* * * Athena asked: What do you look for when you read a journal (or blog)? What kinds of things keep you coming back for more? I’ve gone through the list of journals and blogs I read, and really the only thing that they have in common is that they interest me. Some of the journalers/ bloggers have things in common with me, and some could not have more different lives. I like snarky attitudes, but I also read journals and blogs that are completely un-snarky. I prefer a sense of open-ness in the sites I read, because the “There’s something going on, but I can’t talk about it” drives the nosy old bat in me insane. If there’s something going on you can’t talk about, I’d prefer if you didn’t even mention it, and blind-side me with it when you can, because otherwise, I’ll assume you’re talking about your newfound hatred for me. The world revolves around me, you know. Lately, I’ve realized that I need to either skim or skip political postings in blogs or journals, because – and this is from people who believe a wide variety of things, politically – far too often they take on a tinge of hysteria and “Anyone who believes differently is a FUCKING IDIOT”. If they can state their beliefs reasonably and calmly without resorting to name-calling, I’m interested in reading what they have to say. If they can’t, I’ll skip that post. I have such a long list of journals and blogs that I read, that I can afford to be picky about the little things now when I’m checking out new ones. If a design is hard on the eyes, if I have to squint while I’m looking at the screen, if there are distracting jumping, moving things all down the side of the page, if the text of the entry stretches all the way from the left side of the screen to the right side and there are long, long, long paragraphs without a break, I have a hard time reading what’s written, and so I tend to move on without giving them a chance. I prefer a simple, clean look with easy navigation, and in a perfect world, each entry would be on it’s own page with navigation to the entry before and entry after clear and simple. Yes, I KNOW you think you don’t exist to please me. You’re wrong, but you just keep believing that if you need to. I LOVE notify lists, especially notify lists that link directly to the entry being notify-ed. My notify emails all get filtered into a “journal” folder, and when I have a chance I sit and read journal entries, clicking on the link in the email. Journals without notify lists tend to be where I turn after I’ve read the notified journals. Yes, sending out notifies can be a pain in the ass, but aren’t your wonderful readers worth it? I know that the question wasn’t really “What, design-wise, do you prefer, O Bitchy One?”, but there’s really not anything I can put my finger on that would tell you what, content-wise, will bring me back to a journal or blog. I guess that, like pornography, I just know it when I see it.
2003-04-16