Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook

Boy, reviewing blogs is fun. I am discovering so many great new blogs that I otherwise wouldn’t ever see. A Blessed Life is a very, very cute little blog. It’s kept by Sheila, a Kansas wife and mom who has one adorable son and is expecting another. The little boy is the silent center of the blog (he, uh, doesn’t post anything yet). His cute photos and his presence are detectable all over the blog. Judging by the comments, A Blessed Life is popular with other mommies of little babes.

About the design: it’s a typical Blogger design (”dots” is it?) but it has three-columns. So I assume it is not one of the basic Blogger templates, but a revised theme. The background is very dark and the font so small that it emits a moody atmosphere. This seems at variance with the perky baby in the sidebar. It’s just too dark for me! I suggest a different theme or brightening the room. It would be cute if Sheila could find a baby nursery type of theme, or make one herself. The blog is difficult to read because it is so dark and moody.

Also, the posts, which are rich in content, suffer from what I call “Stream of Consciousness Formatting.” in other words, the content of the post is all in one huge paragraph, with no visual break. Here’s an example, if I may:

Feb. 3, 2008 Sunday- My husband called from Florida and little Noah wanted to get the phone from me. As soon as i handed the phone over to him, he said “dada”. I asked my husband if he heard it, he said “no”. Maybe because he was talking to him at the same time. So, I gave the phone back to Noah. He said “dada” again” then “dade” the third time. It surely made his Daddy’s day. We had been watching Baby Mozart a hundred of times this weekend as if it’s the only show on earth. There’s a part where the green snake would say “Blah”. Noah, as soon as he saw the snake, said “aaaah” in a growling way just like how the snake said “blah”. It was funny coz he surely knows it’s coming. Noah has been doing a lot of discovery with his toys. Whenever his toy phone rings, he would give it to me then I would pretend his friend Marky from the daycare was calling him. I would give it back to him and he would say “hi” or just blab. He knows what Cheerios are this time. Yesterday, I said Cheerios and he looked at the top of the cabinet where his Cheerios are located. This morning, it’s fascinating coz he gave me his little book of numbers. I counted and pointed to him 1 kite, 2 pancakes, then 3 balloons. As soon as he heard the 3 balloons, he turned his back and looked at the 3 balloons I got for my birthday few weeks ago. He even stood up and compared the balloons on the book to the real balloons. It’s amazing how his thought process is working at this age. Last Thursday, he was eating his Cheerios form his toy box and the big cow was at his back. he manaeged to sit on it while eating and without me telling or helping him to get on it. He knows how to put his toys in his box. He is just so amazing. He is getting smarter as the day passes. There was a loud thunder this morning and he cried. He got scared. Of course, mommy comforted him immediately. He already knows how to share. Whenever we say “share mommy”, or share daddy”, he would raise his hand and put food into our mouth. Last Friday, it was funny coz he stood behind his kyeboard and started playing it wit his butt. He was having fun doing it. Wish i took a video of that. Baby Kaeden, our soon-to-be-born baby had been kicking last Friday. I felt his kicks when I placed my hand on my tummy while lying on bed. I had been feeling him move the past few days (as if there’s a goldfish swimming inside me ), but had not really felt it with my hand. This time it was real. Can’t wait to see and hold him in my arms. Thank you. Lord, for another baby.

OK, that’s all in one paragraph. That’s much too tedious and takes too much effort to read. Break things down. I was a mom of little babies, too (I had 3 under age three for a while), so I know how hyper one can get! Take a breath, Sheila! LOL.

Now don’t take this too hard. The posts are really interesting to read. But the format makes them too hard to read. Only friends and grandmothers are going to stay that long to slog through the lack of readability. And that’s fine if that’s all you want to read your blog. But if you want people to come back and read your content, the design must encourage it. The cluttered posts, coupled with small font and a very dark background, will repel more readers than draw them in. The posts are interesting– the one about the tornado warning was absolutely gripping– so there’s a lot to work for. Of course, young moms don’t always have the time to reconfigure their blogs! There are free Blogger templates out there; consider looking around. Pay attention to other people’s blogs as you surf, too.

