Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Blog Enticers

There are millions of blogs you can find on the Internet. Since there are so many of them, finding one that you really like or can relate to can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Many blogs look similar and have generic templates (guilty) and their first impression may not motivate you to proceed reading, but sometimes when you click on a page it speaks to you and pulls you in.

The best example of an enticer I can think of is from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I remember the kidnapper guy who always freaked me out. It has made me wonder if my blog is yelling "popcorn, peanuts, candy" to bring in unsuspecting readers until I can throw them in the cage and drive away. By the way, some people may not know that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was actually written by Ian Flemming and produced by Albert Brocolli. It features a cool car with gadgets, a pretty lady, and adventure. It fits the 007 formula. I guess you could say Dick Van Dyke was one of the early James Bonds...Never mind, that would be pushing it.

I have been wondering what appeals to people when you make a split second judgement call when they come across a blog for the first time. I can already anticipate the porn jokes from some guys so lets get that out of the way before proceeding. Aside from that, what catches your attention and makes you want to keep looking into a blog? For me, higher quality pictures are always a big plus, which is ironic since I am guilty of using just about any poor quality picture I can find from google images.

I'm sure there are many things that could repel people from reading a blog or that make a bad first impression for you. What things turn you away from reading a new blog? Are there colors, features, fonts or other things that you don't care for and generally avoid? What do you like?

I'm asking these questions in the name of science, so I'd really appreciate any comments on the topic to see what people think. Please be civil and respectful of other's blogs with your comments. For example, don't specifically say things like The Movie Guy blog sucks. Instead you could say something like "I don't like it when movie blogs don't give a serious effort when reviewing a film".

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't like it when blogs have music playlists. I don't always agree with the music choices but the main reason is because those blogs are too noisy to read while I'm at work.

Kristina P. said...

I was going to say the same thing about the playlists. I also tend to stay away from family blogs that get political.

Oh, and no offense, but I really hate the word verification. And now, Blogger has made it more difficult by allowing people to put the box on the bottom, and it doesn't initially show there's a word verifier. It pops up after. So it takes about 3 times to actually make my comment show up.

Caitlin said...

There is a TON of stuff I hate about blogs, lol. I don't like anything that flashes or moves or plays music, super bright colors, fonts that are difficult to read, difficult site navigation. Plain, aesthetically pleasing blogs are the way to go for me.

Polka Dot Moon said...

I wish I had more time to check out blogs, but the ones I keep coming back to are often on the creative side. And humorous blogs always have me coming back for more!

I first found you through Bee and Rose.....she's one of my faves and I tend to enjoy those she recommends :)

Denise

Anonymous said...

I don't care for blogs that use profanity, foul language, or F-bombs. I hope I don't sound like a prude. I understand a person can write what they want since it is their blog, but it is a big turnoff. Thanks for keeping Chaka's World clean:)

Eric said...

I like blogs that use silly humor like puns and such (and as Anonymous said above, not so much use of the profanity).

Also, blogs that try to make it a discussion format with readers, drawing them in.

Kelly said...

Sometimes if I see that it is long then I will move on in the interest of time. In fact before I knew you Chaka this had made me skim past before reading your posts. Sorry! I currently love your blog. I always read because sometimes you can really crack me up. If there are too many photos of people's kids I also get bored because I am not the grandma. It's funny I say this because I think I do both of those things from time to time. Sleezy photos are also a turn off. I don't do that : )

That guy from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang used to show up in my nightmares btw!

Eve said...

I don't like tiny words - if I have to squint to read, I will either not visit again (or if I already like the blog) only visit once in a while.

Photos are always fun - if there are colorful photos, I usually stick around to take a peek.

I like backgrounds - something that pulls the blog into a tidy little package - but nothing too crazy - I don't like to be blinded. ;)

Sass said...

I can't stand when blogs have music. Or way too many items on the page, so it loads too slowly.

And when bloggers simply post videos all the time.

Um...that's about it.

;)

Gwen said...

Things I don't like:

*dark backgrounds with light text - it's simply too hard to read and I won't try

*music that plays upon opening the page

*too many videos. I can't open them on one of my desktops so will most times skip these posts.

*constant complaining/pandering/memes

Things I do like:

*a nice, clean look and font

*humor

*creativity - I like it when you can tell the author is at least trying to find a new way of doing the same old thing - or even coming up with something ENTIRELY NEW

*good grammar, matching tenses, and proper spelling and punctuation (all the while understanding that mistakes will be made, of course)

Also, what's with all the profanity haters? To all of you . . . please avoid my site. You will f*cking hate it over there.

Rosee Rouge said...

I have to agree with the others when they say that blogs ith music suck big time!

I like blogs that keep their posts short and sweet and the funnier the better. Use of pictures is great too. I'm a visual girl!

Gotta say, Chaka, Baby, what drew me in was seeing your mug on CNOW followers list! Chaka's World rocks mine! heehee

Raine said...

Ive gotta agree with the music sucking. Im usually at work or waiting for the baby to fall asleep. Nothing is worse than clicking on something and having it sing to you

I also hate when blogs dont separate their paragraphs, or dont have paragraphs at all. I zone out if its too monotonous

Tom said...

Thanks for all the feedback. It looks like most of you are on the same page with what you don't like. I was thinking of changing to a small font, long paragraph busy looking, profanity laced, politically charged family blog, but I will now refrain. Luckily I only violate about half of the things that have been mentioned.

Joanna Jenkins said...

Hi, I agree with the above but here's my two cents...
Dislikes:
-music
-word verification
-backgrounds that spill over onto the type (like the scrapbook pages)
Likes:
-Clean, uncluttered pages
-Light colored backgrounds
-BLACK type that's big enough to read
-Paragraphs - One big long paragraph is too hard to read.

Good question, in the name of science :-)
co

Jeanne Estridge said...

I don't like blogs that have tons of ads and crap that take forever to load.

Lisa Loo said...

Yeah, when I think James Bond, Dick is always 2nd, right after my friend Sean. You kill me.

Thanx for allowing me some closure with that creepy dude--I thought I was the only one who that creepy man scarred for life.

I usually only check out new blogs that have random mascots from long forgotten 80's Saturday morning cartoon time.

But--on a serious note--I like variety. Snarky is fun for awhile but not every. single. post.