Blog Review: Live.Awake

The Blog: Live.Awake

The Reviewer: Sarah from In The Trenches of Mommyhood

The blog I’m reviewing this week is called “Live. Awake” written by married couple Ben and Heather Cotton.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
I could immediately sense this was a Christian-living/family blog. My assumption was confirmed as soon as I clicked on the “About” button. Ben, a Pastor, and Heather, his wife are keeping this blog as a reminder for them, and all of us, to LIVE, not just sail through LIFE.

DESIGN:
The design of this blog is pretty plain. That is, no bells and whistles or frills. Simple, basic, to-the-point. Very easy on the eyes, but certainly not containing any sort of “WOW” factor.

CONTENT:
Heather seems like a down-to-earth mother. Some of her tips and ideas are useful (see Job Jar entry) and it’s interesting to read about her childhood growing up in a family with six (!) children.

Ben’s written sermons and Bible teachings were a little dry. They’re not something I would choose to read. That being said though, all his entries are clear, concise and well-written.

BEST AND WORST:
Best—The Cottens are a typical American family raising 3 children in North Carolina. They are truthful, honest and real. And not too preachy, for a Christian-centered blog. I got quite a kick out of Ben’s post titled Reconnecting With Family. He’s so down-to-earth.

Worst—There’s too much mouse-clicking to do to read the posts! A reader can’t get a feel for what a post is about until they actually click on it, which takes them to the entire post, including comments. I’m a skimmer. Give me a little bit on the main page, and let me decide whether I’m going to click for more…

BLOGROLL-WORTHY:
I have a feeling that the Cottens have a following from their families and Ben’s congregation. Again, this blog didn’t have that “wow” factor for me to include them on my blogroll.

SCORE:

SUMMARY:
A Christian family’s blog about “living life with eyes wide open.”

Blog Review: Thinks By Me

The Blog: Thinks by me

The Reviewer: Omega mom from 3 kids No Job

First impressions:

It took a while to load so I had to time to ponder the enigmatic title. A song, maybe? Then I got to the profile. “A kickboxing Mum of 2”? “Recovering Type A personality”? Wow! Blog as energy bar. I’m interested.

Design:

What a nice, easy design to follow. There was a good, clear layout and excellent, and restrained, use of graphics. She is somebody who clearly has a strong visual sense and it really shows. There was only one small disappointment: that relaxing picture of a coffee cup suggested a mid-morning break while the kids are at school, rather than manic, kickboxing energy.

Content:

She’s a regular blogger – 25 posts in August – not easy with the summer holidays, so well done. Posts go up every couple of days, so lots of fresh content. That coffee cup visual is an accurate reflection of the content. I was imagining a manic, Type A blog kick-boxing its way through cyberspace. In fact, it’s essentially a ‘What I did’ diary that records the everyday niggles and triumphs that characterise life with children: vans that break down just as you’re planning a holiday; the trial of back to school shopping expeditions and so on. It’s all pleasant stuff, if undemanding.

Depending on where she wants to go with her blog, something to consider might be a bit more development of some of the themes she raises. For example, http://jjecolsen.blogspot.com/2007/08/different-looks.html tackles a subject of great interest to a lot of women – why men on the whole prefer their partners to have long hair. Judging by the comments she got for this post – the ‘stinking men’ one made me chuckle - the topic arouses strong feelings. She could do a lot more with it.

Similarly I was intrigued to note that she really enjoys shopping with the children for their school uniforms. http://jjecolsen.blogspot.com/2007/08/school-shopping-ya-poo.html If I told friends I enjoyed shopping with my children for their school stuff, they’d lynch me and it’s something I’d simply assumed was universally loathed by everyone. Again, it’s a topic that might be worth developing because she has a different take on the subject.

Best and worst:

Super design. No real worst. At a personal level, the Christianity, though prominent in the sidebars, didn’t dominate the content, which I find a comfortable arrangement.