The sidebars are rich in content and display Sheila’s personality. I like that in a blog. The sidebar content is balanced. But again, the font is so tiny! And there is no header at the top. this actually isn’t necessary, as long as you have a very clear indication of your blog’s title and it’s general description somewhere at the top. Here, the title is in the sidebar above the profile, which is OK, but it is dull and not very reader-friendly.

So overall, A Blessed Life has a lot going for it! I’m sure the posts will continue to be very entertaining in the unique way that having a houseful of children will provide! Put more effort into the blog design and watch this blog shine.

Thanks to Entrecards, I’m becoming very familiar with the multitudes of bloggers out there! I’ve visited A Hand Me Down Life several times dropping Entrecards, and have become familiar with it before I even considered reviewing it.

The very first thing that I notice is the dark colors of the blog. I have to wonder if this theme reflects Sue’s  blogger personality. The theme is a little drab, although it has a FANTASTIC Javascript capability with the Archive page. I wish all themes had that! But the theme is dry and uninteresting. Also, some of the sidebar content spills out into the background, and it looks sloppy.

The Twitters are at the top, then the search bar, categories, and the recent posts. Then there is some colorful content (the MyBlogLog widget, blogroll, Entrecard widget, etc). The Energy PopMeter splays out beyond the sidebar. The button and badges are unevenly spaced. I use Firefox browser, so perhaps this is a browser issue…. but the blog gives the immediate impression of a poorly-designed theme and not much effort. It looks unprofessional.

However, Sue, don’t lose heart! These things are very easily remedied. It is the CONTENT of a blog that really matters. The posts are thoughtful, and some are downright fun. I LOVED seeing the rubber claws for the cats, lol! (Wouldn’t the cats eat them off?!) and I loved the Nippy Deviled Eggs recipe, mmm. Plus, a week ago I’d read the post I’ve Always Wanted to Start My Own Militia, and thought it was a wonderfully creative way to write that opp. So there’s a ton of creativity just bursting to come out, but unless a reader is very persistent, it’s hard to get past that boring theme and delve deeper. The theme functions well; I suppose Sue could even keep the basic theme and tweak it. A lot. If she knows coding. A new header, a wider sidebar or small widgets, a different background, better title fonts… it can be done, if ya know how and have the time. But then again, there are loads of themes out there that would require less work…

Another few things– there’s no little button for an RSS Feed. That’s a very important feature on a blog now. And it needs more personality, like Flickr photos, or ??? or something. This is a personal blog, so it needs more things that make it personal. Consider adding some content that will let the reader know more about you and your likes and dislikes. I’d sure like to know more!

I look forward to seeing this blog develop. It’s still relatively young, so there’s a lot of growing space. And I’ll be back tomorrow, to drop my Entrecard and read the latest post!

Renate’s Merilin blog, titled Renate’s Merilinatomy, has got the be one of the funniest and most enjoyable blogs I’ve perused. I was absolutely tickled with the writing style. When I clicked the Renate link at the top, I was greeted with:

In Chinese, the sound ‘Renate’ means ‘bite the wax tadpole’.

LOL! OK, you’ve got my attention! What is a wax tadpole, though, ancient Chinese natural acne treatments?? I read on and was enjoying a high level of entertainment with this:

I’m Renate, and I Google everything. I was born on an autumn day in 1982 in the northern regions of Norway, where the hospital had their flag up, because a princess was born… I’m not your average Norwegian. I’m not tall, not blonde and I definitely do not appreciate a good snow day. You won’t find me whooping with joy as I swoop down the skiing tracks. You might find me at the bottom of said track, drinking cocoa and thinking about how my socks are wet, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Renate also studies history– an obsessive hobby of which I am also addicted. So what have we, between the two of us– we both love geekery, history, and humor. And I am of Norwegian ancestry!

