to wonder how big this site may be behind the registration, but again, I just could not be bothered as they did not give me enough to whet my appetite.

I am going with a 1.4 here, and I think this is fairly generous. Bloggeries has never given a 1 before but I can’t give them a 2. I just did not know what was going on with this site outside of a collection of assorted celebrity videos. I did not see much “twisted” humor or articles, or bloggeries – this leaves the content marks in the dust. Navigation WOULD be simple I think if I knew what this blog was about. It is certainly unique, but I can’t even give anything activity marks as nothing has date stamps on it. If this site is expecting a high registration, it really needs to fix these major issues, or I think it is just going to keep floating around aimlessly in cyberspace. Until it does, that is probably just as well.

Did you enjoy this review? Click here to get your own blog reviewed!

- Chrissie

If you would like feedback from your blog please make one of our Free Blog Poll’s!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Lifetime Gamer – Video Games and More – Bloggeries Review

Bloggeries — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 13:57:25 +0000

If you are into gaming, then you may like this site, it is called Lifetime Gamer and is meant to include anything and almost everything. From first glance it is pretty difficult to determine what the true intention of this blog is about. The layout is somewhat cluttered, but I will get to that later. Reading through the posts this blog is what is says it is, a blog about gaming. The most recent posts include Ever Wondered What Games our Fellow Russian Arcade Gamers Played?; Mr. Robot Review; The Ultimate Guide to Video Game Degrees and Careers; Gromit of ‘Wallace and Gromit’ Fame is the new ‘Top Dog’ for RCA; Blogger.com riddled with malware, yep you hear it correct; and Commodore looking to dip into video gamers wallets. I like how the site covers gaming in general, and not simply the topic of online gaming which is such a huge industry in itself. The blog opens up with some discussion on arcading and great pics of a Russian model of one of those old arcade systems. The Robot review post is also an interesting one if you are into futuristic technology, and if you aren’t, it works for a great read either way.

I need to be frank about the navigation however, if you are a gamer you will have some problems with this site. The posts are centered down the page and there are two navigation bars on either side, each with an assortment of “stuff” as the author titles. The left navigation bar includes an assortment of link menus – featured games, ebay auctions, online games and stuff, arcade stuff, gamers site stuff, unsigned bands free flash games, CD’s and stuff, friends and stuff, and a LOT of advertising stuff. You will also find on the left side the handiest archive tool I have seen yet – a drop down menu that allows you to locate specific dates for posts. On the right hand navigation bar you will see links and menus for da computer stuff, mo computer stuff, science links, geek people stuff, funny stuff, and yes, more advertising stuff. The unfortunate thing about both navigation bars is that it will take you some time to find all of this ‘stuff’ simply due to the exorbitant amount of advertising. I also wouldn’t mind seeing an About Me page on the blog, as there isn’t one currently. I think a categories menu could be added as well as that will simplify the blog a bit more and make it a little more apparent what the ‘stuff’ of the blog is about. Also the bloggeries themselves should be hyperlinked to open up that individual page.

The content is well handled, this blog definitely has a personal voice and some quips in and out of posts make that obvious. The writing is well done, but this is not a very active blog. The 6 posts on the main page included all blog activity since March 5, and while there was a June entry, I think more blogging is necessary. Another glitch is one post is missing a headline, which is obviously an oversight but when posts are few, the error glares on the page. Pictures are relevant and there are enough of them, however the advertising on this blog is excessive to the point of distraction. Unfortunately however, I can’t give this blog more than a 2.4 due to the aforementioned issues. A little cleanup and some regular content however I think will give this blog much success. If it was cleaned up and alot more active it could score well.

Did you enjoy this review? Click here to get your own blog reviewed!

- Chrissie

If you would like feedback from your blog please make one of our Free Blog Poll’s!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

NBA DUNKS Basketball Blog – Bloggeries Review

chrissie — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 12:29:18 +0000

Welcome to another blog review from Bloggeries.com. Today’s review features the blog NBA Dunks which is fairly self-explanatory from the title. It is all about the most amazing dunks in the NBA and the players who “slam ‘em down”. If you are a basketball fan you are going to enjoy this site, so long as you are not looking for dunk information beyond 2006. If you are looking for tickets however, they do have active links for ticket purchases for games that actually occur this season. Besides ticket sales and some slammin’ good dunk shots, you will be able to catch up on some Buzz Beaters, dunks that come out of nowhere during those last critical seconds of the game. You can also find ticket dealers for specialty games such as All-Star, Finals, and Orlando Magic.

Other features you will find on this site are results from NBA Dunk contests from 1984 to 2006, and some pretty unbelievable footage of some amazing NBA Dunks. Some of these dunk shots are for NBA aficionados, a retro look at the famous Julius Erving shot for example, one that appeals to Sixers fans “of a certain age”. Of course they also have dunk greats like Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Carmello Anthony etc… You can also go to some of the Blog’s additional links which will take you anywhere from Golf to recipes to Frank Sinatra. I did not bother to check those out; my guess was those links were as archived as the site itself. Navigation is simple here because although the site is interesting, there is not much to it. You can choose what dunks to see and when. The layout is general, and not unappealing. And the format was pretty standard.