Blogrollworthy:

I’d certainly consider coming back to this one, if only because I’d love to know where the kickboxing comes in! She has an interesting perspective on aspects of family life but I’m not sure she realises this. If she takes a step back once in a while and maybe looks at writing about a few more of the ‘whys’ in her life, rather than just the ‘whats’ she might end up with something quite special.

Score:

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Blogs will be given a rank out of 10 based on:

First impressions: self explanatory really, what feelings, thoughts, likes, dislikes the reviewers get in the first 5 seconds of opening your blog.
Design: Is it a good looking blog or does the design make them want to leave without stopping to read? Does the colour scheme work? Are the sidebars full of clutter and distracting flashing things? How easy is it to navigate around?
Content: Is it well written and interesting or boring and full of typos? Is it full of original, interesting writing or is every second post a meme, youtube video or sponsored post? How frequently is it updated?
Best and Worst: What does the reviewer like the most about this blog? What do they dislike the most (with constructive advice of how to change this)
Blogroll worthy? Is it somewhere our reviewers would want to come back to?

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Blog Review: The Life and Times of Gran

The Blog: The Life and Times of Gran

The reviewer: Sarah from In The Trenches of Mommyhood

My latest assignment from TopBlogMag: to review a blog entitled “The Life and Times of Gran.” Great, I thought. It’s probably going to be something akin to what my own mother would write if she had a blog!

First Impression: My first impression was *yawwwwwwwwwn*. Not to be mean, but pics of the grandkids’ new school clothes (not even on the children) just didn’t lure me in. And right away my inner Grammar Police noticed an error with the word “brightens” on the right hand side introduction, although Gran warns that “this blog is far from perfection by the educational standards of writing.” She’s right.

Design: The blog is a basic Blogger template. The sparkly “Hello” in the corner is kind of distracting. Not a lot of originality here.

Content: What content? This is mostly a picture blog. There are a lot of “Photo Hunters” entries (whatever that is). Once in a while Gran gets reflective and philosophical, but those entries are few and far between.

Best and Worst:
Best: Gran definitely loves her children and grandchildren. This is evident in her writing. And I applaud her for taking the leap and starting her very own blog for “e-journaling randomly” (her words).
Worst: I’m thinking that this blog would only be interesting to the people in Gran’s life who actually know her.

Blogroll-worthy? This blog isn’t riveting by any means, so no, I wouldn’t add it to my own blogroll. But I’m sure Gran’s family loves to read it!

Rating Out of 10:
Gran is a Christian woman who loves God, her life and her family. This blog is definitely a reflection of that.

Blog Review: Mommy Has A Headache

The Blog: Mommy Has A Headache

The Reviewer: Nutmeg from Simply Nutmeg.

First Impressions: My first impressions of Mommy Has a Headache were not good. When I began reading the landing page, which consisted of about eight posts, I was actually offended. In the first few posts I read, the writer managed to deride fat people, ugly people, blacks, Hispanics, and even panda bears. Also a part of the landing page was a post in an advice column series called E-Spot in which readers write in with their sexual problems and receive advice from Emma. This particular 'letter' was from a swinging husband who didn't want his fat, ugly neighbor watching him having sex with another man on his back deck. I found it tasteless and not at all funny, but I'm a bit of a prude.

Emma and I did not start out on the best foot. Her posts also tend to be very long, and I found myself struggling to wade through the negativity.

Design: Again, the very first thing that caught my eye when I came to this site put me off. It was a request for a tip in the top left hand corner. This is something I had never seen before on a personal blog. I read many professional blogs in which you may find a small disclaimer toward the bottom that says something to the effect that if you have found this material helpful, feel free to donate to the site; but this was the first time a personal blogger had ever asked me to tuck a dollar in her garter belt. It felt wrong, because I'm cheap like that.

The rest of the design was clean and quite charming. The two-column theme with an original header and fabulous tag line (maybe it was one too many martinis) was refreshing. The left sidebar, (aside from the poll, which I find annoying,) was informative and easy to navigate.

