Three Kid Circus
Template/Clutter -
More like three COLUMN circus! I'm grouping "Template" and "Clutter" together on this one, because this damn template SCREAMS clutter! Holy hell, I have never seen such an assload of crap on one page! I hate hate hate three-column blogs! The only reason people use a 3-column template is because they have so much shit to add to their site, they run out of room on one
sidebar, and it spills over onto a second. Blech!
The advertising -- oh, the advertising! MAKE IT GO AWAY! Right now, damn it! I stopped counting the ads on this page, because it made me want to curl up into a ball and make out with the monkey on her header. That's some scary shit! So if you're looking for a Mom's Photo Necklace for only $19.99 or a FREE way to e-file your taxes, maybe this site is for you. But for me, I'll just stick to Google. I don't think I have ever clicked on a damn ad on someone's site, so why do people insist on putting them in there? Is it a BlogHer thing? (Personally, I don't know what the whole BlogHer thing is all about, so we'll just leave it at that. )
As far as the header goes, I will admit I like the title. It's catchy, it's cute. But I totally disliked the picture, as the monkey scares the shit out of me for some reason. (I am reminded of Marcel on "Friends" and how he got a little, er, FRISKY after a while) *sigh* Hot monkey love *sigh*
Sorry, lost my train of thought--- My dear, find a new picture, and I could definitely say "Me Likey Long Time." Also, the tag line would have a lot more punch to it IF WE COULD ACTUALLY READ IT. Change it to white (um, yeah... like your TITLE?????) on that dark background, and it would help a ton. I had to run my mouse over it to see what it said-- "Helping Other Parents Feel Superior, One Blog Entry At A Time." Hell, I'm already feeling it, let me tell ya.
Blogging since July of 2004, when are you going to get rid of that fucking long list of archives? Roll up your sleeves and do an easy Google search and find the code for rolling up your archives. Or email me, and I'll send it to you...THIRTY-FUCKING-ONE months of archives is way too much to list on your site. It takes up space, and its just too damn much. Add that to the list of Recent Posts (which I do concede that every blog should have) and a list of her "Favorite Posts" and you've officially got 953.8 ways to read this blog. Obsess much?
Content -
My favorite part of her blog? Her writing. Personally, I do have heathens I call my children, and I do tend to blog about them every so often, but I do NOT succumb to the dreaded "mommy blog" disease, and-- thank GOD - neither does "Three Kid Circus." She doesn't have posts filled with what her snotty brats ate for lunch, or what color their shit was today. She talks about her kids in a way that I can relate to, and I can laugh about. I like to laugh-- any blog that can get a true laugh out of this bitch is worthy of me reading again.
She has a great way of explaining herself, although a few times got a tad bit wordy. But I read back through several various months of her archives, and she's got a writing style I like. Actually, if I could rate the blog on this alone, it would get a darn good score.
Navigation - Not much to report here. Everything looks pretty good, if I can get my eyes to re-focus after being subjected to all the junk in her sidebars.
So, Would I Return? Honestly? Yes. If I can force myself to look beyond all the junk.
Diva Dee's Rating: 6
Template/Clutter -
More like three COLUMN circus! I'm grouping "Template" and "Clutter" together on this one, because this damn template SCREAMS clutter! Holy hell, I have never seen such an assload of crap on one page! I hate hate hate three-column blogs! The only reason people use a 3-column template is because they have so much shit to add to their site, they run out of room on one
sidebar, and it spills over onto a second. Blech!
The advertising -- oh, the advertising! MAKE IT GO AWAY! Right now, damn it! I stopped counting the ads on this page, because it made me want to curl up into a ball and make out with the monkey on her header. That's some scary shit! So if you're looking for a Mom's Photo Necklace for only $19.99 or a FREE way to e-file your taxes, maybe this site is for you. But for me, I'll just stick to Google. I don't think I have ever clicked on a damn ad on someone's site, so why do people insist on putting them in there? Is it a BlogHer thing? (Personally, I don't know what the whole BlogHer thing is all about, so we'll just leave it at that. )
As far as the header goes, I will admit I like the title. It's catchy, it's cute. But I totally disliked the picture, as the monkey scares the shit out of me for some reason. (I am reminded of Marcel on "Friends" and how he got a little, er, FRISKY after a while) *sigh* Hot monkey love *sigh*
Sorry, lost my train of thought--- My dear, find a new picture, and I could definitely say "Me Likey Long Time." Also, the tag line would have a lot more punch to it IF WE COULD ACTUALLY READ IT. Change it to white (um, yeah... like your TITLE?????) on that dark background, and it would help a ton. I had to run my mouse over it to see what it said-- "Helping Other Parents Feel Superior, One Blog Entry At A Time." Hell, I'm already feeling it, let me tell ya.
