Bloggeries Blog

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Review of Vermont Travel Notes

Rated 3 at Bloggeries
I want to preface this review with this note: If you are not interested in Vermont travel, this is not the blog for you. Mr. Connor has created a blog that fits a specific niche and audience, so I will critique it accordingly.

Vermont Travel Notes was created on April 5th, 2006. Although the blog started off pretty slowly (only three posts during the first two months), the posting frequency has gradually increased over time (between three to five posts per week). During less than four months of existence, this blog has had over fifteen thousand visitors, which is pretty impressive for a niche blog.

As far as the content of the site goes, the title says it all. Jeff’s blog is a collection of events, tips and personal stories about traveling through Vermont. Whether you want to hear about Route 100 or current attractions in Vermont, this blog probably addresses it. In addition to providing plenty of useful information, the blog also provides external links for users to follow. On a topic that is as extensive as this, it is very wise of the author to supplement his posts with additional information from other sources.

The Vermont Travel Notes blog is actually a part of a larger site for the Grunberg Haus Inn. If you couldn’t figure this out, the Grunbeg Haus Inn is located in Vermont. I was impressed that Jeff avoided making the blog a blatant plug for the inn and actually made it a useful resource.

Although I think the content of this blog is useful, there are some areas of the template that I didn’t particularly like. In my humble opinion, the blog had way too many links to bookmarking and feed subscription services. A simple FeedBurner link (along with a couple bookmark links) would suffice. The excess of links makes the margins of the blog appear a little too cluttered.

I rated this blog a three for two main reasons. First of all, as I mentioned above, I think the template could be improved through some minor changes. Second (and most importantly), this blog is fairly new and needs to stand the test of time. Although it is being updated three to five times per week, less than a month and a half ago it was being updated much less frequently. As long as Jeff continues to maintain his current posting rate, he will have no problem making his blog grow and flourish.

–Tyler Banfield

McHammer – The Blog

blog reviewSo what do we know about Hammer? He was an MTV icon for a minute and then became the butt of jokes. Well now he has a blog as well. A blogspot blog. Could he be that broke?

Well, apparently McHammer (btw. I thought he was just called Hammer now), has a team member named Eric who works for Google. Google’s blogger department, the one responsible for such mess-ups like deleting blogspot blogs for interlinking, assuming that it’s all done for the reason of manipulating search engines rankings (true in some cases, but not all). So it seems like Google and Hammer are in this together. Whether he is trying to get the domain name McHammer.com or not, I don’t know. But it seems like he is fine with the way things are right now. Doesn’t make sense to me how anyone could be ok not owning his own online identity.

So now let me put away whatever I know about Hammer, Blogger and look at the weblog itself.
In his profile he says:

I’m an ordinary man, who has lived an extraordinary life. I have been to Japan,Russia,Korea, Hong Kong,Egypt,Germany,Spain, Australia,Singapore,Puerto Rico, every state in America including Alaska and Hawaii.I have met and dined with Presidents and Sultans, and Princes. Most and above all I have met God.

and suddenly I realize, that none of us really know the person. What he says about himself. His blog entries are about his family, his music videos and whatever seems to interest him.

Fishing with the boys, stuff like that shows me that his interests are no longer to be the biggest star in the world. He doesn’t seem to care too much about image at all. His entries seem laid back, and he takes the time to respond to fans commenting. He does however promote current and upcoming events in entries such as DC Hammertime Hyphy Show as well as on his My Space Blog.

To make a long story short, I’m giving it a 2. I like his effort. I give his at least a 4 for his own writings and participation. I hate the slow loading time, the low budget presentation that blogger seems to limit its users to. I would like to give it a higher rating, but believe that the owner of a blog should take some serious interest in aspects that he himself is not an expert in as well.

Register a domain name, Mc. Hammertimeonline.com was available the other day. Sue for your own domain if you have to. Create a stronger presence online. You’ve skyrocketed to the top once, don’t let Blogger keep you from doing so again.

– Mike Damman
Blog Reviews and More

Review of the Blog Book

Rated 1 at Bloggeries
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