Content: This woman can write, and she has a clearly defined voice. As a professional editor, I look for both. I found very few technical mistakes on this blog, and I read about 100 posts. After about ten or so, I could hear Emmak in my head, complete with accent. Her prose, despite the negativity and myriad references to shagging, is fluid and quite elegant. I think it helps that she's a Brit!

Let me make this perfectly clear: this is not a Mommy Blog, despite its title. There are very few references in her posts to her children or to her roll as a mother. She writes mostly about sex with an occasional post about how stupid or boring her friends' husbands are. This is a great site to visit if you are looking for a new sex toy or if you want to complain about your worst one-night-stand to a public internet audience. Emmak often asks her readers to share their own opinions and stories, which makes for a very lively comment section. She includes graphics and streams video that you would usually not want to view in the presence of children.

Reading this blog reminded me a lot of watching a Monty Python movie. I know it's supposed to be funny, and I can hear my own husband howling next to me, but I still don't get it! I started drinking beer after about twenty posts. By the thirtieth post I was smiling. By the fiftieth post I was laughing. By the eightieth post, I was considering driving to Baltimore to hang out with this chick! And by the next morning, this mommy had a headache!

Best and Worst: For me, the best part of this blog was Emma's intelligent, first-rate writing. It's a pleasure to read the way Emma puts thoughts together, even if I don't always care for the thoughts. As I continued to read Emma's content, I began to get a feel for her very dry and sarcastic sense of humor. This is one funny lady.

The downside of this blog was that after a bit, it was the same raunchy joke over and over. I also find cynicism a bit tiring after 40 or so posts. I think in smaller doses, Emmak would have a greater appeal to me.

Blogroll Worthy: I doubt Emma would feel at home in my blogroll. If your favorite comedy is Austin Powers, you might want to Blogroll Mommy Has a Headache. If your taste leans more toward Mrs. Doubtfire, you should probably take a pass. Although I probably wouldn't blogroll it, I can see myself stopping in to this blog on occasion when I'm in the mood for a little down and dirty humor.

Score:
I feel a little bad for this blogger because she got the repressed Catholic reviewer who loved Mrs. Doubtfire. Martini's just aren't my cup of tea! Nonetheless, this blogger has clearly carved out her niche; she is original and has a devoted readership. She is often very funny, if taken in small doses, and writes exceptionally well. I give this blog a 7.

Blog Review: Real life

The Blog: Real Life

The Reviewer: Omega Mom from 3kidsnojob.

First impressions: 'Real Life' burst on to the screen with its intriguing title and lovely flower picture. As a mother of three children, real life is something I seem to experience a lot of, sometimes to excess. I'm also a music teacher, so I was also drawn by the author's nicely written personal profile which describes her as a voice and piano teacher.

Then I came across the first of many references to Jesus. As a committed agnostic, religious blogs aren't something I'm naturally drawn too. To cut it for me, and for any casual reader who doesn't share the beliefs of 'Real Life's' author, this blog was going to have to work extra hard. When I'm reading, I want entertainment, not a sermon, however well-intentioned. So I was a little apprehensive, wondering which of the two I was going to get.

Design: I liked this very much. A lot of thought had gone into delivering a blog that was easy on the eye and, crucially, easy for the new reader to follow. Pictures were plentiful and well laid-out, links were quick and well organised, the sidebar was nicely arranged and the posts easy to find. There was also plenty to do - music to listen to and a competition to enter. Again, it was struck a good balance: energetic without being over-crowded. I had just one thought: new readers like me need easy access to the back story, so having a few more posts on screen without pressing the 'older posts' button might help.

Content: It's a nicely written blog with a straightforward, unpretentious style that's easy to read. Sentences are short, points clearly made and the author is obviously blessed with a good sense of humour when it comes to recounting the lighter side of family life. There's a nice post – How to get great customer service that anybody with young children can relate to, about how using your offspring tactically can guarantee you good customer serivce.

