The Bloggers With The Most To Say
Blogger Formal Evaluation Thread
DO NOT DISCUSS THE EVALUATION PROCESS ON THIS THREAD. PLEASE USE THIS ONE FOR ANY SUGGESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS.
I'm looking to increase my blogroll something fierce. I'd just run through all of the other "I want more blogs" threads, but responses to these threads are overflowing; I have trouble finding the ones I'd genuinely like. I have a solution.
Simply post your link on the companion thread, and I will evaluate your blog on three criteria, namely:
1. Grammar and style, including whether you have the correct proportion of capitals and ellipses.
2. Content, specifically the depth. On my internal rubric, personal blogs that stay within the standard day-in-the-life framework of a journal will likely fail. The more insightful your blog, and the more interesting to outsiders, the higher the grade.
3. Finesse and personality, traits that in part depend on the quality of your writing, rather than your mastery of subject or technical details.
This way, grammar sticklers can find their favorite blogs, those sick of reading some stranger's kids, spouse or breakup can avoid an online journal, and those more interested in that fuzzier evaluation of good writing can find them.
Three grades will be awarded for each category: fail, pass and exceptional. If I overall really, really like your blog, I'll mark it as recommended. This is analogous to a star on a Booklist review --- it's totally subjective. If you don't get it, others might still love your blog, and it doesn't mean I hate you.
This is what your review will look like:
Blogger: Brandy.
G --- Fail. Internetese somewhat or highly prevalent.
C --- Pass. Personal anecdotes common, but a cut above.
F --- Exceptional. Excellent voice.
Overall: Recommended.
This is not what your review will look like:
Blogger: Benjamin.
G --- Pass. Acceptable, but rocky.
C --- Pass. Complains too much, but occasionally looks beyond his own narcissistic tendencies to grasp a larger whole.
F --- Fail. Toothless, and a pompous, arrogant asshole, too boot.
Overall: Acquired taste. Recommended for pompous, arrogant assholes.
If you would like to discuss this topic, please use our companion thread. I'd hate to get this topic covered with clutter and arguments, and I'd prefer to maintain our focus.
I'm looking to increase my blogroll something fierce. I'd just run through all of the other "I want more blogs" threads, but responses to these threads are overflowing; I have trouble finding the ones I'd genuinely like. I have a solution.
Simply post your link on the companion thread, and I will evaluate your blog on three criteria, namely:
1. Grammar and style, including whether you have the correct proportion of capitals and ellipses.
2. Content, specifically the depth. On my internal rubric, personal blogs that stay within the standard day-in-the-life framework of a journal will likely fail. The more insightful your blog, and the more interesting to outsiders, the higher the grade.
3. Finesse and personality, traits that in part depend on the quality of your writing, rather than your mastery of subject or technical details.
This way, grammar sticklers can find their favorite blogs, those sick of reading some stranger's kids, spouse or breakup can avoid an online journal, and those more interested in that fuzzier evaluation of good writing can find them.
Three grades will be awarded for each category: fail, pass and exceptional. If I overall really, really like your blog, I'll mark it as recommended. This is analogous to a star on a Booklist review --- it's totally subjective. If you don't get it, others might still love your blog, and it doesn't mean I hate you.
This is what your review will look like:
Blogger: Brandy.
G --- Fail. Internetese somewhat or highly prevalent.
C --- Pass. Personal anecdotes common, but a cut above.
F --- Exceptional. Excellent voice.
Overall: Recommended.
This is not what your review will look like:
Blogger: Benjamin.
G --- Pass. Acceptable, but rocky.
C --- Pass. Complains too much, but occasionally looks beyond his own narcissistic tendencies to grasp a larger whole.
F --- Fail. Toothless, and a pompous, arrogant asshole, too boot.
Overall: Acquired taste. Recommended for pompous, arrogant assholes.
If you would like to discuss this topic, please use our companion thread. I'd hate to get this topic covered with clutter and arguments, and I'd prefer to maintain our focus.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by eyeingtenure on
-
Blog: Won't Let Life Define Me
G --- Almost Pass. Lacks Internetese, but some entries are one, long paragraph. Separate entries into paragraphs, and this will solidly pass.
C --- Fail. Personal blog, for what it's worth. Recent entries include photography, a meme and discussion of a recent bellydance class.
F --- Marginal Fail. You include some humanizing details in your entries, but few. Include more to improve this score, and don't be afraid to share What You Think on whatever topics you care about.
Overall: May interest your personal, offline friends and those who like personal blogs.
-
-
Suggestions: I have an idea for your focus, if you'd like to attract a wider variety of readers.
Concentrate on your photography, using maybe one photo per post. For this photo, tell its story. Where did you get those plants? When? What was going through your mind? Why did you pick them up? That sort of thing.
-
-
Just an idea.
-
-
I agree: Then this is perfectly fine.
For someone speaking English as a second language, you certainly have a pretty firm grasp of it.
-
Permalink Reply by Tristan || the almost right word on -
i'm loving this idea.
please note: i RARELY capitalize.
the almost right word
i'm honored to be "evaluated." ;)
-
-
Don't worry about not capitalizing correctly. Most people won't care about that criterion, so they wouldn't pay attention to that grade. Some do, though.
Blog: The Almost Right Word
G --- Fail. While it isn't a string of LOLspeak, this blog would automatically displease the grammar-obsessed.
C --- Pass. Avoids omphaloskepsis, but is not always particularly insightful. Exceptions include a reflection on noted liar James Frey, author of "A Million Little Pieces." Most of the recent entries are reviews.
F --- Pass. Solid, but not always engaging, finesse found.
Overall: If you don't mind breaches of Strunk and White, and if you are a fan of books, music, television and movies, you may like the direction this blog appears to be taking.
Suggestion: Using nominally accepted style like that of the Associated Press or Strunk and White may improve readership. It's my experience that the more you write outside of such style, the more it distracts your readers; the more you do use this style, the easier it is for all readers.
-
Permalink Reply by Tristan || the almost right word on
-
damn, you're hardcore! ;)
-
-
Glad I could help. If you have any other questions, I'm at benabaxter@gmail.com.
-
Permalink Reply by Jon Bishop on
-
-
Blogger: Jon Bishop
G --- Almost Pass. Parenthetical asides are common, as are uses of bold and italics. However, strictly speaking, style is not usually overtly breached. Double-check proper usage of "your" and "you're." I found three mistakes along those lines. Earlier entries use emoticons.
C --- Pass. Rarely, if ever, personal --- I didn't find any entries about his dog, girlfriend or wife. I hope he doesn't have all three. This blog has an exceptionally strong focus on Web 2.0 and social media.
F --- Almost Pass. Not much personality or finesse, but as the focus is largely on helping readers with Twitter, Plurk, Plaxo and other funnily-named Internet services, this shouldn't be a problem.
Overall: May interest fans of social media and Web 2.0.
Suggestion: Try a redesign, as the current clashes colors --- between blockquote and header, for one --- and seems cluttered. Cut down on extraneous, unneeded widgets. Consider a two-column design rather than your current three-column design.
-
Permalink Reply by Jon Bishop on
-
I love my Parenthetical asides as much as I love my social media. I keep my social life out of this blog however I will post my personal blog to see what you think of that.
Thanks for the review.
-
-
No problem. Remember: All of these these reviews assume that you're doing to attract a lot of readers with a professional blog, enough to hit the big time.
About
© 2010 Created by Lisa on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
