Middle child, schoolteacher and questionnaire-loving Carol likens her blog to therapy, proclaiming: “Why do I blog?” Therapy is expensive. Blogging is free. You do the math. And indeed this does seem the case for this blog, which reads like a journal through Carol’s days, from her whacking $324 gas bill, to loving memories on her daughter’s birthday.
Visual Aesthetics – 7
The nostalgic photos are a nice touch, and it goes well with the cool, understated and generally laid-back feel of this blog. However, Median Sib would do better if it had a little more panache, perhaps in the form of more visual aids, photos and the like. It may have been intended (as mentioned above, with the black and white pics), but there is a dated feel to the site, which I think can be charming or deadly dull, depending on your age I suppose.
User Friendliness – 8
No problems here. Loaded fairly quickly, and the design/navigation combo was simple enough.
Reading Enjoyment – 7
This site has short-ish entries, which is always a good thing as sometimes a long-winded entry on a personal blog can make one feel like somewhat of a voyeur, or worse, end up being annoyed at the blogger’s ramblings. The “five weird habits” Carol was tagged for was fun though.
User Info – 8
It may be like a personal journal, but Carol does seem to make the point of adding interesting tidbits of information in most of her entries. She also has a healthy list of other blogs which may be worth checking out, as well as a link to an interesting article about Wall Street Journal Reporter turned Marine recruit, Matt Pottinger. An address or phone number of the Mexican restaurant she raved about would have been good though, just in case we were ever in the Nashville area.
Overall Experience – 7
It must have been those old photos, because one gets the feel of nostalgia with this site, sort of like just having left Grandma’s warm kitchen, where she just stuffed you with freshly baked cookies and milk.
