August 12, 2004 | View Comments (27) | Category: Our Thoughts
Summary: Asking for submissions for the Great Blog Review.
I am sure everyone is aware of Keith's latest entries on what makes a successful blog. Unfortunately, I am still sure there are some of you out there thinking that no matter how hard you follow each and everyone of those guidelines you still can't seem to get the traffic you think you deserve or want. Really, to get known it does kind of take a “get to know the right people” approach.
And I know for a fact there are tons of people doing much better work on their blogs than I am with this one so I figured I would try to help some people out. I want to review 20 blogs that are hidden under the radar. However, since they are under the radar I might not be aware of them so I need your help.
If you have a blog or know of a blog that you feel deserves a little more attention than what it currently receives post it in the comments or email me (using the contact form) and I will select 20 blogs to review. These reviews won't be based on the aesthetics of the site (maybe a little) but on the content and the overall theme of the blog.
Warning: These reviews will be straightforward and will hold nothing back. This is not a pat on the back type thing. If you have a quality blog I will mention it, but if you have a blog that you send in and I review and I just don't like I will say that as well. It's all constructive criticism.
Again, I can only review 20 sites due to time constraints and hopefully the entry can go up next week. This will not guarantee a huge traffic boost to your site as a place in the Vault would do, but at least you might get a couple new readers to add your site to their feeds.
When submitting a site please look in the mirror and be honest with yourself as to whether the site really deserves some attention. I get too many ugly sites submitted to the Vault daily just because they are done in XHTML/CSS. Again, these reviews will be honest and straightforward so you might not like what I have to say. Now with that said I might not get any at all ;-).
Now forgive as I can't respond to any comments or emails. I have a hurricane to prepare for.
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No site to propose - mine's strictly novice. Just wanted to say good luck w/ Charley. I'm up in St Aug and we'll get 60mph gusts, but Charley may still be a Cat 2 when it reaches Tampa. Keep dry.
Rob (http://smallwords.com/)
fiftyfoureleven.com is definitely worth checking out. Mike Papageorge writes interesting articles and frequently explores territory that many design weblogs don't cover (eg: Contingency Design, Gzipping CSS, etc.)
Great content and a nice design to boot!
Jonathan M. Hollin (http://blog.urbanmainframe.com/)
I've got one I've been working on since April. You may review it if you like. I know the content is mediocre, and I have lots of work left in it (since I'm writing it all by hand in PHP) and little time to do that, or at least not as much as I'd like. I've also got to prepare for Charley as I probably live within 20-40 miles of you!
Joe (http://www.gra-phix.com/)
Nothing to recommend here, either. I'm just joining the good-luck-on-weathering-Chuck bandwagon. According to the Weather Underground, it's looking to be a Cat 3 by the time it makes it up your way. It's not going to be an Andrew-style monstrosity, but it's looking a lot like Fran a few years back. Not fun times.
Stay dry and stay safe, to all you Left Coasties.
Michael Kelly
I'm always trying to be on-topic, interesting and honest, even trying to spell correctly and think of the neighbours, but no matter how I try it still seems to be a low traffic blog where a few usual suspects comment. I'd like to get more discussion going, but alas ... who's heard of this blog anyways?
Alexander (http://shelter.nu/)
Yep, I'm That Guy. Just wrote a medium-length semi-whiney post along the lines of "woe is me, nobody reads my blog." I don't need to be hugely popular (I don't want to pay for the bandwidth, for one thing) but I'd definitely like a little increased credibility and sense of community.
Like all sites, mine is a work in perpetual progress. There are some features I'm thinking of adding, tweaks to be made, etc. But I think it's fairly presentable. So I officially submit my blog, http://geek.focalcurve.com, for review and brutal criticisms from the fickle masses. Enjoy.
Craig C. (http://geek.focalcurve.com)
Well I don't know if I'm completely under the radar, but I'd be keen to get the Scrivs Critique treatment. If Zeldman can take it, then I can too.
My blog isn't really web design-focused though, mostly web technology and social media. But it's CSS/XHMTL-ized by my own hand and on MT yada yada. So if I still meet your criteria, then I'm willing to put myself in the firing line. I actually like constructive criticism (maybe I'll regret saying that?).
http://www.readwriteweb.com
cheers, Richard
Richard MacManus (http://www.readwriteweb.com)
Man, that's a dilemma and a half!
Post your blog and get a ton of traffic, new readers, and the industry adoration you just know you deserve - but run the risk of a scathing review on one of the most popular sites around, and become a byword for badly-designed self-absorbed blogs...
Matthew Pennell (http://www.thewatchmakerproject.com/)
Aw go on then, I'll submit my own (Urban Mainframe) since you promised me a critique a long time ago Paul.
I'm bracing myself already!
