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