Blogging since July of 2004, when are you going to get rid of that fucking long list of archives? Roll up your sleeves and do an easy Google search and find the code for rolling up your archives. Or email me, and I'll send it to you...THIRTY-FUCKING-ONE months of archives is way too much to list on your site. It takes up space, and its just too damn much. Add that to the list of Recent Posts (which I do concede that every blog should have) and a list of her "Favorite Posts" and you've officially got 953.8 ways to read this blog. Obsess much?
Content -
My favorite part of her blog? Her writing. Personally, I do have heathens I call my children, and I do tend to blog about them every so often, but I do NOT succumb to the dreaded "mommy blog" disease, and-- thank GOD - neither does "Three Kid Circus." She doesn't have posts filled with what her snotty brats ate for lunch, or what color their shit was today. She talks about her kids in a way that I can relate to, and I can laugh about. I like to laugh-- any blog that can get a true laugh out of this bitch is worthy of me reading again.
She has a great way of explaining herself, although a few times got a tad bit wordy. But I read back through several various months of her archives, and she's got a writing style I like. Actually, if I could rate the blog on this alone, it would get a darn good score.
Navigation - Not much to report here. Everything looks pretty good, if I can get my eyes to re-focus after being subjected to all the junk in her sidebars.
So, Would I Return? Honestly? Yes. If I can force myself to look beyond all the junk.
Diva Dee's Rating: 6
Labels: Diva Dee Dishing It Out
6 Comments:
Hi, Diva Dee! I just read your review and it made me laugh (in a good way). I agree with your critiques of my layout. This is what happens when a girl gets drunk one weekend and tries to redesign her own blog, and then gets past the good buzz and quits. Hah! You've inspired me to actually finish the job sometime this month. (And yes, I'm sick of the scary monkey myself. Heh.)
As to the ads, while I understand how they can be visually jarring, they pay for my kid to go to preschool, and put gas in my tank. For those of us in the BlogHerAds.com network, we've decided that making money while blogging isn't a negative. There are no editorial controls on what we write, so it was an easy decision for me. Especially since it is passive. No one has to click on a damn thing for me to get paid. It is all about the page impressions, baby. As you guys grow, you might look into it.
Finally, will you stop with the mommyblogger bashing? That label is played out, and there are a lot of amazing writers who get tossed under that category, simply because they have a kid and dare to mention it occasionally. Shitty content crosses all genres, from political bloggers to cat bloggers and back again. Calling myself a 'mommyblogger' is akin to you calling yourselves 'bitches' - you are claiming it, owning it and defining it. There are a lot of great writers out there that claim the mommyblogger label. Please, find another way to hate on a blog's style or content.
Cheers!
Jenny Lauck
Thanks for the explanation of the "BlogHer" deal. If you're making money off of it, so be it.
Essentially, any one of that has kids can be considered a "mommy blogger." I have been called that on more than one occasion, and I don't think I incessantly mention my kids in my blog, either. In my opinion, there's a difference between eloquently writing the happenings on your child's first day of kindergarten (which was one of your posts I LOVED) and writing about your frustration that your child is constipated, proceed to list all of the things said child ate that day, and ask your readers to determine what you should do differently. (Yes, this is a true post I have seen before.) It's THOSE that annoy me to no end. Like I said, I love your content. You give "mommy blogger" a good connotation rather than a negative one.
Thanks for taking the review so well!
I like the review, too (and that's not Jenny bashing, because she knows I LOVE her). I'm glad you like her writing style.
I don't think the long list of archives is obsessing as much as it is just clutter. It's like a closet that gets stuff tossed in it, before you know it you haven't cleaned it in two years and WHOA where did all this shit come from?
Keep up the good reviews,
I'd say it was pretty fair. Hey there are those of us out there who don't know how to code and therefore must rely on the templates we're given.
The writing is why I come back. The terrific writing! I don't care what a blog looks like as long as I can read the writing. Though I wish mine was a bit more personal to me...
I've read your blog reviews before, and I swear they make my palms sweat each and every time. You make me nervous . . . and it's not even MY blog that's getting reviewed! I'm a frequent reader of Jenny's blog, only because I have three monkeys myself and can totally relate. Although I really like her writing style, I agree with you on the clutter issue (although I think I am quickly headed down that road - yikes!). Your reviews actually enable us all to take a step back and view our sites from a different angle. So to that, I say thanks. Even if you do scare the heck out of me!
I've been reading Jenny's blog for a long time. I really dig her style. I think she has a great flow. Post when inspired to do so - don't force it when it isn't there. However, she always great material.
Her writing is great and if I get to go to the next BlogHer convention I'm going to track her down and jump up and down in her general vicinity. (and then probably be arrested or something).
I'm glad to see she got some props.
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