When you open “I Am What I Am”, you find a layout that matches the title. It’s not overly fancy. It’s not super technical. It’s not anything hugely special. It just is what it is. I expected a site that took the form of whatever it was and gave little credit to what others thought or expected. It appears to be written by someone who is a self-proclaimed “bytch”, which could go one of two ways. Either this author is pushy, irate, and irrational, or she’s someone who appears to be a “bytch” because she does what she wants to do and expresses what she wishes without taking into account what others may think or feel regarding her life. Obviously, I’m hoping for the latter here.
I started out with the “About Me” page, which I must say I was severely disappointed with. I wanted to know who the person behind the blog is, not what she reads, her favorite hobbies, or what her taste is in relation to the arts. I want to know the basics. I want a glimpse into the person who’s inner most thoughts I’m reading. I want to know what type of person I’m reading about and who they are at the base of their being. I want information to tell me whether I have anything in common with this person or not. I want information, not a basic run down of what she likes in areas that don’t really tell me anything about what type of person she is. She gets an “F” for her “About Me” section. Let’s hope it gets better once I start reading.
I do enjoy the numerous links in her postings. It gives the reader brief look into the fellow bloggers in her life and the places she’s been. Whether it’s her fiance or a bar the author has visited, it fills the reader in with someone deeper than the author’s words. The graphics also give the site a nice look and break up the monotony of the writing. And I do mean monotony. Although he first few minutes I spent on this site were interesting, it was only due to the fact that I am far, far away from NYC and it was interesting to read about the hot spots, recommended bars, the social scene, and things of that nature. But the blog turned into a basic rundown of “where I went and what I did” without too much to really dig into or enjoy.
The author has SO much going on in her life that I want to know about!! She just started a new job, she’s working on an independent film, and she’s getting married! I had to dig a month into the blog to discover this knowledge! Girl, you need to blog about this stuff! This is what readers from all over can connect with you on. Throw in the NYC stuff to give them a taste of what they don’t have if they live somewhere outside of NYC, but I really think you need to change the focus of your blog. I want to know more about who you are, as opposed to where you go and what you do. For instance, I’m assuming that the “E” you mention and link to is your fiance, but it took me forever to find something that confirmed this assumption.
The weblog is well written and easy to understand, it’s just not all that interesting if you read blogs to get a glimpse inside an actual person. This is more about what there is to do and where there is to go. Interesting if you live in New York or are planning on taking a trip there. Since neither of these apply to a southern gal, I wasn’t all that impressed. The author doesn’t go into who she is and barely scratches the surface of what she thinks about regarding the links she posts.
The general design is eye appealing. It’s not overdone and is quite simplistic, which allows the reader to focus on the content of the entry. However, the site is overdone with a three column layout and it’s difficult to locate the archives in order to maneuver through them. One would expect to find the archives directly under the calendar for the current months entries, but you have to wade your way through the recent comments and the categories before you find the link you need. This site has all the information you could ever need regarding this woman and her life, but it’s tiring to wade through it all to find what you’re looking for. The design works, but it could also use some work.
Maybe I’m being too hard on this site, but it just doesn’t have anything that makes it stick out. There are no touching love stories regarding her and her fiance, there is little written about her family, you don’t really know where she comes from, where she’s been, or what life has dealt her. The author didn’t give me any inclination as to why she refers to herself as a “bytch” and she fails to fit either of my definitions in the first paragraph of this review. I see little more than a nice New Yorker who retells the events of her travels in the great city.
This is more a collection of links for those who are (or will be in) New York. I find it odd that a site entitled “I Am What I Am” fails to tell the reader who she is. She is a clear and understandable writer, she just fails to write anything really interesting. Don’t’ get me wrong, some of her links are interesting to read, but they don’t have little to do with the reader as a person. There are so many things going on in her life that people would love to read about, but she barely touches on them.
I want to know about the wedding. I want to know about the movie they’re making. I want to know about her relationship with her fiance, her friends, her life events, and what she thinks and feels regarding where her life has taken her and where she feels it’s leading her. I want to know more about the author and less about the area she lives in. This blog has promise, but the author would have to take it in a completely different direction. She would have to focus inward, as opposed to outward. Otherwise, she may as well retitle her site “NYC”.