Negative Bitch Slap… Bee-yotch!
Well, I mentioned how I submitted Gangstas & Hugs to be reviewed by I Talk Too Much, and by god, they did just that! I have to tell you I thought I was ready for just about anything, but maybe I was a tit bit wrong about that. Bitter Bitch ended up giving me the coveted Negative Smack™, which means my blog is awful.
Two sidebars FULL of ads and tons of other worthless shit. Blue. Blue screen o’ death blue. Busy, busy busy. My eyes don’t know where the fuck to go.
The couple of posts I read weren’t bad but all that crap…puh-leeze.
I have never seen so many fucking ads in my life. Here ya go, have a Negative Smack™. Word to your mother.
A few things I can take away from the whole ordeal: I’ll be getting rid of 99% of the ads and redesigning the template so that its much simpler and easier to read. I should have known better than to leave the ads up after I submitted it to be reviewed. Although, I might even have illicited an almost-positive response too:
- The couple of posts I read weren’t bad but all that crap…puh-leeze.
Hmmm… so if I have any hope of getting any real constructive criticism I better have a good-looking site before I submit again.
True, I wish I could have gotten a few more helpful comments than “get rid of the ads and the blue busy-ness”, but I guess I asked for it when I thought I could get away with plastering advertisements all over my pages. After all, they do this stuff for free, and I knew what I was getting into when I submitted my blog for review.
So I need to thank Bitter Bitch for even taking the time to look at Gangstas & Hugs, and I’ll just make sure I have something worth giving a more in-depth look when I submit it again. I guess the point is this: “If you want someone to read what you’ve written, make sure your posts are the most dominant part of your page and nothing distracts from them.”
(Ha! And I thought I’d have a hard time eating a piece of humble poo pie!)
They don’t pull any punches…geez. I like the blue, though.
Who and what is a bitter bitch? How did you get them/her to review you?
I like your site. I think you’re funny.
I don’t really pay attention to the ads. I’m used to that sort of thing from all the porno sites I visit.
Dude, you’re not seriously gonna re-evaluate your boss based on THIS drivel are you?? We read your blog and love it so they can kiss some ass as far as I’m concerned.
By the way, I lubs me some blue. Definitely don’t get rid of it (unless you want to). :)
FYI — “boss” should have read “BLOG.” Oh, WHY am I so duh??
honestly, if the ads are whats paying the bills then they can eat it. it must not be bad if the people that come to your site don’t mind them. whatever, they could have at least given a bit more advice like you mentioned. if you ever need some help on anything with a redesign or something let me know
I’ve had you on my blogroll for a while and, until I read the IT2M review, I didn’t even know you had ads. I had to disable the FF Adblock to see for myself - lol!
FireFox FTW!
ouch! lol
I could have warned you about the ads….I read that site all the time and they hate ads. just be glad you don’t have white text on a black background…they would have had an aneurysm.
Phoenix: No they sure don’t, but I guess that’s what their readers get off on. And I don’t think I’m going to lose the blue, I just might add a few colors that compliment it to the color scheme.
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Zombie Flyboy: You can submit your blog to I Talk Too Much, and you too can have your blog rudely critiqued! And thanks for the compliment!
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Nicole: Oh I don’t think the content sucks… I’m actually kind of proud of all my posts. But I”m pretty sure my template can be pretty confusing on the eye, and all the ads don’t help. If they had said something like “He writes about nothing and is as boring a fuck as I’ve ever seen”, then I might not have been so calm in this posts :).
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eric: Actually, I would like to ask your advice about a redesign. I’m very impressed with both yours and Nicole’s new blog designs, and I’d like to have a more simple feel similar to what you were able to create. So look for my questions by email!
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FyreGoddess: Uh… just disregard anything I said about ads… there’s none here! Whatever you saw must have been some left over cached items froma previous visitor… yeah, that’s it. And I just realized I didn’t have you on my BlogRoll… I’ve had you on my Bloglines subscription since you first visited, but failed to post a link here. So, just to let you know that’s fixed.