Seriously, this is a fine blog for the more literary readers. There are also VERY FEW pictures. I saw NONE on the first page. It’s all Renate’s writing that the reader must connect with. And she does not disappoint! The style is fun, quirky, everyday, and masterful. Is Norwegian Renate’s first tongue? Because she writes like my English teacher: impeccable. This is a terrific blog for REAL readers.

About the theme. It’s a Wordpress-powered blog, and the theme is all home-grown by Renate herself. It is very sleek and I love the swirly emblem in the header. However, there are a few discrepancies. I see a very long html code tag in the sidebar, which detracts the eye and ruins the elegant look of the theme. Also, the titles to the posts are not clickable. Clicking the “permalink” link at the bottom of the post enables me to view the individual post, but it is one of those “picky” things about blogs that I personally prefer. And the comments, which I would like to follow, look like this:

Ikkje sånn kjempemange flere timan enn med tog, men betydelig mindre komfortabelt. Og så må æ jo uansett toge til Oslo for å ta bussen, så det hadde vært veldi digg å slippe å veksle så mellom transportan.

I guess I need to study my Norwegian a little more! I’ve been stuck on Swedish Chef Swedish for so long…

Everything else worked well. There is minimal content in the sidebar (reminds me of those Pergo ads I see in magazines– a beautiful wood-looking floor with just a few pieces of colorful furniture). I am used to the big baubles of American and Asian blogs, so the minimalistic Scandinavian look was something akin to culture shock. But I like it.

I like learning about how people live in other countries. Renate’s Merilin blog is wonderful for such a purpose. (And, Renate, I’m REALLY REALLY sorry about your home loan and the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. It’s not my fault and I have been against the moneylenders schemes, ok?!)

In the mood for some good reading? Try Renate’s Merilin.

I have discovered that the President and CEO of Bluehost, my new and favorite web hosting company, has a blog! It’s Matt Heaton.com. I love it when CEOs have blogs. Blogs are extremely personal and allow you to interact with the higher folks up the food chain. He has some great insights to offer about his business. This recent post about identity theft is very good.

There is no incentive to fix security problems. In fact, there is TONS of money being made by these companies on all that fraud that is happening out there. Chargeback fees to companies doing the billing are getting higher and higher. As the fraud increases Visa and others simply increase the discount rate that merchants like us pay to interchange for processing to compensate. No problem right? Wrong, guess who pays? The consumer always pays in the higher prices that merchants are forced to pass on in ever increasing credit card fees.

I’m no high-falutin’ businesswoman, but I do have some interest in how businesses run. And some of his posts are extremely enlightening to consumers like me. Give it a read, you’ll find it very interesting and readable.

Plus, it’s very interesting to know that he was a missionary in Taiwan and now has five children! Cool!

Zero and Up is a relatively new blog (Feb 08) but the style of the theme and the content quality makes you think it’s been around a while.

The theme is very striking, and very professional-looking. It’s another one of the new “making money” blogs that are cropping up everywhere. Because there are so many blogs like this coming out of the woodwork, these kinds of blogs have to be “above the fold” in style and content to maintain a reader base. So far, so good. Posts like “Four Reasons Why This Post Is Good” and “Don’t emphasize your absence” are excellent topics. I also very much enjoyed the post that asked specific bloggers why they chose their blogs names and what those names signified. It’s creative posts like these that spark a reader’s curiosity, and encourages the reader to return. Good work with such creative content.

The theme is simple but sleek (and custom made, too). There’s some text at the top of the nav bar about advertising on the blog. I was SO relieved to see a blog without dozens of 125boxes screaming “YOUR AD HERE.” Man, I hate those things. There actually IS an empty ad box in the sidebar, but it is amazingly inconspicuous (maybe due to the green color?). I am so used to seeing dancing bears or ladies on shower stools with virtual flashing neon…. those 125boxes can be a real pain, especially when they are so obviously empty! But Zero and Up is wisely keeping those boxes at a minimum and downplays what’s there. That’s a real blessing to the blog reader.

