Things you might like to know about is located at www.willowlady.blogspot.com.
Like the title, this blog is cute but a little bit vague. It writes about exactly what it says; "things you might like to know about"[my emphasis]. However, unlike some of the specialist blogs I've reviewed here previously, it doesn't seem to have a specific target audience.
The first entry I landed on was about the author's girlfriend and her art work. There is a link at the bottom of the entry where you can buy the aforementioned pieces. Unfortunately the writing style of that particular entry was quite hard going as a read, with unimaginative sentence construction and challenging uses of grammar. For example six out of the first nine sentences in the fourth paragraph start with the word "She...". It'd be a small point if the entry were shorter but after over 400 words one feels the need to skip a bit. Fortunately this isn't something I did as I was studiously reviewing it!
The second entry was rather more interesting, repeating as it does a common email forward designed to scare people a little as regards mobile phone fires on gas station forcourts:
"Better to be forewarned in case this could happen. Not worth losing gas, your skin or safety. Good luck!".
This entry sums up my attitude towards "Things you might like to know about" in that it's well meaning but comes across as being a little amature in places. Nothing wrong with that, but probably something the author will aspire to change. The reference to the fantastic snopes site in the entry could do with a hyperlink* and could have been improved even further if the author had actually checked out the story they're reporting on . I did exactly that and discovered the email forward is considered to be false.
I don't want to put a downer on this blog as it was only three months old at the time of reviewing but I do feel there is room for improvement. Overall I feel that the blog would benefit from a little bit more personal information about the blogger in question. Less cut and pasting would be good as well. I'd welcome the chance to review it again in 6 months.
NM
*How to do hyperlinks.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Blog Wine Cellar
The Blog Wine Cellar is located at: http://blogcellar.blogspot.com/
I'm not a big fan of wine. I drink it on occasion but can't usually manage more than a glass of the stuff without getting stupidly drunk. "The Blog Wine Cellar" is therefore not something I would ordinarily read. However in doing so for this review I was particualrly taken by some of the descriptions it uses for various different wines:
"The aromas are very Champagne-like and show notes of a faint strawberry, yeast and bread dough, candy fruits, and a slight hint of watermelon."
"The flavors burst with sour cherry, licorice, and a hint of pencil shaving."
Such descriptions are easy to poke fun at and, to the untrained reader, inherently amusing . However, if you allow them to work on you, they've got a great visceral quality. I can particularly feel the "pencil shaving" description. It's a unique smell.
This blog is updated nearly everyday and scores highly as a consequence. I'm of the opinion that a good blog needs to be posting at least once a week if it is to be a success. The Blog Wine Cellar has been keeping this pace for over a year now. As a consequence it has quite a store of reviews available for you to search through.
Furthermore this blog manages to give the impression that it is right in the middle of the community it reports upon. There's approximately 30 or so wine related links placed in a nice orderly fashion on the right hand side of the blog. There are occasional comments posted in the entries regarding the wine which is being reviewed and there are lots of opportunities to buy the wines which are being reviewed.
The only criticism I would make of this blog is that it does not welcome in the casual reader as much as I would have liked. For example, one of the reviews concerns "a nice little Merlot [...which would...] pair well with many foods". I'd like to know which foods it would pair well with? I'm guessing that anyone who knows their stuff would already know but as a layperson I'm in the dark. I still remember the time I had fish with wine. It was horrible! Apparently it's a classic mistake. And here's the problem; should a blog as clearly targetted as this one make concessions to an outsider like myself? There's a risk that the already wine literate audience may feel their time is being wasted as a consequence. It's a tough call to make and one that I'll leave up to the blogger.
In summary: my favourite part of this blog was the eccentric descriptions but I'm convinced enough of the blogger's credentials that if I were to go and buy wine I'd know where on the net to look for advice.
The Blog Wine Cellar: http://blogcellar.blogspot.com/
I'm not a big fan of wine. I drink it on occasion but can't usually manage more than a glass of the stuff without getting stupidly drunk. "The Blog Wine Cellar" is therefore not something I would ordinarily read. However in doing so for this review I was particualrly taken by some of the descriptions it uses for various different wines:
"The aromas are very Champagne-like and show notes of a faint strawberry, yeast and bread dough, candy fruits, and a slight hint of watermelon."
"The flavors burst with sour cherry, licorice, and a hint of pencil shaving."
Such descriptions are easy to poke fun at and, to the untrained reader, inherently amusing . However, if you allow them to work on you, they've got a great visceral quality. I can particularly feel the "pencil shaving" description. It's a unique smell.
This blog is updated nearly everyday and scores highly as a consequence. I'm of the opinion that a good blog needs to be posting at least once a week if it is to be a success. The Blog Wine Cellar has been keeping this pace for over a year now. As a consequence it has quite a store of reviews available for you to search through.
Furthermore this blog manages to give the impression that it is right in the middle of the community it reports upon. There's approximately 30 or so wine related links placed in a nice orderly fashion on the right hand side of the blog. There are occasional comments posted in the entries regarding the wine which is being reviewed and there are lots of opportunities to buy the wines which are being reviewed.
The only criticism I would make of this blog is that it does not welcome in the casual reader as much as I would have liked. For example, one of the reviews concerns "a nice little Merlot [...which would...] pair well with many foods". I'd like to know which foods it would pair well with? I'm guessing that anyone who knows their stuff would already know but as a layperson I'm in the dark. I still remember the time I had fish with wine. It was horrible! Apparently it's a classic mistake. And here's the problem; should a blog as clearly targetted as this one make concessions to an outsider like myself? There's a risk that the already wine literate audience may feel their time is being wasted as a consequence. It's a tough call to make and one that I'll leave up to the blogger.
In summary: my favourite part of this blog was the eccentric descriptions but I'm convinced enough of the blogger's credentials that if I were to go and buy wine I'd know where on the net to look for advice.
The Blog Wine Cellar: http://blogcellar.blogspot.com/
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