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Dawn: You didn’t tell me! But at least I knew better than white on black… :)
I got three smacks. Is that good or bad? I didn’t even know what a smack was. Negative smack would seem like a good thing. I wish I had a few negative smacks when my Dad took me over his knee…
Did someone say pie?
Your blog is better than they say. They always focus more on style than substance, more on layout than on content. And they review so many blogs they favor the pithy and mindless over the thoughtful. So no worries … and I like the blue, too. You do have a lot of ads; hoepfully it gets you some income!
– david
Wow, I wonder if it’s just chance that when they were reviewing you I got this - Hi Hon, Just lookin for some online fun, if u want to chat add me on msn. I’m betting they think I’m one of the posts that “wasn’t all that bad” :p
USELESS MAN: 3 smacks is pretty darn good… of course you and your co-authors deserve it. But yeah, I could have used some negative smacks back when dad had an itchy trigger palm. You like humble poo pie too?
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David Amulet: Thanks very much for the compliment. It really means a lot coming from someone that writes so well. And you’re absolutely right that their reviews focus more on layout than content… although I’m still thinking they weren’t really wrong about all the ads I have.
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Robguy: Hmmm… that chick sounds for real. Maybe she’s just one of those super confident babes that loves chatting with dudes online all day.
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Thanks to everyone for your positive feedback! I didn’t really expect so many people to weigh in on it. I really appreciate it!
Keep the blue. I like it too (hey, that rhymes)! I like your blog. I think Bitter Bitch fails to use constructive criticism. Maybe that’s part of why she’s bitter. Maybe she never received constructive criticism and so she’s lashing out at the creative bloggers out there. It’s sad, really.
That was my comment..I’m Anonymous, or rather, the ditzy one who forgot to leave her name.
Tara: Thanks for the support! While I doubt I’ll lose teh blue, I’m probably going to spend some time simplifying the template. And yes, constructive criticism would have been much more helpful, but of course the review was free, so I got what I paid for!
“FireFox FTW! ” That comment literally had me laughing out loud.
You know how I feel about your site. It’s fucking fantastic. And at least the ads have hot ladies in tight shirts.
well, you don’t have to stop posting just because you got a negative smack! lol
Blue is one of my favorite colors, and your blog rocks… those bitches eviscerated me in their review (they were really pissed off about my pink chaps for some reason) and I wouldn’t take anything they say seriously.
loveya.. ;-)
JJ: Thanks man! And I figured that about the hot chicks in the ads. I’m sure they’d be way too annoying if they were for gambling sites or something even more bogus.
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Dawn: I know I’ve been AWOL this week, but it’s beena tough one. I promise to have a post up very shortly!
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Laurie: I remember that! And thanks for the compliment!
I just submitted my site. We’ll see what happens.
I’m not usually a big fan of ads either, but yours always have hot chicks wearing funny t-shirts so I don’t mind. It seems like a lot of my favorite blogs have submitted their shit for reviews lately. I’ve thought about it, but like Tara said they don’t use constructive critism. It’s always nasty. You know I’m all for being a bitch sometimes, but they NEVER have anything nice to say. Although, Laurie on my sidebar got 5 smacks from Bitter Bitch, so who knows.
Anyway, if you wanted to be smacked all you had to do was ask……..and I wouldn’t have even said anything about the blue. ;)
wow…talk about constructive criticism, huh? and hey, if the adds pay the bills, then more power to you. Don’t change it unless you actually want to.
JJ: I will be VERY interested to see what they give you. I’m actually betting you’re going to get a pretty high review. You can tell as soon as you load up your blog that it’s going to be funny and irreverant.
April: Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one that likes looking at the hot chicks in the ads. Although, I’m definitely going to scale them back a bit. And I’m in complete agreement about the ‘no constructive criticism’… A free review is nice, but never saying anything nice unless they know you already can get a bit old.
Ashburnite: Thanks! I won’t change because the bitches dissed me so hard, but I will try and refine the blog a bit and make sure it looks the way I really want.
I just looked at their site — how can anyone who uses 3/4 of a page view for their site logo criticize anyone?????
Looks nice