10 things I hate about your site

Entrecard is working well for me, it appears. This is my second review request from a fellow “Entrecarder” and there are more in queue. This review is on the blog Focus Organic. As the name implies, this blog covers organic and eco-friendly topics. I have to start by saying that I LOVE the design of this blog. The graphics are great and tie in with the theme, the icons and web elements aren’t distracting, and the page loads quickly.

Focus Organic

10 7 things I hate about your site:

1. Are you blogging for the environment, or are you blogging for the ad revenue?
2. Are you blogging for you, or are you blogging for your advertisers?
3. What’s with the itty, bitty text size?
4. Love the Eco-Friendly Friday graphic. Hate that it’s larger than the posts.
5. Link confusion—why do I keep getting Sept. 19th’s post when I click on the Eco-Friendly Friday graphic?
6. Series confusion—where are the rest of the Eco-Friendly Friday posts?
7. Why the green “F”?

I think I’m reviewing myself into a corner. What started out as an endeavor to review web sites (but not excluding blogs), has taken a sudden turn to the blog side. This creates a bit of a conundrum for me since most blogs rely on pre-made templates.

I believe Whathuh Studios is my first request from an Entrecard member. I think the time I’m spending there might be panning out.

Whathuh Studios Rant

10 8 things I hate about your site:

1. PayPerPost blog, or Whathuh Studios Rant blog?
2. “We make web design personal” doesn’t
   appear to be a very accurate tag line
   for this blog.
3. The Digg widget–its placement just bugs me.
4. Visit Flordia, the 51st state.
5. Whathuh heck is that icon?
6. Your sidebar widgets icons are magically disappearing.
7. Translation: worth it, or pretty space-filler?
8. Tag cloud vs. topics.

I’m feeling rather special today. 10 things hit a milestone of sorts. For the first time, it cost 2048 credits to advertise your entrecard here. That’s a pretty significant amount–I’ve only seen a few sites with this “price.” Of course, this will go back down. People aren’t going to pay that many credits to advertise here, so the ads in queue will run their course, the price will eventually go back down, and then people will advertise again. I’m still pretty happy.

So Daddy Papersurger (old git ) was serious. I almost feel bad reviewing his blog, as it is one of my personal favorites. The thing is, as soon as he made the request I was feeling the pressure. Honestly, I don’t think there are 10 things I hate about his blog, which will have some people crying “foul!” Seriously, though, DP’s biggest offenses have to do with his left sidebar.

So, Daddy Papersurfer, here are

10 7 things I hate about your site:

1. Your lonely “HOME” link.
2. “MAIN PAGE” is a little confused.
3. Pat, I’d like to buy a paragraph break please.
4. “Subscribe in a reader” and “SYNDICATE”. Separated at birth?
5. “Older posts”, newer spacing issues.
6. Left-align, right-align, center.
7. “Made on a Mac”

Check out the fine print:

Here’s what I’ve noticed in the past week: CRAP.

Did you notice there wasn’t a “thing of the week” last week? I just wasn’t inspired by much. With all the browsing I do, you’d think something would’ve stood out. Even StumbleUpon failed me, which is rare. All that ended today when I received the mysterious note “Here’s a good way to spend your Friday!” Ooh, what was it? A nice beefcake site? 101 things to do with human hair? Nope. It was the thing of the week!

I have to admit, I’m featuring this site as much for the COOL products, as I am for their über-minimal design. Without further ado, this week’s TOW is: