Bounty From the Blogosphere: Examples of Blogs.

Hello, everyone!

This particular posting assignment tasks me with conducting research on the internet, and cherry picking five examples of blogs that I find interesting, informative, critical, or creative. My goal was to exhibit blogs that are based out of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which is where I live. However, there are a couple that are featured outside this area that I felt were good examples of showcasing my academic interests in web design application and database management. And now, without further ado, here we go!

1. Justin Vacula’s Blog (www.justinvacula.com)

Justin Vacula's Blog

Based out of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, Justin’s blog primarily deals with the issues of theism and atheism. I may not agree with what he writes in regards to his beliefs, but I always support critical discourse between the two groups. I will say that the blog does seem a bit ‘plain’. While informative, it doesn’t really ‘jump’ out at you, if that makes any sense.

2. Thomas Kejser’s Database Blog (blog.kejser.org)

Tom's Blog

Based out of London, Thomas runs an informative blog that deals with database systems, and what he feels are the best practices of crafting and running them. He also uses the space to advertise his classes and personal projects concerning databases. Overall, Thomas has done a fair job with organizing his findings. However, anyone who is unfamiliar with the advanced concepts of databases may find themselves confused when they first visit. Perhaps a brief ‘introduction’ would be of some help.

3. Joshua Blankenship’s Blog (joshuablankenship.com/blog)

blog3

Joshua is based out of South Carolina, and blogs primarily about the aspects of web design, both the technical and the artistic. Like Thomas and Justin, his posts contain a great deal of information and advice for any aspiring web designer. However, like Justin’s blog, I have also found his site to be rather plain. Not that a simplistic design is entirely bad, mind you. I just personally feel that it might not grab the attention of as many users as it should.

4. A Portrait of Scranton (timbenedict.tumblr.com)

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Tim Benedict’s blog is what you would call an ‘image’ blog. Instead of posts, Tim expresses himself with photos of the various buildings and landscapes of Scranton, PA (my home). And while his photographs are well done, I think that they could have benefited from short explanations describing where they are located. This information would be of great interest to folks who want to learn more about the city’s history.

5. Leslie IRL (www.leslieirl.com)

blog5

Leslie Stewart’s blog is, in my opinion, a great example of a blog/website that combines informative posts with appealing visual design. A resident of Wilkes-Barre, Leslie focuses primarily on her own personal and professional interests, which include home decor, wedding planning, and geek culture. Honestly, there really isn’t much here that I can offer criticism on. Your mileage, however, may vary.

  1. Hi Thomas, I enjoyed your post but found myself wishing that the screenshots were a bit larger and maybe cropped a little, so that I didn’t have to click on each one to view. I see that you created a blog on the new sites.psu.edu. So did I. I think sites.psu.edu (wordpress) is much easier to use than blogs.psu.edu (movable type) and am happy to see that all of Penn State will be migrating to it soon. Looking forward to future posts! Cheers.

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