Here goes nothing!

So as I was re-reading the blogging blogs exercise worksheet, I came across a stamping blog. I was pretty excited to see that I am not the only one who is interested.... This particular site does not seem to be up and running anymore. In this blog the last entry was last November. When I finished going through the blog I was very disappointed. I could not view any of the pictures. I am not sure if it is my computer or what. Like I said before, I really don't know squat about computers. So after I began reading the little blips, I noticed some interesting things in the sidebar. It was in this space that I found what I had thought would be included in this type of blog.

The author(s) of this blog added a category sidebar. I found these categories:
The Stamping Blog Categories
Birthday Card Gallery
Free Card Stamping Layouts
General Stamping Stuff
Holiday Card Gallery
Misc Card Gallery
Product Reviews
Scrapbook Gallery
Stamping Accessories
Stamping Announcements
Stamping Techniques
Thank You Card Gallery
The titles speak for themselves. The more detailed blogs were found in General stamping stuff, product reviews, stamping accessories, and Stamping techniques. The other links were mainly pictures of cards or scrapbook pages that I was not able to see. The layout was a picture, what stamp sets were used, accessories used etc.

I noticed a lot of advertising on this site. She recommends many different places to find good deals on stamping supplies and gives links to online stores as well. She is a fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator as I am so she is using her blog to gain customers by letting them know when there are items on sale or when new catalogs will be coming out. She also lets her audience know when stamps will be discontinued and when so they have a chance to purchase them if they choose to do so.

She also includes non related stamping things in her sidebar as well. I am a little confused as to why she would post links to Passions, Personal Growth, and lifestyles on a stamping blog. I think that this takes away from her main focus on her page of stamping. All in all, I liked her layout once I was able to get used to the differences of how she chose to produce her page. I think this blog is just what it says, The stamping blog, all about stamping. I think her focus is on her personal type of stamping, but I also think that she uses it for somewhat of a professional focus because she uses her Stampin' Up! demonstrator knowledge to add to her credability. It seems reasonable to me that if a demonstrator has a blog about stamping they will tend to know more of what they are talking about. I think that she uses this as self-expression but also as a reputation builder. It is not strictly either one, but I sense a little of both. She shows her work as part of her self expression, but she is also trying to build a customer base by showing Stampin' Up! products and letting us know when they are on sale or being discontinued. I thought that this may be a first blog for her as it seems to jump all over the place and especially since there is non-related stamping topics in the sidebar. I think that her use of several categories was done well. I also liked how it was not all about one company, but she gave several places to find great deals. As a parent and student, I am always looking for ways to cut my corners on spending. Morgan was not kidding when he said that once you link to another site they will know. I got a response from this site. The comment was that it was part of a network and it had moved to this new address.