Things are neat and organized; there are a scanty few links to archives and a meta link list… perhaps it’s a tad bit uneventful? There is so little in the sidebars that the blog does give off an “I’m new” aura to it. Throw in some linky love lists or a few more interesting links to posts or something. But watch out for the flashing 125 box syndrome!

Overall, Zero and Up is a good blog to watch. I am very pleased about the content quality. I’d like to see the blog develop. Time will certainly tell!

I’m taking a little break from blogging about business performance management software and am finally back in the blog review business! I have a little list of blog reviews to do, and now that I am on Wordpress and everything is settled, I can comfortable blog away!

Bloggin’ Mama is a “frugal” blog. These have become very popular recently. I must say that I do like them much better than the typical mommy blogs. Mommy blogs are nice, but… I tire of looking at baby pictures day after day, lol! Bloggin’ Mama is all about what’s hot on the ‘Net– saving money!

The template is very nice and simple. It’s a basic, general free template, but it suits the blog content very well. The buttons and banners are minimal, and even the AdSense ads (a bane of mine) are not very distracting. The Bloggin’ Mama has done a good job with keeping the reams of content well organized. I loved the sidebar categories section, and the well-titled links. Everything is very easy to look over.

The posts are filled with tips and techniques for the typical frugal mother. Some posts have cute photos of the baby, and they lend interest. The RSS feed button, so necessary these days, is large and obvious in the header.

My first suggestion would be to tweak the header a little. It’s rather dull, and the brown color is dingy. I would stick with the streamlined look– nothing fancy at all. Maybe just the blog title with fancy letters? No flowers, no baby bottles, God-forbid, no bills with Ben Franklin on them (HOW many blogs have that, now?!).

Also, every individual post has a list of AdSense ads before the comment section. I guess it’s OK, but… it lessens that personal touch and feels intrusive. I personally don’t like AdSense and I surely don’t like AdSense within the content of a post! It looks awful. But that’s my personal preference. Finally, the buttons could be organized a little better. There are big ones, little ones, long ones, narrow ones all over the place. I prefer the buttons to give a flowing feel. Cluster them in order of size, or in order of category (linky buttons here, pay to blog buttons there).

Over all, Bloggin’ Mama looks like a great blog. A few tweaks and it could be even better!

I found a wonderful website (via Entrecards, again!) that is a great resource for finding free software programs. It’s called Softfreebie. I really like it. It has a growing list of excellent software found for free on the Internet. It’s a good one to keep an eye on for future resources. It’s got everything, looks like, from games, database tools, firewalls, educational tools, backup tools, proxy tools, Adobe programs! I didn’t see anything about online term life insurance quotes, but hey, who knows, maybe that’s next, lol! They’ve got everything else! The categories are varied and numerous, and I really like the style. I haven’t tried out the search feature, yet.

Keep an eye on this one of you are looking for freeware on the Internet. I know I will, because i always am.

Once again, via Entrecard surfing (if you haven’t checked out Entrecards, you really should!), I discovered another very helpful blog for computer users. This one is called WatchTheTutor.com. It covers the most basic of applications, like how to StumbleUpon a website and how to start a Gmail account, and dabbles in the more complicated stuff like converting a DVD to mp4 to an iPhone and creating an ISO image from a directory. It’s a very new blog, so we will see how it develops.

If you haven’t tried Entrecards, I recommend you take a look at it. It’s a free, fun way to increase traffic to your blog or website. You essentially join the community, make a little business card for your blog, and “drop” it on other blogs. Other bloggers come by your blog to “drop” their cards. You can advertise your blog on other’s blogs, too, giving you “free” advertising. I put “free” in quotes because it doesn’t cost money, but it does cost “credits.” You get these credits by dropping your card. The entire system is designed to get you to visit other blogs while they visit yours. Some blogs are outstanding, and I never would have discovered them any other way. I love “shopping” for other blogs as I drop my card and look for blogs to advertise with. It’s almost as much fun as shopping at directbuy!

I’m enjoying discovering new blogs with Entrecards. I don’t use them for this blog, but I use them for my other blogs. Some blogs are real stinkers, but a wholesome amount of them are really great! An entire Entrecard subculture is springing up, looks like!

By far, the most popular Entrecarders are mom blogs. I’m a mom, but I am far past the baby cribs and baby foods stage. I prefer to surf the geek blogs! There’s a few very good ones I have discovered and bookmarked. From time to time, I hope to discuss them here.

The first one is a blog called the “Windows Vista Guide.” I remember when Windows XP first came out, a lot of people were confused over the new and altered settings, tweaks, and configurations. So a plethora of bloggers started “How To” blogs about XP. I have not seen many “How To” Vista blogs yet. Vista has been very slow to gain ground among computer users, so I suspect this is why websites about Vista haven’t taken off as much.

Nonetheless, XP won’t last forever! Here’s a great list of applications compatible with Windows Vista, from the same website I linked earlier. If you’ve got Vista, or are getting it, read as much as you can and that will make your transition much easier. Vista is quite different from XP, but I like it.

Mummified Times Five.net is not about the contents of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus. I admit, when I see “mummified” I do think mummy first thing (I’m an American, after all!). I forget that “mummy” is the word for “mommy” in the UK and Australia!

Mummified Times Five.net is a classic mommy blog. It’s even colored with bright pinks and yellows! I actually love the bright colors and the perky design. Reminds me of Johnson’s baby oil bottles, lol. The blog’s author, Tina, lives with her husband and brood in NSW Australia. Fascinating. I love Australia and hope to visit it someday.

Tina’s blog is outstandingly organized. Buttons and badges are minimal, colorful, and aligned neatly in smooth columns. Niiiiice. Her About Me page is short but sweet. Her posts are short and sweet, too. Either she is a master at short posts, or she squeezes in what she can between diaper changes and bottle runs. I had four little ones running around not too long ago (they are older now), and some of the posts brought back sweet memories. I liked the freezing the milk tip, too; didn’t know milk could be frozen. There’s more to the blog than handy household tips, however. Like the post titled, If I Get Sent…

….one more of those stupid emails that have you looking closely on the screen for something, or doing a silly maze, or listening for something and then a scary face pops up on the screen and screams, somebody is going to pay!!! lol. I’m sitting on the lounge with the laptop on my lap (duh! It’s a LAPtop) I received an email from a friend saying ‘listen closely’. I don’t have the speakers up too loud because the baby is sleeping so I put my my face closer to the screen to hear it better and of course, the scary woman pops up screaming. …I nearly dropped my laptop!

LOL! Having a laptop set with low speakers and having received such emails, I could sympathize completely. I get mad, but Tina makes her anger seem so funny!

Mummified Times Five.net has some great things about it, but as always, I have a few suggestions.

Firstly, consider enlarging the font for the posts. And that would include the title for each post. It’s just a suggestion– not a crucial one– but the posts seem short overall, and the blog’s theme has a narrow column for posts. Enlarging the fonts would give a little visual boost to the posts, where the emphasis truly belongs.

I would also love to read longer and more frequent posts! I really enjoyed reading the posts (my daughter always slept with her bum in the air, too! And she loved “dummies” as well!) which were fresh and delightful and very entertaining. Gimme more! I’d love to learn about what life is like in Australia! Photos were sparse– gimme more!

Mummified Times Five.net is very enjoyable. It’s got good content, good design, and a crisp overall look to it. I’ll be checking in to read the latest!

