chrissie

Here we will look at another personal blog that is called Under the Quilt. The blogger here is known as Roxanne and has a true personal voice and invites you to ‘talk amongst yourselves’. She loves quilting, and better yet, cuddling up under a quilt. She is also married with two children who ‘keep her more than a little occupied’. You can get to know Roxanne a little bit better and see what kind of projects she is involved in through any of her recent bloggeries: I want to Live!, You know you’ve been married too long when…., MIA, A T-Shirt I spotted today, Is this phallic enough for you?, If I ever had a fantasy about being serenaded…, Log the Jog, Can’t Wait t’ill Monday, Body Image and Awareness.

You will find it very easy to navigate this blog as it is fairly straightforward as most personal blogs are. The blog has a light pink background with a fuschia border and the text is maroon. Bloggeries are left marginalized and there is a right navigation bar. The right navigation system contains Roxanne’s profile, a Links menu that currently contains some ‘Edit me’ sections, Previous Posts menu, and archives dating back to 2005. Each post contains one if not many relevant pictures that add to the intent of the blogging. The blog currently is not set up with a Categories menu, and if Roxanne wanted to organize her posts just a smidge more, it would probably benefit the blog.

I will go with a 3.2/5 for this one. There are a few things that could use some tweaking if this blogger wants the blog to stand out. The blog has a solid readership judging by its regular commentary in the bloggeries, and with this I might suggest some monetization. With increased exposure to the blog, monetization may bring in some money for the blog as this is a niche that is unique and definitely has a wide global following. I like the personal voice in the blog which really connects the posts to the readers and makes you want to read more. I would recommend also posting a little more frequently than weekly which is what the activity rate is sitting at now. More frequent posting may bring in additional traffic and lend to further success of the blog. Right now with the exception of the pictures, it does seem a little too simple, and with this I might suggest some widgets to give the blog a little life, and these can easily be found through any search engine. I would also make changes to the Links Menu as the ‘edit me’ links are a little distracting. Overall however I think this is a well-read personal blog that could generate a healthy following of fellow quilters.

-Chrissie

 If you are looking for a one-stop shop for all of your travel needs, then you should check out the Group Travel Blog.  This blog will connect you directly with group friendly travel companies and provides information about singles group travel, travel tour groups, corporate travel planning, tourism destination marketing, travel planning business, small group adventure travel and so much more. If you think travel might be on your horizon this year, check out any of their recent bloggeries to see if this blog piques your interest: Festival of the West Welcomes Tour Groups, 2008 Carnival Parade – A New Concept for Quebec, Philadelphia Announces Strong Summer Results, Northstar – At Tahoe Resort: New and Noteworthy for 07/08, Peru tourism regains footing after earthquake hits Ica, Redwood Parks Lodge Co. Launches Adventure Tours, Dot Travel or Don’t Dot Travel? The Debate over .travel domain, Group travel to Cleveland – Don’t Miss the Arts and Culture Scene, and Holland America Line Adds Group Cruise Booking Tool.

Navigation on this blog is very straightforward and you will find your way moving through it with ease. Posts are left marginalized with a very standard black text on white background. The blog has an airplane logo as its header and the remainder of the blog is set in primary color accents. One thing I noticed right off the bat with this blog is the well blended AdSense, you barely notice it is there and the ads look like part of the blog, well done! In the right navigation bar you will find subscription information, ads, members login, archive section that you can view by date or by category with links provided, a blog calendar, and a hit counter with over 700 K hits. The right system also includes a handy categories menu with clever icons to represent each category: Cruise Veiws, How do I?, Industry News, International dateline, Just Back From, Marchey Marketing Minute, My Turn, US Bulletin, Link Partners, and What’s Your Niche. What I don’t see in the blog is an about page which might give the blog a little more personal voice and less of a business one, however I don’t think it’s hurting the blog by not having one. I do think a Recent Posts menu would be helpful to the readers in terms of navigation however.

Overall I will give this blog a 3.4/5. The blog scores well on most accounts with activity probably and visual stimulus needing the most attention. Posts are currently fairly regular but at times sporadic. The content itself is interesting and informative, easy to read and user friendly. I also think the simplicity of the blog design works in its favor and gives the blog an overall sense of professionalism which is what I think the bloggers are going for. Navigation is extremely easy in this blog as well, and for those that are seeking travel information through a blog, this blog offers an excellent place to do so.

-Chrissie

If you are in the Pasadena area and looking for some tips or reviews on local attractions, then you may want to have a look at the City of Pasadena Guide and Travel Blog. The blog is written by David G. Hollstrom Sr. and he offers an inside look at the City of Pasadena as well as some guides and directories for the city. You will find here a wealth of reviews and sources of information on anything there is to know about Pasadena. Have a look at any of his recent bloggeries to see what he wants you to know about Pasadena: The Melting Pot – Pasadena, The Union Cattle Co. – Pasadena, Check Out Colonial Kitchen in San Marino, Check out Tops – Colorado Blbd. – Pasadena, Islands – Pasadena – Foothill Blvd., Houstons – Pasaden, Amy’s Burgers – Pasadena, McMurphy’s Tavern – Pasadena, Lucky Baldwin’s – Pasadena, and Radhika’s Restaurant – Pasadena.

This blog could not be easier to navigate which will make any visitor of Pasadena who stumbles across it very grateful. Bloggeries are left marginalized with standard black text on white background, and headlines and links are highlighted with a nice blue color that accents the blog well. There is a right navigation system that contains a host of information for the prospective Pasadena visitor. This includes a search bar, links list, archives, most recent comments, and a categories menu. The categories menu is extremely comprehensive listing Dining, Entertainment, Events, and numerous other categories. The Dining category is further divided by food types and styles making the visitors blog very easy to navigate. The blog also has a healthy readership as is evidenced by its recent comments menu. I did not see any pictures with the bloggeries, so that would be my first suggestion. This would make the reviews and information that much more appealing to the reader and give a true feel for the specific place the author is blogging about.

I will go with a 3/5 for this one, but mainly because I am seeing some issues with activity. The most recent post was entered on June 22 so more frequent posting would definitely serve the growth of this blog. I also think the comments sections proves the readership would support more frequent posting. Overall the appearance scores are good, the look of the blog is very clean and aesthetically appealing but would definitely benefit from some pictures. The content is excellently written with reviews coming from a personal voice that gives the experience credibility. They are also concise enough down to the ripeness of a strawberry which gives the reader a true essence of the experience. I also might suggest the author monetize this blog a little once the posting becomes more active. Again, the readership is healthy enough to support this and I think with these few changes this could very well be a successful blog and a spectacular resource for visitors to Pasadena.

– Chrissie