chrissie

If you are looking for a bit of Irish politics or just some running commentary on life across the pond, take a look at MacKozer’s blog. Here you will find a look at Ireland from a Polish Perspective through MacKozer’s Irish Diary. MacKozer’s name is Krystian, but he is known in the blog world as MacKozer and his interests include Scotland, Ireland, Celtic culture, Archeology, and so much more. He is also a musician who plays the guitar and has very eclectic and well-rounded music tastes. But this is not just a random musicians blog’s on political rants. MacKozer also has a deep interest in archaeologist, specifically from the Iron Age in Poland, as well as interests in the Neolithic eras, Bronze Age, and early Medieval archeology. MacKozer’s writing is both intellectual and well rounded, and you can see this in any of his recent postings: 22 Years of Using Computers From 64KB to 1GM Ram, Irish Prisoners Overseas, Fall of the Kaczynski Coalition Government and New Elections in Poland – Expanding Subject Matter of My Blog, GAA at Croke Park, Konica Minolta A1 vs. Nokia N73 – Camera vs. Mobile Phone, and Exploitation.

You will find navigation on this blog very easy. Posts are left marginalized and there are two right navigation bars. Posts are standard black text on white background with a grayish border. The header contains a beautiful graphic background of what I presume is Irish Landscape that serves as a nice backdrop to the Ireland from a Polish Perspective header. There is a top navigation bar here that contains the Home Page to the blog, About Page, MacKozer’s CV, and a link to his photoblog. The left-sided navigation bar on the right contains a recent posts menu, blogroll, subscriptions options, and a healthy categories menu. The categories menu contains many Irish features such as Burren, Carlow, Clonmacnoise, Cork, Dublin, Ireland, Irish Creatures and so much more. The right sided navigation bar on the right contains the standard blog calendar and some AdSense banners.

I am going with a 4.5 for this one. This blog scores well on most features. The content is intellectually written and engaging to the reader, even if the reader does not have a prior interest. The appearance of the blog is very appealing, and most posts contain either relevant pictures associated or a youtube video, thus adding appeal to the already interesting content. Activity is excellent as well, with what appears to be regular and daily postings. The navigation on the blog is very easy, and the blog itself is unique in its niche. The niche itself is doing quite well as over the course of my review the blog went from 69 to 71 readers in the feed, so the blog has a noted successful following and readership. That alone gives credibility to the blog. A suggestion I would make is to take advantage of this readership by monetizing the blog a little more effectively. It may be worth considering making the double right bars into one on either side of the blog postings to make the AdSense a little more incorporated into the overall theme of the blog, as now it sort of seems a little off in left field. Another thought would be removing the block at the top of the first post. It loads so fast it’s often the first thing a reader sees; monetization is good but best when done subtly. Perhaps leave just a sponsored line and move the “Ads by Google” rectangle box to the bottom of the first post instead of top? One could also make the ad box taller if moved to the bottom of the first post as it’s not occupying precious space on the first fold. That being said, overall the blog is doing very well, and there is little I could offer to the author other than wishes for continued success.

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– Chrissie

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If you are considering Texas for a vacation this year, you may want to have a look at the Texas Vacations Blog. On this blog you will find posts centered around the Lone Star State and information on everything there is to see and do for your Texas vacation. Check out any of the recent bloggeries for a sample on Texas vacation information: Watch TPWD (Texas Parks & Wildlife Departments) Videos Onine Free, Summer is a Great Time to Travel Texas, Laredo Hotel Earns Top Accolades, and Development about to Alter Coastal Getaway Port Aransas. Each post contains blog content as well as an attachment to the latest PR Newswire with all of the latest information on Texas vacations. There is little information about the actual blogger, but if you wish to get more information you can use the contact information located in the right navigation bar.

The first thing I will say about this blog is that navigation is nothing less than awkward. The posts themselves have headlines without links which makes it difficult to move around the site or go to direct posts. Posts are left marginalized with black text on white background and there is a right navigation bar. In the right navigation bar you will see a small blurb for an “About Me” section, with no information on the blogger (s?) themselves. You will also find AdSense, and recommendations for books and links as well as an archive menu. Each post contains tags or labels, but there is no recent posts menu or categories menu. Further, the posts themselves have newswire attachments which seem to be the bulk of the content of the blog. The newswires have been pasted into the blog posts bodies, with very little actual blogging taking place.

