You Can Get With This, Or You Can Get With That

So, the end of Daylight Saving Time means it's pitch black out when I have my normal bout of Saturday night/Sunday morning insomnia? Maybe the two aren't related. I don't even know what time it is right now, really. It may be 5:41 AM or it may be 6:41 AM. Either way, it's early and it's dark out.

The list says The Ebb and Flow of Virginia is next up to be reviewed. She's being reviewed today both in Firefox and IE 6.0 at 1024 x 768, for those who give a shit about that kind of thing. The template is simple, white, with a header image, and black font text. It looks good in both browsers, so that's one checkmark. The sidebar is to the right, and hey, she at least gives an answer key as to who the cast of characters are in her blogging. Checkmark number two.

Her blogroll is very cleverly set up, and I like little things like that when it comes to blogging. It will make me remember this as being relatively clever. She's only been on this blog since July, so not having the archives rolled up isn't a huge deal, but not having your categories rolled up is. She's got a "100 Things" about me as opposed to a typical Blogger profile, and personally, I'm not the biggest fan of those. You end up getting things like 86. I don't watch much TV.. Don't really care. If you're going to write 100 things about yourself, write things that are meaningful. I know that's really nitpicky, but it's my review, so go to hell.

Oh, that's the other thing. This blog's content is just there, really. I can tell that she seems to be much more into MySpace than into blogging. Most of the posts are snapshots into her life, and maybe it's just me, but there are certain people in the blogosphere who's "snapshot" style content keeps me coming back, and this isn't one of them. That's not to say that it's poorly written, or she needs grammar/spelling lessons, because she doesn't. I think between MySpace, and a secondary blog, and this one, she may be spreading herself a bit too thin when it comes to content. Either way, it seems like she spends a lot of time on her computer.

So what's the constructive criticism of this blog? Well, it's not much, honestly, because I don't hate the template, and the content, while not great, isn't horrible. I think the simple things apply here. Roll up the archives, because if you're going to stick with this blog, you'll want them rolled up later. Roll up the categories as well. Other than that, keep the content real, yo. I get the impression that she may have had a previous blog that had a cast of followers who may already know her and her stories, but to the newcomer, it's just there. I know you can't constantly be explaining who you are and what you're about, but maybe keep in mind that your viewers may not be always your friends and regulars.

because I like the template's simplistic but cool nature, and the organization of the blog. You explain who your cast of characters is, as well, which makes me happy.

This button doesn't lie.

I'm off to pace the house hoping the phone will ring.