I also enjoyed 'Playing with Fire' a laugh out loud account of man's desire to set a match to anything remotely flammable 'that's just sitting there waiting asking to be burned'.

These general, family-life posts were few and far between, though, and no wonder. The author notes that, 'I always want my readers to see Jesus first,' and it's therefore unsurprising that the bible features a lot, whether through direct quotes or commentaries on different passages used to offer a perspective on everyday life. You either like it, or you don't and with lots of awards from and links to like-minded groups and individuals, it's clear that Real Life is a popular and well-regarded read with a predominantly Christian audience.

Best and Worst: The design was excellent. The content, for me, could have done with more of the funny family anecdotes and less of the direct religion but, given the author's strong Christian faith, that's unlikely to happen, in which case I suspect that she'll mainly be preaching to the converted.

Blogroll worthy: For me, no, solely because of the religious content. For any Christian out there keen to leven a hard-core religious message with humour, I suspect it's a must-read.

Score: Because of the above, I found it a hard blog to rate. I'm going for a six, though, because the design and the nice writing style which kept me going long after I'd normally have given up.

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Blog Review: Modern Musings

The Blog: Modern Musings by Danielle

The Reviewer: Liz Medwid from ThreeBrightStars

First impressions: The overall style is appealing, but lack of consistency in format and content is an irritation throughout the blog.

Also, when a writer expounds about something important, such as society or politics, I want to know why I should bump someone off my daily reading list to add them, in particular: what gives them authority in their subject area. It could be education, experience, family history, peer accolades, success in their field, or anything else.

Danielle doesn’t reveal her background in politics. She calls herself “a woman, a mother, a wife, a student, a writer, a poet, a seeker and a member of the global human society” yet she wants “to facilitate grassroots ‘Intelligence Gathering’ concerning prominent issues facing America.” I’m just one of those people who needs to know where a writer is coming from before I can take them seriously. (Note: In an email, Danielle revealed that she has her associate degrees in history and anthropology, and this detail would help the average reader.)

Design: Online readers have short attention spans: readable lines should be short, and blog conventions like hyperlinks should be clear and predictable. Musings doesn’t have a right margin and as a result, the blog entries are a bit too wide for on-screen reading. In-text hyperlinks are also too long, so that although the choice of hot pink is eye-catching, the goal of each link is hard to determine.

Formatting between blog entries should also be consistent, but Danielle is guided by some mysterious outside force from entry to entry. Some entries are left-aligned, some are centered, some have adequate inter-line spacing, some are spaced to make you squint at the screen from a foot away, sometimes font size looks normal, and sometimes it screams at you – and none of these variations seem deliberately chosen to illustrate a point.

The sidebar contains some interesting accolades and endorsements, which add notions to her otherwise mysterious identity, but organization and restraint would improve things here as well. Danielle forces the reader to slog through seemingly random links before a clear picture emerges.

Content: Modern Musings is a mess of memes and quotes. For the first-time reader, it can be difficult to ascertain whether the voice is Danielle’s or a Center for American Progress Action Fund talking point. Readers expect the hyperlinks to imply a single reference, with the remaining text being the blog author’s – and in Musings, this is usually not the case. The reference is there, but until you hit on it, nothing in the formatting suggests that the interstitial voice is not Danielle’s. I’m sure this effect is unintentional, but in a political blog, sloppy references seriously undermine the author’s credibility in the mind of the reader.

Best and Worst: The overall style, including color choices and base font, give it a fresh appeal. Danielle’s raw enthusiasm is also winsome.

Improvement tips:

1. If you want a general readership to take your social and political commentary seriously, you need to abandon the shield of anonymity and reveal all relevant credentials.
2. Format your blog with relentless consistency. Readers love that.
3. Your picture and profile should top the sidebar, since they are the most interesting and important aspects of your profile. Then, organize your charitable or political endorsements beneath one heading, your accolades and accomplishments in another heading, etc, to help readers visualize you more quickly.
4. Use clearer formatting to distinguish between your own analysis and that of other writers. Also, let us hear more from Danielle, and less from memes and quotes!

