ENTRY #1. Blogs 101
An important part of successfully blogging is researching other successful blogs. As a new blogger, I hadn't formed much of an opinion of blogs. I finally did some digging and decided that blogs can be very entertaining. I used to think that blogs were for moms with nothing to do but brag about their kids, but now I see that there are a variety of different blogs stemming from a variety of different people and topics. I'm still not sure how I feel about my presence as a blogger, simply because I've never had the desire to start one. I do hope that by the end of my blog project I will have a sense of whether or not I enjoy blogs and blogging. Going back to the blog digging I mentioned earlier...I have a few blogs that I found that I liked and disliked. In the rest of my entry, I figured I'd share the links along with my thoughts about each one.
The first blog I'd like to analyze is The Blonde Abroad (the link below will take you to her page).
I honestly loved this blog. The woman who runs it is named Kiki, she travels the world and writes about it. Her page is full of beautiful pictures, tips, and destinations. As a frequent traveler, I found her page very interesting and insightful. Not only do her tips and destination descriptions pull me in but so does her aesthetically pleasing assortment of pictures. I like how she organizes her page into sections. Depending on what you are wanting to read about there are plenty of corresponding tabs to click on and read. She makes it clear that her purpose is to show people that traveling the world is worthwhile and can be obtained if you follow a certain routine and travel lifestyle. Her purpose seems to shape her writing. She makes sure to emphasize key steps and places that people should look into.
The second blog I'd like to analyze is The Pioneer Woman (visit the link below)
This page is actually very well put together. Ree Drummond runs the blog. She frequently posts about recipes, home life, beauty, and style. As soon as I opened her page I was overwhelmed with color and mouth-watering dishes. I will say I am not interested in home and life on her page. Mostly because she seems to appeal to an older audience. I do appreciate that (like the previous blog I analyzed) she has tabs that can direct you to a specific interest. I also really like that she prides herself in her southern ways. You can really see her personality shown in her writing. Her purpose is to genuinely share helpful recipes along with fun ideas. She uses images, and different writing styles to successfully explain the steps for her recipes.
The final blog I'm going to analyze is Seeking Alpha (link below)
This page is my least favorite blog that I have looked through. This blog is less personalized and reminds me more of a website than a blog. This blog is centered around stocks, which I also find rather boring. I dislike the way the blog is organized. When you open the page, it overwhelms you with random pictures and information. That's honestly because when you navigate to the page it brings you immediately to the trending tab. If I am going to visit a blog, I don't want to be overwhelmed the second I open it. I'd like to open the page to an organized and well-presented site. I'd like to choose what information I want to read off the blog rather than being directed to stuff I don't necessarily care for. This blog does have tabs that can bring you to different topics, which is nice. I just would prefer a simpler opening page (like in the first two blogs). With this blog, the author's purpose depends on the blog post you read. There are a variety of different authors and contributors, and for that reason, I can't personally connect to the blog. That also makes it a little harder to identify the author's purpose. I would guess that because the page is about stocks, the purpose would be to inform others about the stock market and what investments are smart to make.
Overall, I learned about a lot of different blogs. I hope you do too when you explore those pages. I was introduced to a lot of different setups, personalities (and lack of), organization, etc. In my digging, I discovered that I love personal blogs over strictly professional ones. I like knowing my authors and being able to identify their personalities within each of their posts. I like simple, yet intriguing blog pages. In the end, it was a good experience to find my taste in blogs. It allows me to use similar tactics to build my own blog. Hopefully, if you are looking to improve your own blog you will take a look through other blogs to gain a good idea of the style and personality you want to convey.
Ashley, I feel the same way about blogging. Being on this new journey as a busy mom, wife, and full-time employee I'm not sure where I would find the time to blog. I have to say, so far, it's been kind of fun to learn about blogging. I'm sure I'll continue to read my fair share just not so sure I'm going to continue writing them. Keeping an open mind though.
ReplyDeleteMoving forward, hyperlink any URLs directly to the words they are associated with (i.e. The Pioneer Woman) to make them easily accessible to the reader and avoid clogging up your post with the entirety of the URL.
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