The Weblog Review

The first thing I noticed about this blog is that it tells you right away what to expect. The subheader reads “business & tech & jeremy.” The author of this blog is Jeremy Wright, a 24 year old tech professional. Knowing that Jeremy is a tech professional adds some crediblilty to this blog, which covers a lot of IT and other tech subjects. The simple, easy to read design also caught my eye right away and encouraged me to scroll down and enjoy this blog.

Whether talking about the job, musing about LongHorn, or ranting about a baseball game, Ensight is always a great read. Jeremy updates several times a day so the content is always fresh. I immediately subscribed to his RSS feed. One word of caution: Most of Jeremy’s entries are pretty tech heavy, so if you’re not down with the geek speak you might want to do some research before perusing this blog. If you’re big into anything IT related, like I am, you’ll be in comfortable surroundings.

The design of the site is really great. It’s pretty easy to tell that this is a Movable Type blog, but that certainly isn’t a bad thing. Jeremy has taken the time to customize his templates and make the blog even easier to read. The colors go really well together and are easy on the eyes.

Like I said before, if you’re into computing, technology, or anything like that, this blog is definitely worth a daily read. The frequent updates and great design make this blog well worth the visit. Ensight – Jeremy C. Wright

When I first loaded WMBR in my browser, I took one look and then closed the tab, running away to sit in a corner muttering to myself. I was going to lambast this site, and perhaps I still will (yes, I will, I’ve decided).

Not since the latest Microsoft redesign have I seen a site less happy to operate in Netscape Navigator than this one. Flashing text, a tiny font, whole passages that suddenly underline when the mouse passes over them. Ugh.

Fortunately for the writer of this peculiar little site, I’m willing to cross the border every now and then; loading the site in IE I was suddenly presented with an entirely different picture: a well-designed, attractively minimalist site that doesn’t hate me.

I started with the “About” section – surely the best jumping-off point for any new reader – where I discovered many little things about the writer that I can truly relate to. This material reads like a bullet-pointed Seinfeld summary; “I never write the word ‘I’ with a lower case letter” (ironic when you visit the contact page), and “I broke up with a girlfriend once because she didn’t care to differentiate between ‘they’re’ and ‘their'” are two shining examples of the writer’s great sense of written presentation.

In the most recent entry (August 29th when I wrote this review), the writer laments his recent lack of interest in the site, with language much more colourful and involving than a simple, “I’ve been busy lately – sorry.” WMBR is a personal weblog, full of snappy, short entries, cross-postings, neatly laid out with lots of white space and a thin column structure that draws the eye down the length of the page. When you start reading you will find yourself strangely compelled to continue.

There’s too much content here to get through in one go. Instead I recommend dipping in and out; follow some of the supremely well measured external links, though always be sure to return. The posts here are bitesize, never too long and rarely too short, so you’ll never fall foul of the infamous blog fatigue, from which I have personally suffered on one or two other sites (my own included, shamefully).

Now, if only he could somehow transpose this delicate design into something that Netscape and its band of Mozilla brothers could digest…

What Might Be Read

“what might be read”, or wmbr from this point on, definitely goes for the less is more appeal with the layout and design aspect of the site. When the site loads, readers are greeted with a Photoshopped image of a man; one can assume it’s the author and may or may not be correct. There’s a white background, with black test in the weblog portion of the site. The internal links around the site are to the right side of the mystery man image, along with the archives, a “search the site” area, and a way for readers to instant message the author’s cell phone. Hyperlinks are in a dark gray color that can be distinguished from the text in the weblog entries, but can sometimes be confused with the titles for each post. However, his justification of using blacks, whites, and grays, according to this particular entry, is actually quite fitting.

As always when reviewing a site, I opted to read the “about” page first, do find out what the author was all about. This is where I found out that wmbr is a third go at the weblog from this author, who in time, has had to increase his level of anonymity when writing in his weblog. A somewhat obscure description of the author is also included on this page. The bio-type portion gives readers information about the author in a sentence by sentence manner. The author remains in his state of being anonymous, but yet manages to give us information that is quite specific to him.