Blogroll worthy? Not yet.

Overall Score:

Blog Review - I've Got LWA

The Blog: I've Got LWA

The Reviewer: In The Trenches of Mommyhood

When Heather e-mailed me in early July with the blog I would be reviewing, I was psyched—my first TopBlogMag review! I immediately clicked on the site, full of optimism and ready to get started.

And then…gulp…I felt like I was in way over my head. I confess, I mainly read “mommy blogs”, and I’ve Got LWA is definitely no such thing.

First Impression: My first impression was definitely confusion. First of all, I’m not quite sure why the author would even submit this blog for review in

the first place, as it is a very personal account of her past. So who am I (or her readers in general) to judge?

Design: The blog entries are laid out in Parts, and then Chapters (much like a book). Each entry is listed on the right hand side, making it easy and convenient for the reader to see the author’s work thus far. However, it would be nice if there were some sort of summary as to the blog’s content. And there is no author profile for the reader

to feel any connection with the author.

Content: The title “I’ve Got LWA” certainly gives no indication of the content. What the heck is LWA? But upon further review, the blog’s content can best be summed up in the author’s entry “Introduction”. Needless to say, this blog is definitely a heavy read.

Part I of the blog is titled “Ignition”—dealing with an unacceptable illness (candida) and the start of the author’s healing journey.

Part II is titled “Shifting Up”, which the author describes as her “true opening to infinity.”

Part II is “Apocatastasis” (huh?).

As a lifelong member of the Grammar Police, I must mention that I am impressed with the grammar, editing and use of REALLY BIG WORDS (see Apocatastasis above) on this blog. It’s nice to read a blog without typos and grammatical errors, even if I really don’t “get” the actual content (and *ahem* have to use a dictionary while reading).

Best and Worst:

Best: The simple and clean and easy to read layout.

Worst: Although the chapters are listed, each entry sometimes links to a future entry. For example, if you’re reading Chapter 1.2, there are links within that particular Chapter to Chapters 7.3, 5.4 and 5.1. This makes it hard to keep the continuity flowing, and also makes it very confusing for the reader.

Blogroll-worthy? Sorry, this blog just wasn’t for me.

Rating Out of 10:

Blog review: Four by 40

The blog: Four by 40
The reviewer: Meg from Simply Nutmeg

We took our clan to see Disney Pixar's Ratatouille this week, and I was particularly drawn to the character of the critic. Interestingly enough, he was named Ego. When you are a blogger, it's hard to review bloggers without allowing a little ego to get in the way. This week it was particularly difficult, as I'm reviewing Carla at Four by 40, a forty something woman with four kids who loves a boy named Nathan. Ringing any bells? You might say she had me at hello.

First Impressions: The very first thing that caught my attention as I scrolled down the landing page was that the author writes short posts. I'm a big fan of short posts with punch and strive for them myself. Thomas Jefferson said brilliantly, "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words where one will do." Jefferson would have liked Carla, as she cuts right to the chase.

Design: The second thing that caught my attention about the site was that the theme was broken. The blog is basically a three column design with left and right sidebars, but the right sidebar does not appear until you page way down. When you click on Older Posts, the problem is corrected. My advice here is to check the right sidebar code for a missing or broken pathway. Cut and paste the present code into notepad before messing around with it though!

Glitch aside, the design did not stop me in my tracks. For a family blog I found the design somewhat cool and impersonal. The sidebars were very busy, but I rarely focus on sidebars when I read blogs and am used to tuning out the clutter. The content, nonetheless, was extremely accessible and clean.

At the top of the left sidebar is a section called "Check it Out" where Carla kindly has included links to posts from other blogs. I spent quite a bit of time exploring her list and will say, when choosing fine writing, Carla is spot-on.

Posting frequency: Carla deserves a blue ribbon here, as she posts just about every day and sometimes twice a day. She has written over 600 posts, and surely such dedication is appreciated by her readership.