A Cowboy’s Wife, maintained by blogger Lori, is a really cute blog. The blog is fresh just like the author; her About Me page states:

I can change my own tires, cook from scratch, and will voice my opinions on whatever topics I feel like. I am usually a lady but can and will kick your ___ if you tick me off. I hate liars & rudeness so if you have either of these traits, then don’t come to my blog.

Well! Here’s a lady who speaks her mind, kind of like those anti-corsets women of the Wild Wild West of old! Yes, a very entertaining About Me page, lol!

Lori’s blog is very stylish, and everything matches. It must have been so much fun to attribute “comments” to “neighs and snorts,” “blogrolls” as “the posse” and “the watering hole.” Nice touches. These things give a blog a “finished” look and reveal the blogger’s joie de vivre.

As far as blog content, Lori is an adept communicator. Her feelings and opinions jump out like a calf let out of the barn in the springtime. Sometimes trying to rope around her point takes a little effort, at least for this cowpoke. Her writing style is very visual, with the use of ALL CAPS, emoticons, and loooooooong repeated letters. It is entertaining, to be sure. Sometimes the posts deviate from the “mom” narrative, and Lori takes on current events. I loved the post on the rig explosion. Great photos. I’d love to see more interesting content like that– about what happens way our there in the middle of nowhere. This blog could fill a niche like that, if Lori ever felt like expanding the scope of the blog. One thing I noticed is that oftentimes in the posts, a meaningful word is omitted in a sentence. This happens to me when I type too fast and don’t proofread my work carefully. For example:

If happen to be an Internet Marketer…

I just wanted to pop and say hello and give you the warning on the cake. It’s x-rated or anything, in fact, she’s covered up…

It’s a common mistake, but if it happens too frequently, it looks sloppy. A good thorough proofread is what usually cures it.

The design, like I’d stated, is tailored to the “cowboy” theme. It’s adorable. However, the content in the sidebars is a little messy. Blinking ads, differently-sized font at different alignments, and lines of text inconsistently squished too close was a distraction. I recommend cleaning up the sidebars. Lori’s style seems to be ad hoc as a general rule, so a too-tidy clean-up might make the content look too out of place. Just a little. May I be so bold as to recommend setting aside “blocks” of content in the sidebar– perhaps an area of banner/block ads in one area, then a few blogrolls, then another area of ads, etc. The consistency would help the reader concentrate on the blog posts, because right now, the haphazard sidebar organization is distracting.

Overall, A Cowboy’s Wife in an entertaining blog where the author’s personality really shines through– and for a blog, this is everything. Content is king! Messy sidebars and overuse of emoticons is secondary and easily remedied. Happy trails!

The first thing I notice when I look at Life With Kim is the spectacular header picture. Those emerald green colors are stunning with the deep gray blog template. I am not a fan of dark backgrounds and light font, I will admit. They are very difficult to read. Blogs should be generally breezy and easy to read. Kim’s blog is luscious with colors– very sophisticated– but very down-home and easy-going with her writing.

The “Life with Kim” page is terribly sparse. I happened to click the link for “Kim” and was at a totally new page– a semi-profile page. This was purely an accident that I clicked on it, and I doubt most readers would discover it. Perhaps put this page in a more prominent area, rather than as a link accompanying the name.

I would love to see more photos, or longer posts. I would also love to see more about Kim herself, since this blog is about her life. I checked out the “Homemade Crafts for Sale” but was disappointed to find a few quick sentences and a link to another website (although it was a “personal” page there). I’d love to see a few examples of the crafts before I start clicking away from the blog.

I also found an oddity while browsing the archives. When I accessed the archives, the full posts were not available; I had to click “read more” after the first few sentences. (The main page had all the full posts). I don’t know if this is a Wordpress theme option, but I highly discourage bloggers from making readers click to “read more.” It is an extra step. I rarely, rarely ever click on “read more.” Honestly, I think I’ve only done it one or two times, ever.

