For my second peer review I'm still going to use my Top Five Blog Tips as a guide. My first impression of Alex's blog "Let's Complain," was that I felt a kinship with the blog. Being a opinionated Taurus I love to complain, and always back them up with facts. The same goes for this blog, which is not just rants, but posts that express thoughts and emotions from Alex, which give it depth, but also shines a light on different forms of media. Alex's film background really gives the blog creditability; since his writing comes from experience. Let's Complain is geared towards anyone who stands on their "soapbox" and dish out what they consider to be their own truth.
Tip 5: A blog post needs an interesting title.
Alex has interesting titles, laced with humor. For example: silent Hill 2 Audiences 0,I guess the Predator Director Reads My Blog, and They Lost Me Somewhere. These titles lures me the reader into the web of complaints; they are blunt and to the point. Alex doesn't sugar code anything.
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.
"Let's Complain" says its all, its a blog about complaining. But that's the beauty of the header, everyone have something that bothers them, and by seeing this blog shows them they are not the alone. The Blog's description is icing on the cake: In Which I Have Nothing Positive To Say. The reader knows that this is a blog that focuses on the negative, and anything positive goes against the foundation of the blog.
Tip 3: Your Template design should express your personality.
Alex chose a black template for his blog. Its emphasises the images he uses, making them pop. The color black gives an air of mystery and rebellion, which is the foundation of "Let's Complain". Most people like to engage in the dangerous or unknown; bloggers would stop, see the black template, and be drawn to its eeriness.
Tip 2: The information you present in a post should be related to the images you use and the theme of your overall blog.
Alex's post and images go hand and hand. The images reflect the subject of the text, and the theme of the blog. For example in his post:I know I Shouldn't Care About Remakes This Much, Alex complains about the remaking of the Karate Kid Movie. Not only does he give links to info about the actors; but shows a trailer of the older film. He takes into consideration that some people aren't familiar with the movie or the actors.
A few of the blog post though were on made of links to articles not text, such as: I Can't Do This Anymore, which lead me to an article about Yogi bear becoming a movie. I would have liked for Alex to elaborate on why he was upset on the issue.
Tip 1: Don't be Afraid to add Images or Videos.
There is a balance between videos, images, and text. Alex uses the videos to his advantage, that emphasis the zinger points he makes. Most of his recent blogs are about films, so adding the video gives me the reader insight of the film genre and its expectations for directors.
Advice:Maybe Alex can have posts that leave it open for readers to respond and see if they share the same opinions + complaints as himself.
Reviewing "Let's Review" makes me take a close look at my own blog. Since its about self-expression through art, I could show not just the positive but the negative aspects of the art World. Also I could elaborate more on the different genre's of writing, and combine it with my own experience in Fiction Writing.
How about the frequency? Was that an issue for you? Sustaining a blog is, as you know, not an easy thing.
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