Recycling Bin

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!

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