For content I am going .5 here, I was torn. The quality of the available footage was GOOD, but it was old. I also figured if I really wanted to see these dunks I would probably go to You Tube first, and not this Blog. Uniqueness gets average points as well. I like the idea of the site; I think a site dedicated to Dunks is original. Lack of activity however dampers my thoughts on its originality and quality. Back in its day this was a fairly current site but it loses points today for no current action. While the google ads were obvious, they were not intrusive. I think if the owner kept this site current, he could see some decent ad revenue come in. Overall I am going with 2.2 here. If this site was somehow “revived” I think it would fair very well for basketball fans. Otherwise, it does not merit much attention.

-Chrissie

Note: For further blogs similar to this one please browse our Basketball Blogs category. If you’d like to interact with other bloggers to share tips and traffic secrets please join our Blogger Forum. If you would like feedback from your blog please make one of our Free Blog Poll’s!

NFL Guru – NFL Football at its Best! – Bloggeries Review

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Sveta’s Blog – Blog Review

chrissie — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:36:46 +0000

I took a look at Sveta’s Blog: writingup.com/blog/sveta. Normally we add a hyperlink but this blog doesn’t merit one! Being an incurable pop culture addict, I was intrigued with the description: “Humor, hilarious parodies, satires, music and movie reviews, personal essays, and basically, anything you could possibly imagine!!!” Initially, I was disappointed. My pop culture indulgent needs were simply not, well, indulged.At first glance, I found it to be more of her latter description…that of the anything you could possibly imagine sort. I first started poking around, and I questioned, what IS this Blog really about. But then I found myself reading about the traumas of a Mormon wife, of a man who brought me to the streets of New Orleans with a cup of smoking coffee, of a mom whose heart broke mine when her daughter wanted to move away to Pennsylvania for camp – and oh, how difficult it is to be a mom.

I kept reading Sveta’s Blog. While it is not the most organized, it seems, that is the point. The Blog is about anything you could possibly imagine. The more I read, the more I understood. This is not about me; there really IS something for everybody here. I found the pop culture after all, though I never thought I would even be thinking of Duran Duran in 2007; but I was, and I liked it. I also got some scrap booking tips; how to deal with the measles, asthma and other common ailments; and strangely found myself writing Tom Wolfe’s new book on my to-do list. I like Sveta’s Blog because it leads you wherever you want and wherever you need to go. Many of her links are not her own, but she provides a service to you by allowing you to get where you need to go just by visiting her blogdom. It IS well written if you enjoy that punch drunk kind of slant at popular culture and the human existence, though that is not for everyone. If we are talking about content and not style however, there is definitely something for everyone, even when the content is probably not the most original.

The activity is not the most current as I am not seeing any posts beyond June 3rd of last year. That being said, I will take her American Idol comments to intend LAST years competition. Further, I found myself being extremely distracted by her Ad Sense and was really searching for content in between the ads, rather than vice versa. Given this, although this Blog can serve lots of flavor with the right kind of java, I am going to say only about a .5 out of 5 scale. She offers very little meat and potatoes for content, the structure was completely disorganized, the Blog activity itself has come to an all out halt, and the advertising is out of control. This is unfortunate, because her writing was established enough to make me feel as if I was on that New Orleans street with that smoking cup of coffee with my friend. However, for keeping me interested and for the stroll down memory lane, I will give her the .5 as that is about as long as my attention span could last on year long material.

-Chrissie

Note: For further blogs similar to this one please browse our Entertainment Blogs category. If you’d like to interact with other bloggers please join our Blogger Forum and if you want feedback from your readers please make a Free Blog Poll!

Review: Sveta’s Blog

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Wedding Party. The rubbish.

tvcokecan — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 05:25:32 +0000

You sometimes get one of them blogs and wonder why the author is even bothering. And as harsh as it sounds I feel I may of found one of them. Let me introduce you to The Wedding Party First let me start by saying that this is my personal view and others more connected to the blog poster may be more interested and have the blog as something they will read more, however I am reviewing this blog as if I was just some random searcher on Google!

The design is basic and very hard on the eyes. There is a header image which in some sense is nice to see something slightly unique about the blog, however I am sorry to say this is where the good points about the design end. The banner image has rather clearly been done by someone with no photoshop skills, it looks like it could of been cool about 5 years ago, however as the internet changes the style used is clearly not working on this blog. The next major issue for me is the font color, using dark purple on a black background not only looks bad it makes it hard to see for both normal vision people and even harder for people such as me with color blindness. I am not going to preach and suggest that everyone should put tons of effort into making there blog easier to read for those with bad vision, however it helps both them in the sense of visitors and everyone else. The menu is bland and as normal with most blogs is on the right, the first content on the right menu is the Contributors, I do see how people like to get there name out, but I feel it is more important to introduce the visitors to the content before introducing them to you. Next is some rather pointless, badly uncompressed images with silly quotes from the author. This could of worked if the photos did not look like they were just found on the authors computer and stuck there as a filler. Also on the menu we have other pointless things such as “Cool Sh*t” and recent mayhem. The archive list being at the very bottom of the menu and below the fold of the page on a 1024 resolution.

