chrissie

As the United States works its election year fervor, a political blog for the right wings may catch your attention. The blog is called Danger Management and is known as The Conservative Revolution blog. The blog does not take any subtleties on its right winged approach, and it does so very well. Yu can see this through any of its recent bloggeries: Support the Troops, Is This in our Future (More Democrap), Beginning of Ramadan in Gaza Strip, War of Gog and Magog, Russia’s Super Bomb, John Cornyn Condemns MoveOn.org’s Unpatriotic Statements, John Cornyn US Senator From Texas, Hypocrite!!, Caucus of Corruption, and Jim Ogonowski for US Congress 2007 Special Election. The blog though it comes with an obvious angle, also plays a very diplomatic role in approaching what could be considered sensitive subjects. You can see an example of this in the bloggerie “Support the Troops” where the author says “We recognize that the U.S. involvement in Iraq has divided Americans and that our leaders have made mistakes.”

Danger Management has a very simple navigation system. Bloggeries are black text on white background, and the blog is themed patriotically. The header and right sided navigation bar contains titles and headings in red, and the border for the blog is in blue. Bloggeries are thus left marginalized with a right navigation system. In this navigation system you will see archives going back to November 2006, Recent Posts Menu, a menu called “Resistance Links” which is the most extensive menu in the blog and carries almost all the way down the page, many subscription methods, and advertising information. The blog also has a good amount of relevant pictures that add to the appeal of the bloggeries. What I do not see on the blog that would be very helpful in navigation would be a categories or labels menu despite the fact that each post contained a label. I think a menu like this would make the blog a little easier to navigate. I also think that with a blog as politically charged as this one, an About Page would be extremely useful for the readership to identify with the thought processes that are being offered.

Overall I will go with a 3.5/5 for this one. The blog scores well for navigation, appearance, and athe uniqueness of the content. The content also receives good marks as the writing is very well written and easy to follow even if the reader is not politically motivated. The activity is picking up, though it has been considerably sparse at times. The thing that struck me about this blog was that it has an obvious personal voice, but there was a disconnect between that voice and the reader. An About page would really make a difference as I enjoyed reading the style of the writing and the thoughts offered, but found that disconnect to be a little disheartening. There are also currently no places to offer comments on the blog, and I think that would be a benefit in establishing a connection between the author and the reader. With a blog such as this, opinions are bound to be rampant and the author may benefit from seeing how the readers are acknowledging the writing. Overall however, it is a fairly neat and tidy blog that is well written, and if it maintains its current activity level, it should do very well.

-Chrissie

 

Today we are going to look at a personal blog that chronicles the life of a Canadian student studying in South Korea. Have a look at Almost Urban: Canadian Student Living in South Korea at where you will not only get to meet Henry Finn, but learn a little bit about South Korean culture as you read his personal blog. Henry Finn is a third-year or junior student from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada who majors in economics and minors in East Asian studies. He is currently on exchange with Soon Chun Hyang University in Asan, South Korea. Henry intends on not just blogging about his experiences, but will be publishing his blog through Blurb to make a book that chronicles his life as an exchange student. Henry’s blog contains a little bit of everything, and you can get a true taste for his experiences from some of the most recent bloggeries: City Hall Hip-Hop/Pop Concert in Seoul Video Collection, McDonald’s McCafe Drinks Menu in Hong Kong, Myanmar Embassy in Seoul, Hotel Reservations Online, TVNGEL Girls on the KTX High Speed Train, Haeundae Beach in Pusan, Night out in Pusan, Short Trip to Daegu, English Paradise Camp Talent Show Finalists, and Car Angel Christian Charity.

You will find navigation on this blog very simple. Posts are left marginalized with black text on white background and links highlighted in a bright blue color. Many of the bloggeries come with relevant pictures appropriate to the post. In the right navigation bar you will find Henry Finn’s profile page, subscription links, an About Page, Recent Posts Menu, and various menus for travel or favorite links. You will also find archives dating back to when Henry first became an exchange student in June 2006, as well as a blidget for one of his companion blogs the Hallyu Technology Blog that contains quality Korean technology news. I did not see a categories menu in this blog, though I do note there are some labels attached to each post.

I will give this blog a 3.4/5 It is a fairly straightforward personal blog, but it could use some readership. I think the niche is interesting enough that it could attract a healthy following which would enhance its chances of publication if it went into a book. The navigation and appearance scores are standard which is typical for a personal journal style blog. The content was well written and would get additional points if the posting was done on a daily basis. Overall I found this to be a very interesting read and think others will as well. I think discovering those little things about other cultures are just fascinating and I know I am not alone in that thought process. I definitely give this blog a thumbs up to anyone that is considering a trip to South Korea.

-Chrissie