Entry #1. Blogs, Blogs, Blogs...

    Before we had podcasts, social media accounts, and video platforms, we had... blogs.

    I mean, we do still have blogs, but they were the big craze in showing off whatever you liked. Whether it be what was going on in your day-to-day life, celebrity fans bouncing off the walls, a shrine dedicated to a popular tv show, or just a fun little hobby, blogs were where you wanted to go to express yourself to internet people.

    

    Not to say that blogs have died off or are irrelevant, they just have been transformed into individualized accounts on social media. Seeing tumblr get slowly left behind made me realize that I will not be able to have the joy of browsing cute or silly customizable blogs anymore. Blogs were also easy for artists or passion project enthusiasts to post their work in an accessible method.

    

    Of course, other alternatives were born, but blogging was a huge spectrum of whatever you could think of! It was like a network of the most random things that were all connected to each other through personal expression. Every time you visited someone's blog, it was like looking at their diary, or a fragment of themselves. You could attempt to reexplore that feeling, with platforms such as a Tiktok. The thing is, blogging was all writing. You could argue that videos are more impactful, sure, but so much of history has been immortalized through writing.

    Anyways, I'd figure that I would bring up some blogs I have been looking at. Looking at modern blogs gives a good idea of how long it has been since the widespread blog era, and I am curious to see how people utilize them now.

The first blog I am mentioning is Cup of Jo.

    It is a lifestyle blog, ranging from fashion to dating tips. I appreciate the header tabs at the top, as they make the blog easier to navigate. However, apart from that... the layout of the blog is messy. I feel like I am looking at those pop-up ad sites. The blog suggestions do not feel like I am scrolling through posts, they feel clunky and overbearing. I will give them credit, the layout gets slightly better when you actually view a post. The thing is, it still looks ugly. I mean, why is it aligned like that? Why do the images feel so randomly laid out? This is supposed to be a "professional" blog run by an actual TEAM of people, so why does it feel like I am looking at a 2013 mom's blog? To continue off of that, why is there a team of people behind this blog? If there are different people that are helping with the writing of this blog, why is Joanna taking all of the credit? Okay, I am getting nitpicky, I know. But if you are going to name your blog "Cup of Jo", I would expect it to purely involve Jo. A picture of her family is literally shown on the right side of the blog, for some reason. All of her socials are plugged as well, so I would think it would be centered around her writing. Collaborations are fine, but including a "team" tab on your website just makes me think you are trying to sell several things. It gets impersonal, suddenly I feel like I am being advertised into buying something from these people. Which leads me back to the ugly layout of the blog, all of it is off-putting! Bad blog.

The second blog I visited was The Skinny Confidential.

    Immediately, this blog's layout is amazing. I am biased, because I love pink, and pink is splashed everywhere when you first see this blog, but all of it just meshes together so well! Her podcast is listed right away on the very top of the page, along with her book, YouTube, and shop. She is clearly trying to gain money through the popularity of this blog, which is fine, at least make it transparent instead of concealing it through a team of people! (The thing is, as you look more into her blog, there is a "team" behind her. It reminds you that she is wealthy, and she is making money off of this. Nothing really hidden there.) A thing I really like is that she has an "Ask Lauryn" page, she wants to appear as a personable influencer. Her blog is a lifestyle blog, any topics that can relate to her she will post about. This includes motherhood, traveling, food/drink, fashion, etc. Clearly, she is not one-note. The blog is not original though, as I can find many more like this. I don't think it necessarily brings anything new to the table, what you see is what you get, a mom lifestyle-influencer trying to make money off what she can. She gets points for the blog layout though, it is so cute and everything is organized amazingly. Regarding the content, it is supposed to be "personal and appealing". The point is to feel like you are connecting with a (rich) human being, Lauryn is likeable and you can oh-so relate with her. It almost encourages you to buy something off of her, which is the whole purpose. She writes about her experiences that she can transform into something marketable and readable, and you buy. Again, nothing new. Not a bad blog overall.

The final blog I will be discussing is Lauren Kay Sims.

    Another lifestyle blog, except this one is unlike the others. It is probably my favorite, as it is simple enough to get her point across, but not too boring or cliché. The layout is unique and visually attractive, I love her color scheme and the whole summer/autumn vibe she is going for. This time, there is absolutely no team. It is just Lauren (with an e!), and she wants to inspire other women with her lifestyle blog. The main purpose of it is fashion and beauty, but there are health and travel topics as well. All of her photos look stunning and include her, which blasts the point that this is her blog and purely her self image. She is presenting herself the way that she is, the good and bad. There are definitely some heavy hitting posts in there, like quitting her dependency/addiction with alcohol. The format of her posts are also personal, it is like her own diary and she pays no attention to coming off formal. This blog is a true fragment of herself, it is reminiscent of the 2000s blogs where pages were representative of our identity. I am not entirely sure if she makes money off of anything on her page, all shop links are to things she wears or uses, not products of hers. I think they are more of recommendations of everyday objects/clothes in her life rather than "give me money through this." If it was not obvious before, I love this blog. Seeing all kinds of aspects in this lady's life gave me joy, from seeing her cute little kids to reading about some very personal experiences. This is an example of "true essence of blogging." It does not hurt that this blog is also well-organized and super pretty. Lauren is truly blogging to blog, and I think we can all learn a little something from her.