I like the little buttons at the bottom of each post (StumbleUpon, etc). They are organized and look like a million bucks. Good job on the clean, easy design style! There is almost no clutter, which can be a plus and a minus. On the plus side, your blog loads very fast and looks good. However, there can be such a thing as too little clutter.

I feel that on a blog, there should be a variety of interesting things to look at, read, and perhaps do. I appreciated Kim’s post and her sidebar button about Entrecard. I’m going to check it out, so thanks, Kim! But there was little else to catch my eye or my interest. A few photos, more sidebar content, and especially more human interest stories would help to give the blog that personal touch. Kim has the basic structure established to make this a great blog that will attract regular readers, but it needs to be fleshed out a little.

One last thing I noticed, as I took a last look at the blog. In the footer (the very bottom of the home page) are all these little links (Free Signatures, MySpace Friend Adder, etc). I wonder if these are spammy links set there by the Wordpress theme creator, or by Kim? They seem out of place on the blog. I checked, and the links are nofollow, which means they are leaking juice to the link’s websites. Might want to fix that unless those links are there by and for Kim.

The blog is new, so it seems Kim is still building it. She’s off to a great start. I look forward to watching this blog develop.

Ya gotta love the name: Sportsmamma: Living in the Land of Testosterone. I really like the template design, although it needs a little cleaning up here and there. Those fresh colors and the vivid blog header are what catch my eye first thing. The background is striped with baseball uniform stripes, very cute! The design is an Everyday Design, done by Jules. I’m familiar with her fresh designs and admire her work.

The header is cocked too far to the left, however. That large block of white space at the right makes the blog look a little messy. Secondly, as much as I love the Georgia font, it doesn’t match here. Perhaps a Trebuchet or something more streamlined would work. (I do wish all computers had more than the basic Arial/Sans Serif/Georgia/Trebuchet/Times New Roman. They are getting very, very old. Would someone please program some better fonts?)

I love the colors. The blue- which would look too “country” elsewhere, is a nice feminine touch amongst all those baseball stripes and talk of sports. I love the scripture box widget, too. The blog is not too cluttered with buttons and widgets (I am guilty of that alll the time on my blogs), but they could use some organizing. Maybe set them so that everything is centered, or aligned to the left. It would help maintain that streamlined look that the stripes and fresh-looking header encourage.

I like the blog content. Sportsmomma writes in a fresh, jaunty style which lends a friendly flair. I take it from the content that she is a Christian (me too!). I was merrily scrolling down the posts, enjoying the narrative and seeing all the neat things in the sidebars; therefore, it was very disconcerting to see an album cover with a woman unzipping/zipping her jeans (for that Skinny-songs CD). It is a little unseemly for this proper old lady, and unseemly for a Christian music album in general. I won’t start harping on how worldly the Christian music industry is, but the picture was a surprise.

Sportsmomma’s posts have lots of little pictures, and the writing is very entertaining. I’d like to know more about her boys and her crazy life of baseball and other boy-type stuff.

Love the graphic signature! I have one, too! It adds a lot of class to this blog, and keeps the theme of a fresh, fun site– kinda like a testosterone-filled home.

Overall, the blog is great fun, and the writing is very breezy. Sportsmomma makes you feel right at home when you visit. This is a blog to visit often; I’m sure the refreshments will always be plentiful and the conversation entertaining here.

Taking a look at Kiviniar.com, I was impressed at once with the clean, sleek look of the blog design. The flashy widget ads are neatly tucked into a teal box in the sidebar. No clutter here! I love the web design.

The header at the very top says “kiviniar” and “simple webmaster advise.” I think the word advise is spelled wrong, if Kiviniar intends a sentence there. It should be “advice.” The navigation bar beneath the header is very classy. The date of the blog post is tucked neatly within a box beside the post title. Overall, I just love the blog design! I want one!