I am leaving this one with a 1, there are too many navigation issues that affect all other criteria bringing down the overall mark. The blog has little to no activity. There are four months listed in the archive menu for the blog that has been active since February 2006. I do see some activity picking up over the last few weeks, but it is not anything that I am comfortable calling regular at this point. There are some obvious menus missing from the navigation system which make an already weak blog weaker to navigate – recent posts, categories, etc. I think a blog of this niche would do very well with defined categories such as dining, accommodations, and things of vacations nature. I also think a vacation blog would do very well with appropriate pictures relevant to the topics at hand. There is no personal voice to this blog, and the blogger offers no information about themselves as the author or purpose of the blog. The content follows this impersonal theme by consisting almost primarily of newswires that are not of the blogger’s creation. I think this blog needs more than a few tweaks to bring some personality to it which would ultimately increase or even develop the readership. If it is able to make those changes, I think this niche would give it the success and growth it needs.

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– Chrissie

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If you are looking for a good wine recommendation, and who isn’t, then you may want to stop in and have a look at Fine Wine Reviews and Ratings. Here you will find the blog for the Wine School of Philadelphia. The authors of this blog, Keith Wallace and Brian Freedman, offer this blog as an entry point for those that are interested in the Wine School. You will find here a collection of wine reviews, wine columns, day-to-day happenings, restaurant reviews, and tasting sheets that are included with every wine class or event that is hosted by the school. The philosophy at the Wine School is that information is critical for the true appreciation of a good wine, and that it should be available to everyone. The school itself provides a dynamic experience that merges both the academic and sensory experiences of wine appreciation. The mission at the Wine School is to raise wine education standards and to foster a community of passionate wine enthusiasts. You can see them ringing their philosophy true with their passionate reviews and columns that you will find in any of their recent bloggeries: Italian Pick of the Week – Montesole Fiano di Avellino 2003, L’Oca’s Anchovies, Domaine de la Janasse 2006 Cotes du Rhone Blanc, Italian Pick of the Week – Bertani “Le Lave” 2002 Veneto, The August Newsletter, Italian Pick of the Week – Saladini Pilastri Rosso Piceno 2004, Vino Divino, and Italian Pick of the Week – Torre dei Gesuiti Sarrocco 2004 Puglia IGT.

You will find navigation on this wine blog very simple and easy to follow. The posts are left marginalized and there are both top and right navigation bars. Posts are standard black text on white background with a pale blue border around the post page. In the right navigation bar you will find the categories menu that contains the About page, BYOB Restaurants, Our Top Wine Shopping Spots, A Guide to Fairmount Restaurants, Get Your Free Wine Guide Today, Sitemap, and Bloglinks. If you travel to the About page you will find more categories including Food and Wine, The Wine World, Wine Reviews, and Wine Tasting Sheets. You will also find in the right navigation system the blogroll and subscription links. The top navigation bar is divided into the sections Taste, Read, Learn, Hire, and Give. Here you can read about wine tastings, reviews, wine courses, hire the School for corporate events, or give the gift of wine. I am unsure as to how long the blog has been active as there are no archives. The only navigation issue I had was the missing recent posts menu, which always makes jumping from one post to the other that much easier. However the blog is very simply laid out and overall has no serious navigation issues.

I will go with a 3.4 on this one. I always find wine blogs very interesting, and this one was no exception. The content is well written and clearly from an industry professional which gives the reviews and information an abundance of credibility. The blog scores well for uniqueness, navigation, and content then. However the blog is missing a little bit of punch that would spice up some of the postings and reviews. I think pictures of the wine being reviewed would add some zip to their sip and make the blog more aesthetically pleasing. I also think the blog could use posting a little more regular than weekly and even if just a small addition of wine quips or trivia here would definitely add to the appeal of the blog. Another suggestion would be to try and use some of the white space under the right column or stretch the actual blogs width because it is quite condensed at the moment with lots of empty space on the page. Overall however, the blog is a very informative read, and any wine lover would definitely take something valuable from it.

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– Chrissie

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