The Weblog Review

According to the archives, this site has been around since August of 2006. In the same breath, the archives contain less than 20 posts in that time span. When I see an blog as inconsistent as this, I immediately question the consistency of the content. If someone running a blog can’t post more than twice a month, it’s very likely that the content is severely lacking.

Some of the earlier posts made by Brandon Marcel focus on how to create traffic for your website. Considering the only comment throughout the entire blog is a spam comment, I seem to doubt the validity of the tips the author provides for bumping up the number of visitors to this site.

It starts to make sense, though, midway through this blog. Eventually, the author starts giving out links to another domain, which is filled with banner ads for free cell phone rings and Google Ads. And, of course, it also gives readers the chance to buy a downloadable book that gives “Over 100+ indie music and music industry website links!”.

The actual content of this site is very dry and hard to process if you’re not into the indie music producing scene. The author drags posts on and on until I had to refocus at least half a dozen times per entry to continue through the whole post. I realize the indie music scene is up and coming in popularity, but this site is definitely geared towards those that have already been a part of that scene for a long time. Someone trying to make a jump into the scene is going to feel overwhelmed by the posts made here.

As I mentioned before, I don’t really see this as a site that’s trying to do anything but generate some revenue and even page ranking for their main site.

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Anytime I stumble upon a new blog, it’s always my first instinct to find out as much as I can about the author. Maybe it’s reading the blog from the beginning or maybe it’s skimming through the “about me” section. I always try to form some type of personal connection to the author; it helps me relate to what I’m reading and find it more entertaining.

The author of the News2020 Project is Jeff. He’s been everything from a lobbyist to a speechwriter for the president of El Salvador. The first post of the blog comes in October of 2006. It gives readers an insight as to Jeff’s reason behind starting News2020 and what he hopes to accomplish. It’s a post that is definitely helpful to anyone reading this blog for the first time.

In the initial post I mentioned earlier, the purpose of News2020 is to “contribute to a conversation about the evolution of online news”. Shortly after rolling out the blog, the author presented the concept of it at an Online News Association, and eventually posted videos on response from different people in the online journalistic world. If you’re looking for short quips to back up what the author talks about in his posts, these videos are the way to go.

Each post is lengthy, but it always backed up by some type of resource, whether it be quotes or links or the aforementioned videos. It’s obvious from the posts that the author does a lot of preparing for each post, both for himself and to adequately present the ideas and thoughts to his readership.

Early on, and constantly on the sidebar of the layout, Jeff encourages comments and other opinions. Maybe it’s just a site that hasn’t had a chance to build the readership he needs in order for a successful discussion to take place in the comments of each post, but that is definitely something that would increase the credibility of the site.

The layout itself is clean and simple, working perfectly for the site. The archives were easy to find and Jeff also lists a poll along the sidebar to encourage more reader interaction. However at this time, only four people have participated in the poll, myself included.

I like the idea of this site. While it’s not my cup of tea to read on a regular basis and will only attract a certain type of reader, I can absolutely appreciate what the author is attempting to achieve. It’s certainly stacked with promise to become a widely read blog, but until constant interaction starts, it hasn’t lived up to its full potential.

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My first thought for News2020 was that this was going to be a recap type blog for the show 20/20. Then I smartened up a bit and realized that would be a bad blog idea and thought the owner probably has a better idea than a 20/20 recap.

After reading through the most recent month’s posts I wasn’t quiet sure what it was I was reading. Sure the posts were enjoyable, but I didn’t quiet know what the blog was about. Easiest way to solve that problem is to go all the way back and read the first post.

Sure enough, smart blogger. The idea for the blog is a discussion of how news will be presented in the year 2020. We all know that the presentation of the news has evolved, and is evolving more so each day. Back when I first got online it was rare to find a news posting. Now I can go to any number of websites and either read up on the news or in some cases watch video. No question that the medium used to deliver the news is changing.

The design of the site is a standard 2 column layout. I could be mistaken, but I am sure that this is just a modified design of a typepad template. Either way it works for the site. The posts are presented in an easy to read format and are enjoyable.

My one gripe I have with this site is that it is supposed to be a discussion. However most posts have 1 maybe 2 comments. I am sure that a site that encourages discussion could continue with presentations of ideas that were expanded upon within the comments. I have seen other blogs do this continuation when one of their posts became so popular within the comments.

Overall this is a very good site to read. The ideas presented are done well and I enjoyed reading them. As I said I would like to see a more encouraged comment section, but that is something that can be developed. If you want a good read, then News2020 is for you.NULL

A book review blog is kind of a hard weblog to review when you’re failing miserably at reading even just two books a month – like me. I like reviewing this type of site, though, because it gives me some more ideas of books to add to the ol’ Amazon Wish List, and for a not-so-avid reader, that’s definitely a plus.

