chicablogI'm just wondering what you guys think makes a great blog.
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What do you look for in a blog?
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Check out this excellent post on the subject http://thebritgirl.com/2007/03/08/top-15-must-haves-for-a-great-blog/
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Stuff I can steal and good-looking guys. Also, anarchism, good writing, and a familiarity with the greatest rock bands of all time.
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A decent layout too.
Whilst it's not the most important thing, many blogs are just badly laid out, bad colours or full of advertising.
Of course, the most important things IMHO are an interest for the reader in the topic, an affinity with the subject and easily read plain spelling and grammar. There's no need for big words when with a little thought a better way can be found to say the same thing.
<warning - blatant self-plug>
If you're interested in readability then you might want to have a look at this article I wrote a few months ago where I tested my blog against defined reading levels, the Gunning Fog Index, Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade.
:)
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Cool article. I must also say that good design's definition varys. Well, it doesn't, but some people have opinions different from mine and so they're wrong but will not be persuaded of such. I'm talking about people who force most of their information into their sidebars; I worked with some great people but the solution, no matter the problem, was always "put it in the sidebar!" It's not always the best solution. Also, some are enamoured of incredibly narrow columns (eteraz, I'm looking at you) that make everything they write look a bit like an Ogden Nash epic.
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Thanks!
Indeed, I really don't like the Fjords theme that's on here. It's ever so difficult to get into a flow when reading and I can never understand the need for three sidebars. The sidebar (not singular!) is for basic navigation information, links and maybe a few photos. Nothing more!
I like a nice, easily readable font on a decent background. black on white or vice versa is great. There are some blogs over at blogger that the font is so small I have to do the ctrl+mousewheel to be able to read it. I'm not partially sighted, I'm 34. These fonts are so damned small they are unreadable.
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As Rain said, good things I can steal like current pictures, current stories, and humor is an added plus but not really.
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Dancing bananas :)
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erm....okay....dancing bananas?!
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Cat pictures. And someone who actually has something to say other than "Hey look at this." But mainly cat pictures.
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Dancing bananas. You see them a lot in social forums in people's sigs.
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Uggggghhhhh. I hate animated gifs. Cat pictures, though, i'm down with that :)
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I can put my kitty Bambi's pics on my blog!
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I will never look at bananas without thinking of drmike and those dancing bananas.
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Death to all dancing bananas! Mash em! (Oops! I didn't really say that, did I?)
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irony
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lol TT!
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Pictures of Cats. Definitely. Stories about new mums and their mewing puking brats are good too.
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*pokes avatar* my kitty : )
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@atthe
hmmm ... and how do you feel about the bleating cross carriers? lol - I wager they are less likely to slay you in the spirit than they are to gag you with a spoon :P -
Can somebody say how cute kitty is?!?!?
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Lovely, but an unusual coloration.
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Cat pictures are good.
Blogs written in text speak drive me nuts. Bad spelling I can forgive because, well, I'd be lost without spell check.
Interesting content, stuff not regurgitated from other articles. If you're gonna link to something, at least have something slightly original to say about it.
And thank you drmike, I'll never look at a banana the same again.
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I can't take pictures! He's a tiger tabby, 15 years, and could possibly be affected by that recall. I'm taking Bambi to the vet tomorrow after-school.
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oh noes... kittah iz bloo!
I bought a banana today, and it didn't dance. No matter how much I yelled at it. "Come on, do the PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME dance!" Nothing.
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It's probably a South American banana: try playing it Popozao instead. Is this the thread to bring up this heartwarming tribute to the late Banana Nicole Smith?
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I'm allergic to cats. And is that cat blue?
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Personal blogs, even when you don't know the people involved, can be compelling if they're well-written and/or laugh-out-loud funny. (See Lilek's Bleats, for instance; quite often he's talking about his kid, which normally is the kiss of death for me, but he does it so well I don't mind reading about her) I don't like blogs with a lot of ads, or extra sidebar gewgaws like quizzes, weather bugs, etc. I'm sure people probably think of them as a service to the reader or somesuch but I'm there for the content. (I know I have a huge blogroll, btw, so take my words with a grain of salt; I'd be really happy if I could only put the blogroll on one page)
I don't like having to flail around looking for stuff, which is why I hate the Hemingway theme with a passion; it's way too hard to navigate and requires you to click on everything separately to read it.
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Bambi is not blue, I just can't take pictures that look good.
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I'm guessing Bambi is actually an orange tabby cat and I'm hoping he or she will feel better soon. :)
raincoaster
drmike
judyb12
atthe404
katm
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