Foolocracy
This blog's biggest strength is its sheer amount of information and immediacy--there are several updates every day. The type of information is also a strength since it reports on stories that are underreported or ignored--all with a touch of the absurd. It is not a humor site, but it reports on information that is inherently funny. They are not stories that one would see on any other news site which makes it unique. It plays to its strength through the use of visual aid--lots of pictures and video to back up its stories. It's also very easy to navigate with recent topics links, past archives and everything is categorized. It builds community through comments and links to other blogs as well as other news sites. It also has a tip suggestion box for viewers to give tips on certain stories the blogger might not know about so he can look into them. As a result, the viewers play a key role in the site's success since the amount of information reported is nearly impossible for one person to do alone several times a day. He also has several links to follow him and the site on various social media sites including twitter, facebook, google buzz, etc.
The Flying Pinto
I know the name is weird, but this is a blog of a fellow flight attendant...I don't know if her last name is Pinto or what. She provides a humorous, although insightful look into the life of a flight attendant. Her layout is very simple and easy to navigate which is a strength. She has everything categorized so browsing for a topic is easy. Although, the topic of the blog is very narrow, she finds ways to discuss other things travel related-like tips for traveling with children, or where to go and what to do on layovers which brings in other people to her site than just employees in the airline industry. She incorporates pictures and videos in her posts to give it some style and to help relay a point in her posts. She doesn't post everyday, but she does post every few days which is pretty good, I think. As far as community, she actively responds to reader comments or letters in her posts with, sometimes, very in-depth answers. She also has links to other FA blogs, travel blogs, and pilot blogs and they have links back to her site which continously builds her community. In addition, her blog is the first option to pop up on google if you search for FA blogs and she has links to follow her on twitter and facebook.
The Broadway Pulse
a broadway/musical theater news blog with VERY in-depth posts with links to various sources. However, this hurts it also in that it often reads as a news feed rather than a personal blog. There is very little personality and very little commentary. This is probably because the blog is run from a commercial site-broadwayworld.com so it must be very professional. The writer works for the site, he is not a freelancer. Because it is a commercial site, it is very clean with many links and just looks very professional. However, the colors and layout are a little busy to me which sometimes distract me. It does have links to past blogs, but nothing is categorized so you just have to go slumming through all the archives to find a certain post. Although the posts are very news professional, the information is not limited in diversity at all: broadway, off-broadway, interviews, reviews, behind-the-scenes, musical theater around the world--it's all on there. I personally think it is lacking in the community area. Although it has a message board and links to follow it on twitter and facebook or RSS, there is no where to leave comments that I can find. It also only has links to other blogs within the broadwayworld website--no outside blogs are listed.
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