I decided for my peer reviews to use my Top 5 Blog Tips to help me. The numero uno blog I checked out was Kristy's personal blog:Finger(+)Crossed. My first impression of Fingers(+)Crossed was Kristy's voice; her words flowed on the screen, full of depth about her experience with love and the men in her life. The blog is about the struggles and happiness of relationships, from the point of view a young college girl. Fingers(+) would draw in teens and young adults, who are dealing with the issues of first love or who want insight on how to deal with their current relationships.
Tip 5: A blog post needs an interesting title.
Kristy has creative titles for her blogs. They reflect the down-to-earth tone of the text. For example one of her blog post is titled: Chicken Noodle Soup for My Confidence. Kristy learns to cook from her friends grandmothers, and is "Forced" to cook for her musician boyfriend, who is broke. But eventually learns to love the art of cooking, that expresses her love for him.
Tip 4: You need to have creative header and blog description. What's the theme of your blog? This is the question you need to answer.
Fingers(+)Crossed is the prefect header for this blog, relationships can be complicated, having their ups and downs. So when you find the right person and the relationship is running smoothly, you'll do anything to keep things as they are, like crossing your fingers for good luck. The Blogs description is simple,just one sentence, yet its intriguing:One Girl's Struggle to Live in Love. The Blog's description made me want to dive in and read the posts.
Tip 3: Your Template design should express your personality.
White is such a tricky color to use, it could either be considered boring or seen as creative like a canvas before an artist's gives it life. But if I was a blogger just scanning through thousands of blogs, I would have passed Kristy's by, at first sight it seems impersonal, sterile. Since the blog is about Love, I had expect it to have colors; not just lovely dovey red and pink but maybe colors, that represent the different ranges of emotions experienced in her relationships.
Tip 2: The information you present in a post should be related to the images you use and the theme of your overall blog.
Kristy only used only a few images in her post, but they make her text come alive. In one of the post: #5 Cohabitation there is a picture of Kristy and her boyfriend smiling, which highlights the honest conversation she has with her readers. If feels as if she is hanging out with her readers and chatting like they're friends. This allows her audience to feel apart of her experiences in the post.
"I mean who doesn't secretly want to be the vomit-inducing cutesy couple weighing their half-pint ice cream options in the late-night lonely hearts club that is the grocery store after the super moms have put their kids to bed."
Tip 1: Don't be Afraid to add Images or Videos.
Kristy should use more pictures related to her posts, that can make her blog stand out. I saw that there were only three post, but if she continues Fingers(+)Crossed their are many avenues she could take. For instance maybe she could post love quotes, or songs that connect with her experiences. Kristy could also give advice for her readers, or leave opening at the end of the post that allows readers to respond, and post their opinions.
Reviewing Fingers(+)Crossed blog, make me want to used more of my own life experiences that ties into my post. The key to a personal blog is to make it "personal", I don't think I have done so for my own blog. I should make myself vulnerable, and let my readers into my psyche, so they can connect and feel comfortable enough to respond to my posts.
How kind you were... Not that Kristy isn't a good writer--she is--but what, really, did you have to go on?
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