Bloggeries is going to look at a personal blog today, and that blog is known as Jesus Encounter. The blogger is Jeremy Newton, a 19 year old Christian and student leader in his church. He is very active in his faith and his church, and is using the blog as a place for other Christians to congregate and learn about God, as well as to help others grow in their Christian walk. He wants the blog to be a discipleship if people want it, or to be a place for prayer if people need it. Most of all, he wants his blog to offer a sense of community, so others don’t have to feel they are alone for Christ. You can see Jeremy’s vision and faith through his most recent bloggeries: Your Desires, Dream On, Weekend Updates to Jesus Encounter, You Still Poop in Your Pants, and Heart Support.
The blog offers a clean and organized template with a very serene feel to it, and this makes navigation very easy. Bloggeries are left marginalized and there is a double right sided navigation system. Bloggeries are in black text on white background with black border and menu headers in a quiet blue tone. In the left navigation bar you will find links to Jeremy’s social homes; Recent Posts Menu; and a Categories Menu containing links to categories such as Anger, Challenges, Healing, Leadership, and Love. In the right sided navigation system you will find subscription buttons, Entrecard, All Posts (archive menu), Christian blogs menu, and Links Menu.
I give this bog a 3.4/5 overall for its review. The blog is a well-organized blog for a personal blog, but it seems a little quiet to me. Appearance wise the blog looks very appealing with its quiet tone to it, which is the strength behind the blog’s meaning. I think however a few more posts could use some relevant pictures to it to add to the inspiration and motivation that each post offers. I also see a lot of white space in the navigation system, and the appearance could be improved if perhaps some content was placed in these navigation bars, or if perhaps the navigation bars were merged together to make one navigation bar, thus eliminating the white space. Otherwise, navigation on this blog is very good with all essential blog meat easily navigated to. The content on the blog is well written with a strong personal voice. It is clear this blogger has conviction in his blog’s intent, and conveys this beautifully to his readers. Activity scores could use some help with posts coming in several days apart. The blogger will connect more with his faithful readers, and attract more as well, with daily bloggeries. Even if the blogger is low on ideas, this blog could make use of a daily inspiration, Bible verse, or a quote just to ensure something gets posted daily. Overall however, this was a beautifully written blog to read and review, and should the blogger continue on this journey, he is sure to see much success.
-Chrissie