Initially, I could not get a handle on what the weblog was about. There did not appear to be a theme. It seemed to just be ramblings about life. The title of the weblog, “zazzfooky.com” turned out not to have any particular meaning but was a random word that the author invented. She does, however, use “zazz” as the name for her family and “fooky” is related to “hooky” and the f-word. That’s fine, cute, and a tiny bit clever. Unfortunately, since I am a stickler for correct grammar and spelling, a bit fat typo was almost the first thing that caught my attention when I read the most recent post. It was the classic “your” instead of “you’re” mistake. When reading the entire history of posts (which didn’t take much time since this weblog was launched in March 2005) I found several errors of this type, such as “their” for “there” and a few instances of clunky grammar and syntax. The problem with these types of errors is that they create a distraction for the reader and make it harder to focus on the substance of the posts. The weblog would most definitely benefit from proof-reading.
The posts that had a humorous take on everyday events were the best. Examples are the stories of the author’s reactions to her daughter’s grades and bathroom fun time with her dogs. These are the themes the writer should stick with as her observations are succinct, humorous and unusual. Her more serious posts are somewhat less compelling. Generally, the writing is good, if informal and colloquial. This writing style is common in the “blog-o-sphere” but the author’s voice is clear and original. You get a sense of her personality from her writing style. The posts are a random collection of the author’s musings and often recount a humorous event from her day. The events discussed are a mix of work, family and cultural commentary, but the emphasis is on family life. The author clearly cares about what she is writing about. The purpose of the weblog seems to be as an outlet for the author.
The design of the weblog is excellent. Considering that this is a brand new weblog, the author obviously put a great deal of thought into how to arrange the page. The fonts and colors are pleasing to the eye and designed for ease of reading. The format is easy to use and all the links work. It is very easy to navigate around the site and return to the home page.
She has quite a few pictures and background things that add interest to the blog. Her “100 things” list is not very substantive but does tell you a bit more about the author and it is amusing. The bonus features include pictures of her pets (the cats were especially cute) and pictures of her daughter. There is also a link to her daughter’s weblog. While I’m not that interested in reading the not entirely coherent details of an eight-year-old’s day, it is kind of sweet. Overall, the features add to the “big picture” of the weblog.
Since this weblog is in its infancy, it cannot be stated with certainty if it will grow into a good site to visit. You can get a sense of the author and what her take on life is, which I find to be one of the main reasons to read personal weblogs. Personal pages are an opportunity to learn about the world from another person’s perspective, and “zazzfooky.com” provides such an opportunity. I am not sure who the target audience for the blog is, but probably other people like the writer: mothers/wives/professionals in their 20’s-40’s dealing with life’s little ups and downs. If you are interested in humorous takes on everyday events, you might enjoy this weblog.
My rating for the blog is 3.5. The site is mostly well-written, but there are a few too many spelling mistakes. The design is excellent, but there is not much substance yet. Until the author finds her focus and builds up a few more posts the rating should stay at just above average.zazzafooky