Content: Carla clearly has a good sense of humor. Although sometimes the writing is awkward, most posts are succinctly written and have a fun, humorous slant, like OK Then and You Know What "They" Say. I did not find a great deal of variety or deep insight in the content. Carla has carved out her niche and sticks fairly close to it: cute, endearing, tidbits of her life with her children. Considering one of the highest viewed blogs in the blogosphere is a site devoted to cute pictures of kittens and puppies, Carla may very well have a brilliant thing going here.

My biggest complaint with this blog is that it is desperately in need of images. Aside from a few pictures of inanimate objects and one somewhat disturbing picture of Carla (I can do that with my neck too!), there are very few images or photos. I totally respect the choice to keep pictures of one's children off the internet, but I'm not sure that is why the pictures are missing because I did see Nathan and Timmers on a bike! I, for one, would love to see more pictures of the Streams in action. It would add the warmth of human touch that I found missing in the design.

Best and Worst:
Best - What I liked best about this blog was Carla's outlook on life which is evident as you read through her archives. Life is sweet at the Stream's and Carla is clearly a warm and giving mother. We have a great deal in common (did I just try to say I'm warm and giving?) and would most likely be fast friends if we lived in the same town.

Worst - I want to see those chillers! I also could do without words like 'chillers.'

Bloggroll-worthy? Would I return to this blog? How could I not when we have so much in common? I also like to visit blogs that I know are updated frequently. It's the most important thing a blogger can do to be successful, aside from writing well. I'm also drawn to short posts. Sometimes I click on a blog in my blogroll, see that I will need to page down, and down, and down, and click right off. I would return to Four by 40 knowing full well I could squeeze in the read.

Rating Out of Ten:

I think Carla has accomplished what she sets out to do in her tag line - to bring a smile on your face by sharing brief anecdotes of a mother in the trenches. The blog may have its greatest appeal to family and friends of the Streams, but it also appealed to this forty-something mother of four who found much to be familiar in Carla's quips, quotes, and vignettes.

Blog Review: Tangocherie

The Blog: Tango Cherie
The Reviewer: Omega Mum from 3 Kids No Job

Let me be honest. As a non-dancing and infrequently-traveled UK citizen, reviewing Tangocherie, a blog written by a dance-mad expat US citizen living in Argentina, was always going to be a challenge. Shared interests aren't a given with blogs, of course. I suspect everyone has chanced upon something light years away from his or her own life only to find amazing and wholly unexpected insights. So I was ready to be gripped.

First impressions: Where are the posts? It's not immediately clear and takes time to find out. You get the description, which is concise. You want to see more. You see the post titles, click on one, wait, scroll down, down, down and down a bit more and finally you get paydirt - but you certainly have to be willing to dig through the assorted logos first. Somebody in a hurry would probably give up. So at the moment, it's a blog that takes a while to get into.

Design: As somebody who's still working on importing pictures correctly, I'm in no position to pass comment on the design. But, obviously, that's not going to stop me. The upfront section is very overcrowded. You need either a really strong design to lead you into the blog or the first post up there and waiting - which, on the whole, makes life easier for the reader who doesn't want to be hanging around.

I like the use of photographs. They make this blog. And where some of the technical language could make it a little inaccessible, they really were worth a thousand words, possibly more.

I had a bit of a margin issue. It's not a problem if you read the blog in Firefox, where I'm told there's a reasonable 2 cm margin. But view in Internet Explorer and you jitterbug right to the end of the page and screech to a halt just by the background - which isn't that easy on the eye. A little space would work wonders. It might also be sensible to put in some sidebars to incorporate some of the page clutter, or add bits and bobs to the footer of the page, not the top, so those all important blog entries are quicker to find.

Posting frequency: Tangocherie posts fairly regulary. There were 12 in June (to 29th) - so certainly a reasonable level of new content.