The content writers seem to have a need to use swear words in every sentence, now in some ways this could work, however mixed with the design it feels more like a 13 year old teenager wrote it rather than someone wanting to share information. What is more is that the content seems to have no direction and is more of just chucking what ever they can think of onto the blog, this certainly does not work due the lack of category’s. What content is does have however is written well, minus the over-use of swearing.

Overall this blog could do with alot of work both on the content and design, and I am sorry to say this is the first blog I have reviewed that is going to go into the trash and only gets a dismal 1 rating from me, please however comment if you feel it deserves more!

Ghislain’s Blog, it confused us!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Review of the Blog Book

Tyler Banfield — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 08:19:33 +0000

Although this post is titled “Review of the Blog Book,” it would be more appropriate to title it “How Not to Blog 101.” When I first received the request to review this blog, I thought it was a joke. However, after double checking with my editor, I was informed that the author of the blog did indeed want a review. Therefore, I feel I am entitled to tell it exactly how it is. Thus, the following review will be a combination of a scathing rant, along with tips for my fellow bloggers.

I don’t recommend wasting anytime out of your life, but if you have to see this blog, it can be viewed here. The first time I attempted to write this review, I went to revisit the blog, but lo and behold, the server was down. If you are lucky enough to visit this blog when it’s not down, you will be greeted with a few meaningless lines of text and a Google search box. No really, that’s it. There is no content on the home page.

I was hopeful however, because I saw approximately ten navigational links on the left side of the page (accompanied by a hideous, unblended AdSense skyscraper). I clicked on the “What We Do” link, and found a lengthy description, beginning with this sentence:

theblogbook is an open source web site designed around giving people the opportunity to write books, poems and short stories, and from people to see what they’ve written.

Naturally, I quickly clicked on the “Blog Books” link to view the large collection of literary works. In reality, I was met with three links. Two of the links lead to nothing more than a page with one sentence and an AdSense leaderboard, while the other link lead to a page with yet another link (it’s confusing, so pay attention). EUREKA! After clicking this second link, I finally found a page with content. There were links to fifteen “blogs,” which actually turned out to be one to two paragraph short fiction pieces. I was fed up with the site at this point, so I can’t give an unbiased opinion on the quality of these short fiction pieces.

After searching around some more, I found the following: an all but blank guide to writing, a forum with one user and one post, eighteen free Flash games and an “Author” page. On the “Author” page, I found out that the blog is run by a man named Guy. Guy is a writer and artist, and is currently working on a film. He has a personal blog, which at least has been updated six times over the last month.

Instead of continuing my rant, I will leave you with the tips that you should take away from this review, and apply to your own blogging ventures:

1) Content will make or break a blog. If you can’t produce quality, original content on a regular basis, then you need to find a new topic to blog about.

2) Think your ideas all the way through. If you want to start a blog that is dependent on visitor input and interaction, you need to figure out how you’re going to get the visitors you need.

3) Setup your blog and then publicize it, not the other way around. First impressions are crucial, make sure your blog doesn’t make a bad one.

4) Learn how to effectively blend and place your ads. There are tons are resources on the internet that can teach you how to do this, so make sure you take the time to use them.

5) Content will make or break a blog. If you can’t produce quality, original content on a regular basis, then you need to find a new topic to blog about (I realize this is the second time I’ve written this, but it’s because content is truly that important).

Until next time,
Tyler Banfield

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Review of ~da greyscale world

Tyler Banfield — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 07:51:52 +0000

~da greyscale world: when da real one waznt good enuf. Along with this less than articulate block of text, visitors are greeted by an impressive custom black and white header. As I looked through this blog, I realized that it’s only strong point were the integration of pictures and graphics. Other than that, I wasn’t very pleased with it.

To begin with, the blog has a dark background with white text. Although this color scheme can work for certain web sites, I don’t ever believe it’s good for blogs (way too hard on the eyes). However, in the case of this blog, it almost works out, due to the lack of content. When it comes to blogs, there is one thing that can make them or break them: content. Now it’s not necessary to update a blog four times a day, but any respectable blog should be updated daily (even if it’s only with a picture, video or news story). In the case of ~da greyscale world, although it has been online since February 2006, it only contains nineteen posts.

Of these nineteen posts, most read like a giant run-on sentence. Most blogs don’t need to have flawless grammar, but it is a little ridiculous to try and read an entire post that is the equivalent of a text message. As I said earlier, the only redeeming quality of the posts are that they have quite a few pictures integrated (although a few of the pictures are missing due to uploading errors).

I wish I could right more, but honestly there is not a lot that caught my attention. Overall, ~da greyscale world is a good example of a personal blog that started out with good potential, but slowly fizzled away due to lack of motivation. Creating a blog is not an easy task, but if you are willing to invest the time and effort, you will be very pleased with the end product.

-Tyler Banfield
A Day in the Life

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.