Rashenbo Reviews The Cheese Party

The Cheese Party is a blog that I would categorize as personal or a blom (blogging mom).

The Rating Scale: 1 = Dreadfully dull 5 = Alright 10 = Awesome! I'm so jealous.

The Title Cheese Party - I give it a 6.
The title is interesting and most folks enjoy a good slice of cheese. I happen to live near the cheeseheads (Wisconsin) so cheese tends to catch my eye more often than not. With that said, I think it's an ok title. It doesn't grab me so much that I would stop my surfing and say, goodness... that title makes me want to stop and go there - right now! But I like it better than "Amy's Blog".

The Layout Pink & Green Flowers by Zoot - I also give it a 6.
I like the design. It has an easy navigation and the header is different from the basic blogger templates. It's a free blogger template made by Miss Zoot so it's not so unique that I haven't seen it a few times lately. I am actually considering having someone design a template for me (one that works with beta blogger) so I'm on the lookout for nice designers. Miss Zoot certainly has some nice ones in her portfolio.

The Sidebar On the empty side - I give it a 4.
Now then, I'm a blogger that likes having more of an interactive experience. I like having buttons and icons to look at and click through. Other bloggers may not and may prefer a "cleaner" sidebar. Take my comments with that grain of salt. Amy is in the blogger chicks blogroll and she's got a few links I recognize. I see she uses feedburner and sitemeter - two of my favorites. I see she's also involved in Blogtopsites - not something I'm all that familiar with. There were minimal ads, which was nice. I don't like to be overloaded by ads. I was able to do a little surfing off her site, but not as much as I typically am able to off other bloggers that offer up a few more "pretties" or "goodies" (as I like to call them).

Blogosphere Presence Not quite out in the open.
Bloggers like bloggers - we all want readers. One of the tricks to getting more readers on your site is to become a reader of a blog that has more traffic or visitors than your own. I've picked up many readers because I've seen their comments on a mutually favored blog and then surfed over to them... and then created a little blog relationship. One of the things I look at is how "in" the blogosphere someone might be. I am certainly not widely known - so I don't rate this area... it's just an interesting observation that I make. I did some google and technorati searches and didn't get many hits for The Cheese Party. But, Amy is making the rounds and getting noticed. Amy inspired another person to start blogging. She's involved in many mommy blog areas. She's a fan and reader of Zero Boss - one of my new favorite blogs. She's also in a blog exchange. I'll have to ask her how that has been for her. I would think it might be interesting.

The Content
What it all comes down to. If you've got good content... those other things don't matter much. Amy's first blog post was on June 12, 2005. She began blogging when she and her Dr. SOB decided to have a child. Her blog chronicles the time before she was pregnant, her pregnancy, and now the growth of their son. She is far braver than I - she shares photographs of her tummy - stretch marks and all! She blogged the day her water broke. She has some lovely posts about her family, her friends, and her child. Of the recent posts, the one about her grandparents was touching.

The content at The Cheese Party was worth my visit. I found that I enjoyed reading through the archives and looking back at the transition from wife to mother-to-be to mommie. As a mother that's something I can relate to. Amy has a nice sense of humor and I could feel it as I read through many of her posts. Her blog entries are easy to read and fluid and sounds like she's just conversing with friends. It helps create welcoming posts. I give the content a 7.5.

Amy, it was a pleasure to visit your blog and read through your posts and your experiences. I look forward to seeing more of you in the blogosphere. Thank you for sharing this little bit of yourself with the rest of us.

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert in anything. The reviews that I do of blogs are just a reflection of my thoughts and opinions. Blogging is very subjective. What appeals to me may be something that others dislike... the reverse is also true. If you'd like me to take a look at your blog email me at rashenbo at gmail dot com.