Have you got DSL? Yes? Good, you’ll need it, because this site is slow on dial-up. That was the first thing that hit me when I popped in to visit Kelsopetz. It’s very graphics-intensive with pictures all over the place, but hey, it’s a personal site – and it shows. Unfortunately many of the pictures were so big (dimensionally) that they fell over much of the text in some entries, which meant that I couldn’t read them.
The general set-up of the blog is very easy to read but it’s almost plain to a fault. It’s a standard format with a few header graphics up the top and links and things to play with down a right-hand column and the blog entries on the left. Sarah has archives listed (very important for us reviewers), as well as her contact details and a great tag-board on which you can leave her messages. In this column she also has a poll, movie reviews, current WinAmp playlists (she’s got great taste in music!) and a referal script in place – many things that add just a bit more of Sarah’s personal touch to the blog. The only thing I would suggest is to perhaps make the photos she’s got on display thumbnails or link to them as she has done with some of her entries. A funkier layout would have added a bit more personality to the blog as well.
As it is a personal blog, I immediately jumped over into the “My Story” section, thinking it would be about Sarah. It was, but not in the way that I had originally thought. It turns out that this girl has been through a lot in the past few years. She’s experienced many troubles stemming from her family relations and the loss of her young brother in 2001. It certainly made me understand her standpoint as I was reading further into her blog.
Sarah wears her heart on her sleeve. Her words are raw and emotional. They come from living a hard life and learning to make do on her own. But after that, there’s still the odd bit of wry humour. She can still laugh at herself and the things she did when she was younger (not that she’s old now). She’s not a prolific blogger, and by that I mean she doesn’t post every day, several times a day. She makes an entry when she has something of real worth to say. She thinks about what she is writing. Quality is definitely better than quantity with this blog. I love the way she linked photos and other blogs and sites throughout her entries, adding that extra dimension to the look into her world. All in all, a great read. I’d certainly visit again.KelsoPetz