Content: What I want from somebody who's an expat is a blog that conveys something of the excitement, bewilderment, annoyance or sheer difference of being somewhere that's not home. It's amazing how many ex-pat blogs set in fabulously exotic locations seem to take their whinges from home, pack them up, ship them them out with the luggage and then put them proudly out on display for blog readers. Yes, we want to know that you're a real person - but we want to know what your new life has to offer. Otherwise, the location becomes irrelevant. That's not the case here. Tangocherie certainly gives you a sense of being away from home - but I think it's something that could be made even stronger.

Topics include waiting - it's always fascinating, especially when you're English and therefore born to queue - to know how good other nationalities are at waiting - so I enjoyed 'Line of Dance' (June 8th) which was about a whole day spent in different queues.As you might expect, there was also a lot, lot, lot on dance - but the lady is a dance teacher, so it's to be expected. I also enjoyed 'Night of the Milongueros' (June 22nd) which was a nice description about how the dance tradition lives on.

One plea. Can we have more labels and more definitions. A definitions text box to a sidebar would help here, or a link on the main page to a page of definitions. That's especially true for words the non-specialist might struggle with. If you're a tango enthusiast, you won't need them, but if I'm following Milongueras back through the blog I need the promise that somewhere there'll be something that tells me who they are. It just makes things easier. At the moment, I think this is a slightly specialist blog - I may be wrong, but my hunch is that it's a must for tango lovers but a bit marginal for the rest of us. And if that's what Tangocherie wants to do, I'm sure she'll be really successful. But more posts about what the place is like - on the lines of 'Line of Dance' - would broaden its appeal for the rest of us and bring readers flocking in.

Best and worst:
Best - The use of pictures really made the blog for the non dance expert like me. I also enjoyed the glimpses into every day life in Argentina that pulled you up short - like the ATMs routinely running out of cash.
Worst - The design. But it wouldn't take much (remove clutter, make access to the blog quicker and easier) to sharpen this up.

Blogroll worthy? Would I come back: Yes, I think I would. I may not be a dance expert, but I'm fascinated by daily life in Argentina. And if Tangocherie cares to deliver some bite sized morsels now and again on this area I'd be happy to make the trip over.

Rating out of 10:At the moment, probably only a must-read for the fanatical tango enthusiast, but pepping up the design and including more general content will do a lot to broaden its appeal to the non-specialist reader and turn it into an all-round fascinating read.

TopBlogReview

TopBlog Review is a new feature arriving at TopBlogMag next week, bringing you one in depth blog review per issue.

Should you wish to have your blog critiqued by our reviewers simply leave us a comment but be warned, they are not going to be blowing rainbows and puppy dogs up anyone's ass. Unless of course you have the perfect blog...

Our reviewers are:

Omega mum from 3 kids no job
Nutmeg from Simply Nutmeg
Sarah from In the Trenches of Mommyhood
Liz from Three Bright Stars

and no, they can not be bribed. Although I don't think they would mind you trying ;)

Blogs will be given a rank out of 10 based on:

First impressions: self explanatory really, what feelings, thoughts, likes, dislikes the reviewers get in the first 5 seconds of opening your blog.
Design: Is it a good looking blog or does the design make them want to leave without stopping to read? Does the colour scheme work? Are the sidebars full of clutter and distracting flashing things? How easy is it to navigate around?
Content: Is it well written and interesting or boring and full of typos? Is it full of original, interesting writing or is every second post a meme, youtube video or sponsored post? How frequently is it updated?
Best and Worst: What does the reviewer like the most about this blog? What do they dislike the most (with constructive advice of how to change this)
Blogroll worthy? Is it somewhere our reviewers would want to come back to?

So do you think your blog is up to the test? Do you want a free blog review and link from the main page of TopBlogMag? Are you looking for ways to improve your blog but don't know what needs doing? Then leave us a comment with your blog url and your wish shall be our command, we will even give you a spify little brag button to put in your sidebar.

NB. As we are only completing one review per week at the moment, it will take a few weeks to get round you all but we shan't take any more requests until the ones left in this comment section are completed.