I loved that when this site loaded, it was a very simple layout and very easy for me to find my way around. The archives were sorted by date or by category, including type of book. There are two side columns surrounding the main content, with both columns listing a plethora of information. One of my favorite additions is the bit on the sidebar that shows the book that’s currently in process.

EB is the author of the weblog and has one of the best and straight forward about sections I’ve ever read: “I’m not here (on the internet) to bore you with my personal life, or to give you my full life story. I am doing this, because I love literature & (to read) books and write about books and it is nice to give recommendations and/or reviews for other booklovers to read. I don’t pretend to be objective or only write a blurb (I don’t write for a publisher or paper etc.), but what I will give you is my humble but honest opinion.” Perfect!

The first thing I noticed with each post were the added extras to the post. For instance, the latest review done on October 16th, has lists the number of words in the post, the number of images (if any), and the estimated reading time. It’s all listed very unobtrusively, and is something I haven’t seen before.

The reviews are done in a short, but informative manner. They don’t spoil the endings of any books, but still manage to give potential readers enough knowledge to know whether or not it’s something they might enjoy. Inside each review is a link to the Amazon page where you can buy the book, and there’s also a link the author’s created suggesting if you like the review, to consider buying EB a coffee. It’s a subtle way of asking for donations, and it’s probably one of the least tacky ones I’ve ever seen.

Overall, I’m a fan of this book review blog. If I were a more diehard reader, I’d absolutely be apt to check back now and again for new recommendations.
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I’m not sure about the title of this blog… Guilty Secret seems to imply that something is being hidden from someone. Our author is incredibly forthright and open about her entire life here, and keeps little short of nothing secret from the reader. And my guess is, the blog itself is secret from her long-time boyfriend but the content within is material I’m sure she’s gone over with him a million, billion times.

The blog is a fairly young piece of writing, having started just this summer. The content is extensive, as our author writes without ceasing and has a lot to say. The look and feel of the blog is very clean, white background, black text, easy navigation. The only complain that I have is that there are no “jumps” to cut the incredibly long entries down and display a simple stub for the reader to click upon to visit the rest of the article. The entries are very long and detailed, and scrolling becomes the rule rather than the exception.

Our young author is based in England, maintains her first name anonymity throughout the blogspot-based blog. She refers to her boyfriend as “Baddie.” She is 23, he is 28. She is madly in love… he says he loves her, but… it seems that he likes things the way they are. She wants to be married, and wants him to commit to her, to their life, to their relationship. But he just doesn’t seem like he’s wanting the same things.

They’ve been together for about five years, and to me, it sounds like she wants him to crap or get off of the proverbial pot, if you know what I mean. Which brings them to couple’s counseling.

I found the blog compelling to a point, and then got to a place where I wanted to yell at her and at him. I am not sure our author is actually in love with her boyfriend. I think she’s in love with the IDEA of being in love, and the prospects of being in a long term committed relationship. And he is obviously in love with taking drugs and his own personal lifestyle…

She pours her heart and soul out, but I get the impression that she should take a really good look at her own age (23) and her own life, her dreams of working overseas (was going to Spain before University, didn’t go because of a job opportunity; might come to the USA to work for a while, he seems like he isn’t interested in HER life choices but wants to live where HE wants — LA or NYC, and isn’t too committed to the idea of … anything).

Our author is very adept at looking at other relationships and seeing the flaws in them, especially those of her siblings, which she refers to by number. In a recent entry she discusses a situation with her brother where he states his girlfriend wants him to choose her or choose the drugs, and he won’t drop the drugs… she’s very good at point out what other people should do, but really needs to DO something with her own life.

And when just about every entry has a “category” of “drug taking” it becomes obvious that there are serious problems in the lives of the people she’s surrounding herself with. She herself walks away when Baddie involves himself with “jubes” and other drugs… but nothing changes, and I get the feeling it just won’t.

She’s very young, very smart, and should really learn to love herself and live her life without stagnating in a relationship that is after five years obviously a co-dependent mess. I’m psychologist, but at 23 you shouldn’t have to be going to a therapist to try and fix your relationship. That’s for 43. 23 is for living. I hope she gets to do some before finding herself pregnant and miserable with two other children at 30. I don’t feel compelled to revisit this journal. The writing is decent, but after reading the entire thing, I’m hoping that changes take place in both of their lives. I wish her the best.NULL