DarkBlue (http://blog.urbanmainframe.com/)
Paul,
I'd love a blog review for Telerana. I have in my hip pocket a list of improvements and necessary modifications, but I'd love to add to that list.
thanks
chuck (http://telerana.f2o.org)
Why Not.......I really have nothing to lose.
www.codylindley.com
Cody Lindley (http://www.codylindley.com)
Chuck - does Telerana have an RSS feed? I couldn't find one.
I'm afraid that I rarely visit blogs anymore that don't have feeds.
Jennifer Grucza (http://jennifergrucza.com)
I'm new to this blogging world... and any criticism from you is well worth it.
http://www.designrefine.com/
Ben Lumpkin (http://www.designrefine.com)
By the way, there was this error on the preview page:
MT::App::Comments=HASH(0x810acb0) Use of uninitialized value in sprintf at lib/MT/Template/Context.pm line 1187.
Thought I'd let you know!
Ben Lumpkin (http://www.designrefine.com)
That's half the fun, Jennifer - that sudden realisation that you've not checked a couple of blogs for months because they're not in your feed aggregator.
All that new content to read!
Matthew Pennell (http://www.thewatchmakerproject.com/)
Well, I can't resist the possibility of having my site shreaded, so here goes:
www.fuzzylizard.com
chris (http://www.fuzzylizard.com)
For the record, I hope everybody *isn't* aware of Keith's entries you cited, and instead focuses on doing their own thing.
I respect Keith and like what he writes most of the time. My only point is that to try to define what makes a "good" or "successful" blog is assinine. "Blog" is such a general term that can encompass a variety of formats and subjects.
Seth Thomas Rasmussen (http://sethrasmussen.com/)
I too would be interested in seeing how you pull off this type of critique.
Writing style is such a personal thing, on both sides - reader and writer. Some people are going to dig a particular style, while others don't. How do you critique that?
BTW - Good luck w/Charley. He looks like a mean one.
Mark (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
STR -- Assinine? Please explain. I said in my posts that I was talking about what *I* liked in a blog. That's cool if you don't agree or respect my opinion but I don't think it's "assinine" to share it. I did leave the opportunity to share what *you* think in the comments.
Assinine? Whatever...
A few of my readers asked my adivce on the topic and I tried to give it in a fairly objective manner, and you know what? I got a bunch of great feedback, so obviously it was worth posting and worth trying to (in my assinine way) define.
I agree with you about "doing your own thing" --- that's what I did and I don't think anything in my post goes against that notion.
Scrivs -- good luck with Charley man! Stay dry and keep positive, it'll pass!
Keith (http://www.dkeithrobinson.com/asterisk/)
Asinine is a bit of a harsh word to use. Besides, as Keith said, he was just telling you what HE likes in a blog. He didn't mean everyone should think the same, hence why it was open to discussion and everyone was/is allowed to express what they think makes a decent blog.
As for Scrivs, i'm sure you'll be fine. Finish off some paperwork/plans or write down a couple of articles while you wait for it to end. Be productive dammit!
Robert Lofthouse (http://www.ghxdesign.com)
I'll submit mine. http://www.chet.mancini.name. I might be changing it soon though...
chet (http://www.chet.mancini.name)
I was thinking about this more and I think it will be very interesting. Like for example if you use my site it would be neat to see what another person thinks of my site, especially since I'm just starting to do professional work and not just websites for myself. In addition, it will be nice to see what else I should fix. When doing these things on your own you eventually run out of ideas when you have non-existent feedback. As a bonus, using sites that are underground or, in my case, just starting out will be of help to others who wish to begin on this journey too. I wouldn't mind writing an article on that myself come to think of it. Oh well.
Anyway, any publicity is good publicity!
Joe (http://www.gra-phix.com/)
I wouldn't mind a review of my site, if you feel so inclined.
Ryan Brill (http://www.ryanbrill.com/)
Have a look at my blog.. Check out the 'Scamming the Scammer'
River (http://WorkBuyConsumeDie.blogspot.com)
Didn't you guys do a review on the Nmegalis blog a while back? I heard a bunch of negative comments about it, but once I actually tracked it down I found that I was impressed by Nmegalis' thoughts. And the link that the one girl on here provided led to the Nicholas Megalis page which I also found really interesting. On the website, there is a link to the blog as well as other strange pages with photographs and drawings that apparently, Nicholas did. Your review..or preview...whatever you want to call it, didn't do the blog justice by totally smashing it. You should give some credit to the guy, who makes some good points about popular culture.
Edith H. Stelfeld
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#1
Hopefully you don't get all the same names suggested here. I think the best way to discover new blogs is to randomly follow recently upgraded blogs on weblogs.com or watch searches on Feedster or Technorati for terms that interest you.
Matt (http://photomatt.net/)