Yes, you probably got the exact same impression that I did from the title “Butterfly Dani”… I thought, ‘this has GOT to be a girly blog.’
And Ding! Ding! Where’s my cookie?
Sure, it’s a girly weblog. But, hey, as it happens, I’m a girl. So I ventured within and discovered that this was the perfect site for me to spend my first few days back from the relationship rut that I have been attempting (almost hopelessly) to crawl out of for the past two weeks.
This blog has a very classy appeal for women. I am not a web design expert, but I know a good layout when I see it. The floral image Dani uses is an eye-catcher and I really dig it. I feel that the image almost ‘hugs’ me in a sense while I browse the site. It comforts me and makes me feel very welcome.
The links and archives are very nicely organized in the sidebar. There is a well written ‘about me’ section that displays enough details about the author without getting too wordy or majorly in depth. I feel that I know enough after reading it to connect with this person because she doesn’t reveal everything at once to kill my curiosity. It definitely leaves me wanting to learn more about Dani’s daily life by actually reading the posts.
The photobiography is a good idea, but I think that the author could expand upon it by adding some detailed captions that will further describe the photos for her readers. One interesting feature that Dani recently added to her site is the ‘Dreams’ section. I was only slightly disappointed when I saw that there were not many posts there. However, the idea is intriguing and still new, and I hope that Dani works on developing it more in the future.
I will admit, I did not go as far back as to read every single post in the archives. Dani has archives that stretch back to March of 2003, so she’s been working on this site for quite some time. I did peruse enough of the archives to determine that the links do indeed work, however.
Her most recent entries describe in detail the roller-coaster of emotions that she’s been experiencing due to a devastating separation from a significant other, which I currently can relate to, having just been down an almost identical path. She also touches on her current health issues which, amazingly enough, I also have in common with her.
The fact that I am able to establish such a close connection with Dani through her blog is an added bonus for me.
Overall, I find the content to be intelligently written and well designed. The target audience is twenty to thirty something women without a doubt, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. For me, “Butterfly Dani” was a temporarily quiet reprieve from my own troubles- a reprieve that I will continue to take advantage of in the future.