The content is a little sparse on personality, but the content is quite good. A blog should ooze with the writer’s personality, IMHO. A blog is an extremely personal form of writing, and should be peppered with humor, sass, or schtick. Of course, the topics one blogs about aren’t all going to be Abbott and Costello quality (and webmaster chat is a bit dry); yet the author’s personality should come through. Relax a little and settle down for a chat about backlinks and CTMs. I know you’ve got it in you.

The “about” page is very detailed (so what is 85kg in English pounds?) and the author is delightfully open. I love the idea of a glossary page (still in development), and the directory looks wonderful! I really love directories, so I’m sure I’ll be wading around in that for a while. I looked for my New York Traveler.net blog under “travelogues” and didn’t see it listed. I didn’t see anything listed there, so maybe the author will make me the first! (hint hint).

The advice given in the posts I found interesting. I like how the author promises to keep things simple and easy to understand (well well, consider me an adoring fan already!). Posts are clear and well-written. My only suggestion is spice things up a little or add a photo here or there. Also, tutorials are extremely helpful. If you know how to do something, share it and watch the world come.

I am so impressed with the web design (and he said he designed it himself!) that I think he ought to make some more! Maybe offer a few as free to attract search engine visitors, and perhaps sell a few here and there. I would love to see more designs by this guy.

Kiviniar.com looks like a great up-and-coming niche blog. Keep it simple, and us average folks will come.

Wow, um, what can I say about Ideal Absolutes. It’s creativity in hyper-drive. The author comes at ya, blasting bullets of humor, geekery, and current events in staccato machine-gun rapid fire. It’s fun, if a bit risque, in content. This post made me literally laugh out loud— but it’s a little too mature for the kids, in my opinion (but older computer geeks can giggle privately). And I’ve never known anyone to dare mix Hegel and Southern Yard Art before. Eclectic, eccentric, and energetic– that’s the content of this blog.

The blog design is minimal with a twist here and there. I like it; it’s clean and perfunctory. I failed to see the meaning of the tattooed dude in the sidebar… besides that odd photo, the rest of the blog blends nicely with the content. Everything (archives, contact, about, etc) is very handy and easy to navigate. I like that. I must say that the content was so minimal that I kept expecting more. For example, there’s so much information in the sidebars, but one scroll down and there’s nothing else there. And I went to the archives, expecting to see page after page, but all I saw was one (long) column with titles, and then months of the year leading to more archives. I was keen on finding out about “Make Money” in the navigation menu, but was disappointed when all I saw was:

I am both a student and a teacher. Certain aspects of what I’ve been taught can not be openly shared - others can. My intention is to use this area to share what I’ve learned.

Aw! I was hoping for some real secrets! Guess I’ll have to wait…

I loved the tools page, for checking page rank and other indexing stats. That’s a good page to bookmark if you are a blog writer and concerned about your placement in the blog food chain.

There are only three posts on the blog home page. I don’t like to click endlessly to read articles, so my suggestion would be to add more posts. I suspect that other readers, like me on a typical day, would read the three posts and off they’d go somewhere else. Certainly, a small home page loads faster, but too few posts discourages further reading.

MacEwan’s (the author) best posts are when he is discussing current events in the web world. He handles the SEO lingo with ease, without the ten-syllable techno-word-speak that many other bloggers like to throw around. The posts are comfortably understandable, and quite humorous, too. It would be nice to see more links in the sidebar where a reader can peruse similar content. It’s a little disappointing to read three posts, see a few ad links and then it’s DOA after that. I’d like to see more content, more recommendations, where I can read further about the blog topics– because the topics are interesting. There is such a thing as too minimal.

So overall, good design, good posts, interesting content. But the reader leaves the site wondering, “Is that all?” My recommendation is add a bit more content to satisfy the hungry reader.

P.S. I see he’s still got PR. Congrats for that. Hey, macewan, how much did you pay them, huh, how much?