Aside from the weblog, the author also willingly shares different songs, verses, and muses with the readers. Also handy for first time readers is a glossary section that, like with any glossary, gives definitions to words that may just be ones that only be found at wmbr. The author has these sections linked to the side for easy access.

The archives of wmbr begin in November 2001 and run somewhat regularly up until March 1, 2003, with the entries coming fewer and farther between nearing that date. The latest entry, made at the end of August, was the first for five months. Throughout these archives, readers get a chance to learn some personal information about the author. Every once in a great while, the author will participate in the classic weblogger memes like the Friday Five, which again, gives readers more insight into the casual persona of the author.

The poetic fashion that the author writes in primarily, however, is what causes this weblog to stand out from others. Words flow together in an almost effortless manner in so many of the entries. Descriptions of every day things bring out a different feeling in this weblog because the author’s descriptions are so precise. They’re based more on feelings and memories, than of sights and sounds. Visiting an unknown city isn’t like reading about all the kitschy tourist stories that most people right about. Instead, it’s like reading some type of free verse poetry full of original metaphors and similes and the rest of the terms you learn in high school English Literature classes.

wmbr is not a typical weblog that will strike the fancy of the average random reader. But from what I can tell, it’s not exactly meant to. The word choice by the author gives the entries a very strong feel. Perhaps as the author gets back into the routine of posting more often, things will begin to flow more consistently and wmbr might eventually become a site more people are familiar with. Until then, though, the archives are worth a one time perusal. This site will hit a chord with some people, but more than likely not the biggest portion of every day readers.

What Might Be Read

It’s really difficult to place Andrew’s Blog in just one category. I think the News/Links category is the one that comes closer to being correct, though it must be pointed out that most of the blog is about computers, software and technology.

What really surprised me is how interesting Andrew’s Blog actually is. I got stuck reading the entries and ended up finding lots of useful information. Andrew also posts about the software he is working on and that makes some good reading.

The archives are really good in this blog. Posts are stored chronologically and by category. This makes searching for content much easier and faster and it’s always appreciated by a reader.

The design is a simple template, which is almost always a good thing, but it could use some work especially in the way the posts look. Sometimes it looks a bit unorganized.

Andrew’s Blog is a good, interesting site. The only warning that must be made to potential readers is that the contents are really specific and computer oriented. So if you are interested in these topics, you should definitely go check out this site.Andrew’s Blog at AndrewSW.com

Every once in a while I run across a site with a name that makes me go “Why didn’t I think of this”. “Same shit, different day” is such a blog. In it, Brianne, an Aerospace student at Boulder, takes us into her life, and the world of prose and lyrics that surround her.

Yet another ego-blog? Jupp, but a good one. First there’s Brianne’s collection of drinking games. Should this review read a little sluggish, it’s because I had to try some of them. They work. Next there’s the day-to-day part of this eight month old blog. During my voyage, I came across a venerable collection of ego-posts, “What kind of … are you” test results, and the eventual rants and raves of a student. That’s how I’d like an ego blog to be.

Unfortunately, as readable and fun as the blog itself prove to be, the clumsiness of its navigational features, the lack of RSS feeds, and its choice of colors and fonts poked visible dents into my overall impression. Brianne uses shorturl for her blog, making it impossible to bookmark individual pages easily or to get URLs for your linking pleasure. The light-blue on light-gray blogskin impairs readability as much as the lack of back- and forward navigation eats away on reading fun.

Faced with a difficult decision as to how to rate this blog, I sought help in the author’s voice itself, and found Brianne on AIM. A few pleasant lines of communication later, I now am convinced that my rating is correct – and will even be slightly too low after she finds time and muse to address the issues outlined above. Nice doing, Brianne, keep up the blogging, kill the bugs, and you’ll have one more reader in me.Same Shit, Different Day