Category: Uncategorized

This blog is designed for a target audience of…wait for it…small business. You didn’t see that coming, did you? (I kid.) It’s not a very well designed blog, but the sheer volume of links to resource material makes it an invaluable tool for anyone who owns or will possibly own a small business.

Denise O’Berry runs the site and has written “three booklets” and “several how-to pamphlets” on small business issues. It took some digging to find her bio, and I only found it after many, many clicks through her linked site which is deniseoberry.com.

Denise seems to be struggling to find an audience for her blog and her otherwise sound advice. My criticism of the site is two-fold: She should put her bio and info prominently on the page. People want to know why they are taking advice from Denise, what her credentials are, how she’s helped others. The second bit is: get rid of the annoying pop up ad for “Small Business Boot Camp” that comes up every time you hit a link to anything else. This will chase people away faster than a small business fails.

But! If you follow the advice Denise gives, perhaps your small business will not fail. Spread the word to your small business friends to check out this blog. I honestly don’t believe you’ll find a more comprehensive site out there on this subject. Just for small business

When I first saw the name Progressive Ink I honestly thought “Not another ink cartridge site trying to have their site reviewed.” That is due to the fact that I have had 2 Ink cartridge stores submitting a site to be reviewed. Anyway, since I am writing a review, it is safe to say this is not about ink cartridges.

The first thing I noticed was the very nice, crisp, clean design the site had. I don’t think it is a template and if it is, it has been modified with an original banner of some people dancing at the top. The gradient background is a nice little touch to add that extra clean and crispness.

The blog itself was definitely not what I was expecting. The site says “Interactive Notes Re: God, Life, Philosophy, Science, Religion, and Politic” which should have been my first clue this wasn’t going to be a site for me. The site mainly focuses on politics and religion though there are some other posts. To me the blog is just some one else dishing out their opinion on strong matters, which has been done before. Is it a different approach? Yes. Does it still interest me? No.

The archives are a little funky. Actually I take that back, they are non existent. The site is only 3 weeks old. The archives are done in two ways – by category on the right hand column which we know I hate, and by page numbers at the bottom. There is just something about listing the archives by month that makes reading a blog easier and more enjoyable.

I was a little disappointed to not find anything about the author. Matter a fact, I don’t know who the author is. I tried looking at the comment summaries to see if I could guess who the author was, but I couldn’t. When a blog is of such an opinionated nature such as this one, it is very important that we know WHO is giving us this line of thoughts. I don’t like being told this is what I think, or here is a thought I had debate it, without knowing who the author is.

Overall this site is not for me. After the massive political barrage of blogs this year due to being an election year, I am burned out on them. Additionally religion is another major topic that has been done before. While I didn’t see anything that hasn’t been done before the author at least backs up his questions and thoughts which is a rarity in blogs. I am giving this site a 2.5 because while the writing is good, the topic to me is not. Additionally I wish there was more to this site.Progressive Ink!

When I saw The Imdateless.com Website was up for a re-review I was a little excited. I remembered back to my first visit to the site nearly 18 months ago. I remembered that the navigation sucked at the time, but the content was amazing. Hopefully the author fixed some things this time around.

The first thing I noticed was the design was actually organized and not a mess. The site is a 3 column layout with some links to the navigation at the top and then of course more links in the first column. While the pieces of the design look nice, together they didn’t mesh as well as I think the author is hoping for. Nonetheless, the design has improved immensely.

So 18 months later and this guy is still single! I mean seriously ladies. Read his story, find him, date him. As noted last time I reviewed the site he created a company and ran the site (and his dating life) like one. He has purchased advertising, hired people to put up flyers around campus, and sent out emails. This guy is going all out to get a date or two.

Overall I found the site just as enjoyable as I did last time. The main difference is that the design has improved dramatically and helps create a good vibe for the site. I think this guy has some serious writing talent I am surprised to see he is still dateless. I wonder what happens when he does start to date someone regularly. Will the site shut down? I hope not. Go enjoy.The Imdateless.Com Website

Don’t expect much of a feast for the eyes while on this blog because it’s a standard Blogger template. In fact, I think it is their whitest, most colorless template of all. However Danigirl (the author) has a wonderful, witty writing style that propels you to continue reading–no matter how boring the surroundings are.

And okay, blogs don’t have to be all colorful, do they? And yes, I find the ones with too many bells and whistles to be annoying, but part of writing reviews is to include the blog’s overall appearance, so there you go. The appearance is not what makes this blog enjoyable. It’s Danigirl and her writing style. Like I said, she’s an easy read–and the funny helps.

She’s a working mother of two, lives in Canada, and writes about her every day life. I didn’t have to look far to find this information, because, bless her heart, she put all this information in her profile. (You see, bloggers? It’s not a hard thing to do. People want to know about the person writing the blog. Thanks again for the info, Danigirl. Spread the word to others, will you?)

Despite the ability to get a bit long-winded on some of her posts (everyone does it, but I always feel obliged to mention it), I recommend this blog to all who enjoy a good read and an inward smile and things they can relate to such as parenting, working, and even U2 and the Prime Minister of Canada.Postcards from the Mothership

Looking at the title of this particular weblog didn’t give me any idea what to expect. But seeing that it was listed under a personal blog, kinda did.

The blog itself loaded up into a basic template, blue background and links on either side of the main entries in the middle of the page.

Ashley, the author is 20, has a little boy and there are quite a few pictures of him throughout the blog as well as pictures of other things like when it snowed, pictures of herself and her partner and pictures from home. Her other entry’s detail private or at least personal happenings within her life, her pregnancy and work.

The author writes well, her paragraphs flow, the only issue I have is the fact that as I’ve stated before, personal blogs just don’t seem to have anything that engages me enough to want me to blogroll or even come back and visit at a later date to see what might have happened since my review.

There was no real “about” page for the author herself, at first glance I couldn’t find the archives. I then figured out that the links going all the way down the page on the right side of the blog were actually the archives listed as the entry titles. The only way I found how to go back within the entry’s is that there was a back 9 link above the main entry’s in the middle of the page. I just think that the layout of the blog could be a bit more user friendly. There is a link to her webpage that shows photos of her trips to Europe.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think the blog could do with a face-lift, a bit more of thought going into the layout so that it is easier to navigate. Apart from that, as a personal blog, it’s just like many other personal blogs out there. I didn’t find any entry that made me laugh, or piked my interest. But then, the author could be writing this for herself and not her audience. Which would explain the highly personal entries and not many other links.

The reason I gave this blog a 1.75 is because of the lack of navigation help, as well as the fact that the way her archives are set out wasn’t very helpful, nor were there any links or about me pages that helped to tell you a quick run down of the author. Plus the fact that I didn’t find the content of the blog to be anything apart from personal replays of days and events that happened to the blogger.

You can always check it out and prove me wrong!
sitdiary The Shadowlands