Category: Uncategorized

Oh dear. Weddings. I’ve been married nearly 17 years, so I kind of cringed when realizing I’d have to review a wedding blog. I swear if I ever have to get married again, I’m just getting my pastor to come to my backyard to do the ceremony, and I’ll have a pot-luck and I’ll spring for the wine.

While I loved my own wedding, I’ve just watched three people (my sister included) go through hell in planning their weddings. So I was a little reluctant to revisit some of the topics I knew would be presented herein.

My attitude changed rather quickly, and this was a very nice blog to visit. I realized quickly that this was not a personal blog, but a business blog supporting the Truly Wedding Favors company. As far as blogs done by businesses go, this one is a great read.

The writers provide a great deal of information to brides-to-be on all aspects of planning their wedding, not just what favors to pick. And it’s not all “buffet or sit down, which do you choose?” kinds of topics. Our blog contributors also celebrate anniversaries of couples who are in it “for the long haul.” There are entries about celebrities and weddings too, like how Shakira has too much to do to plan her wedding, and how jeesh, she’s like every other bride out there in the end, isn’t she? And if you are a famous R&B starlet, don’t forget your panties and bra under your dress when you go to your conservative family’s weddings! Yikes!

This is a beautifully laid out blog, with gorgeous complimentary colors. Very bridal in look and feel. The site navigation is easy to read and resides the left column and a wide, white readable area on the right. A link back to the corporate site store is at the top of the page, so if you’re visiting and interested in shopping, you’re right there in a matter of seconds.

It was also exciting to read about how the fires in Southern California were having a direct impact on this particular business… and I was horrified to read about the truck being looted. Having that kind of a glimpse into a business blog is really an interesting and fascinating aspect for a reader.

I have only two criticisms. First, there are several contributors to the blog, but they offer no “about us” page. A nice “about us” page would be a great addition to the site. It would let readers know who Melissa, Mercedes, Courtney, Kori Ellis, Wendy, Eric and Amber et al are and upon what authority they speak to proffering advice on weddings. The first entry by Melissa talks about why they started the blog… but it really doesn’t give us an idea who everyone is. I really like that in a blog, to get to know the thinker behind the thoughts.

Secondly, and this is a huge issue for me online, there are several instances where the blog authors do not include proper citation of resources. Entries are accentuated with lovely photographs, but no copyright is cited on them. On some entries which are obviously culled from web stories or researched from news or magazine articles, no citation is given at all. A link to the original news story online, or proper citation of source should appear at the end of the entry. There are some entries that do point to an online story, and I’d like to see that done across the board if possible. The information is all interesting, and it was fun to read. I’m just a real proponent of proper citation and would love to see that started here before the blog grows further.

I will change the category to “Business” from “Personal” because “Personal” indicates a blog written from a personal perspective on one’s life and observances. There is some of that in here, but with several links-back to the webstore of Truly Wedding Favors, it isn’t the right category.

Be sure that when I do know someone who is getting married I’ll point them in the direction of this blog for a helpful and informative (and sometimes very funny) online guide as they plug away at their plans. I give the Truly Wedding Blog a 4.0 rating.NULL

Fashion Write is a blog about fashion, sewing and fabric trends that takes an interesting and entertaining approach to the site owner’s passion for all things clothing-related. The best blogs are those created around a person’s interest in a specific subject, as an outlet for their enthusiasm, and this would certainly describe Fashion Write. If you have an interest in making your own clothes, I’d suggest you go take a look at the site.

Recent articles include an humorous account of a Saturday afternoon sewing group meeting with everyone ‘getting plastered’ i.e. making custom dress forms with rough instructions on how a reader could create a form for herself. Another article covered the construction of a basic muslin pant shell that was similarly informative.

Fashion Write is a WordPress blog, with categories on fabric, fashion trends and sewing/fitting garments. While the look of the site is fairly standard, it’s the writing that makes this blog really stand out. For anyone with an interest in making one’s own clothes and clothing design in general I highly recommend this site. It offers a lot more than the latest news on what celebrities are wearing; rather it is concerned with giving you actionable information on techniques you can use yourself to get creative and save money by making your own fashion statements.

Fashion Write is a site that anyone with an interest in subjects related to do-it-yourself clothes making and sewing will want to bookmark and revisit frequently. As quickly as fashion trends evolve there is clearly no end to the need for commentary on the subject as well as hands-on tips for making your own clothes. It is, after all, an activity that is much older than simply buying everything at retail clothing stores; Fashion Write parallels the current resurgence of interest in DIY garment making generally. Great site!NULL

The Track Your Truck blog and website is an e-commerce site for a company that specializes in providing GPS vehicle tracking solutions for various sorts of commercial mobile assets.

This site is an excellent example of a business conveying their message to potential clients without compromising the aesthetic appeal of their website on one hand, while the same time showing a very concise and clear explanation of exactly what it is they offer and how much it would cost potential customers every month.

The site is an excellent example of education for its customers, an explanation of the benefits of real-time tracking as well as a repository for demonstration videos to help people understand their service, for those who may be more inclined to look at videos rather than read pages of text.

At the same time the website features a blog section as well, so that the company can keep visitors up to date with new information as to the industry and possible technological advances that serve to make their vehicle tracking solutions more efficient, or even cheaper.

The TrackYourTruck.com site is built on Drupal, a content management system that may not be quite as popular WordPress but is often favored by companies as a relatively simple way of creating attractive website quickly, normally with a static front page as well as more dynamic elements that are easy to change, such as the aforementioned blog located on this particular site.

For anyone interested in learning how to combine the commercial elements of their online presence with a blog format is nicely integrated on the homepage, I suggest that you go check out the Track Your Truck website. Especially if you are in need of GPS-based vehicle tracking solutions it looks to be a professional and reasonably priced company.NULL

Most original content award goes to this site. I spent over 30 minutes just reading post after post after post. Most of it is about their lives, well all of it. I guess its just the level that they let someone into their life. The site looks good except for one thing… A rotating picture in the upper left hand corner. I can’t figure out for the life of me what it is or what its purpose is. Oh well, a good read though where the site doesn’t take away from the authors.stupid.boy/brilliant.girl

I didn’t really enjoy reading the weblog part of punted.net. It just didn’t interest me at all. Maybe it is like an old movie where at first it starts out slow and then sometime later it sucks you in and you are all caught up in it. I don’t know. However, I did enjoy the other sections of his site. His “manual” for weblogs (which he doesn’t go by), the flash animations, the polls all good stuff. The site design is very basic and looks like it is missing something. It might be the gray bars that are stuck out of each box that don’t really look like they should be there, or at least mesh better with box itself. If you want an entertaining site, then check it out.punted