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Blogging Blog | Tips, Tools & Toys for the Personal Blogger
I’ve been blogging for years. I think it’s safe to say I’ve been posting my personal life online since 1998. Anytime I can find a site that will offer me tips towards blogging, I become leery. Nine times out of ten, that site is going to be full of tips on how to get-rich-quick while blogging, and I’m not a big fan of that. I was very relieved when I read the “about” section of the blog and found out that Sharon, the author, was focusing on “bloggers who just want to express themselves, connect with others, and have fun”.
The best thing to do with this site is to dive right in. The archives are listed on the right sidebar and date back to May 2004. I had to do some creative navigating in order to find the beginning, because when I picked the May 2004 option from the drop down menu, I got a pesky 404 message. Other than that, the site is very easy to navigate. The sidebars provide readers with several options of reading through the archives, as well as other site-related links where readers can discover even more information Sharon has included. The layout she’s chosen for the site is simple and aesthetically clean which is always a welcome site to any website.
As I read through the archives and followed a link or two, it seemed like this blog was initially created as a learning tool as the author familiarized herself with how to change things on her personal blog. A learning project that turns into something helpful for everyone on the internet? What an awesome concept!
Through the first year or two of the blog, Sharon does her best to post intermittently, but the Blogging Blog seemed to take a backseat to other blogging projects. Once the site was turned into a group-blog, the posts became more varied, slightly more consistent, and really helped this weblog gain some value.
My biggest, and possibly only, complaint about Blogging Blog is its inconsistency. Each post is full of information on the topic at hand, but the posts come too infrequently, in my opinion. I’ve added this to my RSS Reader of choice, and when I see it’s been updated, it’ll be a nice surprise. I hope it slowly becomes a more frequently updated blog, instead of just a handful of times per month.
This blog is a great idea. People new to the blogging world start their own weblog on a daily basis, and a site where they can find “tips, tools, ant toys for the personal blogger”. Those people will luck out when they find this site.
This site was reviewed on 2007-10-14 by Wendy.
They felt this site belonged in the Computer category.
Wendy felt that Blogging Blog | Tips, Tools & Toys for the Personal Blogger deserved a rating of 4.75.
The Blogging Blog is a collection of tips and tricks to make your weblog look... well, more schnazzy.
The header graphic states that this is blog is "blogging for the fun of it," and they sure do have a host of fun items to liven up the average blog. Our authors have done a tremendous job over the past two years combing the web for interesting gizmos, gadgets, and doo dads to help you make your blog more interesting, and less Web 1.0.
The founder of the blog, Sharon, writes on the "About" page, "The web is thick with meta-pro-blogs: blogs to help you make money online, or optimize your search engine rankings, or get your readers to click those ads -- but there is relatively little for those bloggers who just want to express themselves, connect with others, and have fun. This blog is for you."
Looking at the front page, the color scheme is really nice with gold, brown and yellow, with complimentary text colors. The main body of the blog is white with black text, so my eyes were drawn right to the core content. The colors reach out and grab the viewer, but don't beat him or her up. The header graphic is whimsical, and the three column layout is organized and easy to use. The categories section was most helpful, because if one is looking for specific widgets, or blogging tools, results are just a click away.
Not only does the Blogging Blog provide content on widgets and gizmos, but it also points to event blogs and causes online that bring bloggers together. On the front page of the site, there are two specific date-based blogging event days. October 15th is Blog Action Day, and I never would have known it if I didn't visit here (and yes, I'll participate! sounds interesting...)
http://quiz.blogactionday.org/
I have two very minor complaints about the look and feel. First, the Feed Graphic at the top of the page is humongous. Way too big. Takes up way too much real estate. Should really be reduced to about 1/3 the size. The second concerns the archive by month drop down menu. It is a bit too small compared to the categories content above it, and gets a little lost. It would possibly would do better to be placed up above the categories box. Also, the 2004 links in the drop down menu did not work, (May, June, July) so those may want to either be fixed or removed.
Since this is a team blog, contributed to by four bloggers, I visited each of their pages to see whether or not they were using the widgets they were writing about. For the most part they are, some more than others, which speaks volumes. It is one thing to write about tools in theory and another to use them in practice.
It is fun to go back through a couple of years worth of entries on web gizmos to see what was "new" in 2006 or 2005! I found this past year's content a lot more relevant, obviously. With the way the web changes, it is nice to know Sharon and the team at Blogging Blog will keep an eye out for you on the changes, and report back the interesting things to make your bloglife more fun. I give the site a 4, and will certainly be returning to see what is new.
This site was reviewed on 2007-10-14 by amusings.
They felt this site belonged in the Computer category.
amusings felt that Blogging Blog | Tips, Tools & Toys for the Personal Blogger deserved a rating of 4.
2 reviewers gave Blogging Blog | Tips, Tools & Toys for the Personal Blogger an average rating of 4.3750
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