The Weblog Review

Words cannot describe My Gift Coach. I had no clue what the site was going to be about, and now that I have read almost every post, every FAQ, every bio, I don’t think I am any closer to understanding. The best way I can describe My Gift Coach is by comparing it to a Stanley Kubrick movie; namely the wilder ones.



Most of the posts read as if they are poems. Like poems, they all have a rhythm and flow to them that are noticeable in time. I was so caught up in reading these posts, that I didn’t realize how much time I had spent at this site. Just like poems, too, the posts can be difficult to understand, and even more difficult to read. But once you get yourself accustomed to how they are written, you will have an easier time understanding. A quote from the site can almost make you realize about the target audience to read this.



An across the board increase of ten points in IQ would wreck the knowledge economy.



I see that quote applying to this site. An increase of ten points in IQ is needed to fully understand this site. Unfortunately for me, I only have an increase of 5.



The design of the site is nothing complex. It is just a three-column layout with the main text in the center. It works well for this site, as there is a lot of information needed to put on one page. But once you realize where everything is, reading the site can be accomplished.



If you haven’t heard of this site before today, make this one of your regular reads. You will enjoy the humor and worth of the posts in time.

My Gift Coach

First and foremost, the design is painful. (And those damn pop-ups get old in a hurry.) The colors don’t go together, and table cells are fluid and unrestricted (they adjust to the browser window, no matter how big that is), making the main text columns WAY to wide for easy reading. In the same vein as easy reading comes the extraordinary length of the blog entries. Some readers are into this, and some blog authors do it well. I am not that kind of reader, but John does have a style that makes the mass of text easier to get through. A better solution would be using Greymatter or Movable Type–putting “more” text on a separate page, thereby making the front page less daunting. That, however, is a throwback to my initial comment on the poor design.


Beyond a design that would give Jacob Nielsen seizures, the writing is good. Intelligent, structured, and solid–a little biased, but hey, what are blogs for? The blog is aimed at 15 years and older–I’d probably bump that to 18-20. Most 15-year-olds aren’t going to process discussions about government very well.


Obviously this is an outlet for a guy who likes to write, and for the most part, he writes well.

dende a web journal

There’s something so satisfying about visiting a site that presents you with a clean, simple layout that (hopefully) accompanies the top-notch writing contained within. Words@Work is a prime example of this.



Though there aren’t very many entries in this blog, each is worth reading. Bonny is an accomplished freelance writer, and her musings clearly showcase her talent. Her writing is rich and descriptive, bringing the reader along through her memories and daily happenings. Words@Work is a place for this writer to express her frustrations with her job, display her accomplishments, and simply share experiences with the reader. You won’t find juicy gossip or the typical blog memes and quizzes here. My, what a refreshing change of pace!



Red, black, gray, and white are combined in a visually appealing layout with very simple navigation. This site is divided into two sections, “play” and “work.” The blog itself is located in the play section, along with photo pages of her two dogs. As expected, the work section includes information about Bonny’s client list, work experience, a resume, and a listing of awards she’s received. Due to the absence of images, this site loads in a snap, even with my slowpoke dial-up connection. The images of her prized pups seem to have been optimized for the web and load very quickly, as well.



This is a very simple blog. You won’t find the almost expected “about me” or “favorite reads” pages, nor will you be overloaded with content. As mentioned before, the archives section is small enough to read through in one sitting, but I do hope this changes soon.



I recommend this site to anyone who enjoys a light-hearted, articulate read. Though I found nothing to suggest it be kept from younger readers, I believe older readers (twenty-plus) will find the most enjoyment from this site. Words@Work is a delightful change of pace from the norm!Words@Work:PLAY

Glorious Noise is a glorious website. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.



Now, the bright orange background may throw you for a loop at first, but, for me, it wasn’t out of place at all. There’s a lot of text on this site and the bright, happy orange background is exactly what it needs.



“This is *not* just a record review site.” Those are direct words off the site. “Glorious Noise just contains some essays, stories and rants about how rock and roll can change your life.”



The posts are definitely more than just record reviews or journal entires – they’re well thought out, mentally challenging, and sometimes passionate entries about a wide array of musical aspects.



Through a year of weekly archived weblog entries, I found post after post that made me say “Wow. Someone else felt that way, too?” I also found posts that made me think “Huh. I never thought of Mick Jagger like that!”



You can listen to music, brought to you by the staff at Glorious Noise, while you browse through the site, and the selection is quite varied.



Looking over the site one last time, I’m not sure there’s a single thing I’d change about it. Glorious Noise

“To Game….” is quite simply an informative bulletin board type site dicussing the pros and cons of various video games.



The layout is a generic blogger template that I didn’t particularly care for. However, it did seem to work well with the content and subject matter of this weblog.



Reading the three-month archives gave me an insight into each of the different webloggers and their opinions in the video game world. They seemed like they were very valuable opinions that weren’t just thrown out there on a whim. They were very thought out, easy to understand, and well written.



Over the past couple of months, however, the posting activity seems as if it has depleted in a great fashion. That’s disappointing to me, because this site definitely has potential to be popular amongst those involved in the video game world.



I would have liked to see maybe a brief bio about each person posting in the weblog, and maybe a brief “about” page of the site in general, even recommending a few different games.



I’m giving it a 4.0 due to its sporadic posts, generic template layout, and lack of any other sections of the site.



BUT if video games are your bag, baby, then I highly suggest you check back with “To Game….” from time to time.To Game….