I am finally back with the blog reviews for this year and I open my innings with the review of the blog of this blogger who I call the angry young man of blog-o-sphere. Like Amitabh Bachchan from the films of the 1970s he is someone who strongly resents the evils of the society and raises his voice against them. Check out deepakspeaks if you want to read someone who has the courage to call a spade a spade.
The blog name is appropriate. ‘Whatever it takes’ kind of conveys the bold hard speaking image of the blog. The design and colors are kind of neat and the blog presents an overall no nonsense look which again goes well with the theme. The widgets have also been chosen appropriately. They are arranged neatly without giving the blog a too cluttered a look. One suggestion I would give when he goes for his own domain would be to have the blog url same as blog title so that people can remember it.
In terms of content, the blog posts are mostly opinions on social issues, though now and then one can see creative works such as 55 fictions too. He expresses his opinion crisply and in a lucid manner bringing in a personal context as well making it an engaging read. The language is not very elitist and the kind a regular Indian would be able to relate to. However I would still recommend paying some attention to spelling and grammar to ensure reader feels he cares for them enough to edit the content he gives out to them. Overall he conveys an image of someone who strongly believes in what he says. He says things strongly without mincing any words and is not cowed down by social norms. His posts do not indicate deep analysis and he may always not be right in what he says. But his writing bells the cat. Many of his opinions are those that many people have in their minds but afraid to say it for the fear of being politically incorrect. So all the people silenced by need for diplomacy will have a vicarious enjoyment reading him say the things they wanted to say but could not.
One advice I would give to increase readership would be to introduce a pattern to his writing and stick to it religiously. What I mean by pattern is to give some predictability in his postings. Say, he can make it a point to make a post on one burning issue every week. That way the readers know, if there is a serious issue, Deepak will definitely have a say on it and as soon as an issue comes up, they will go over to his blog to check what Deepak has to say on it. Also as I suggest for most people it is better to make the blog niche and bring some focus. So things like generic creative expressions can be avoided or a separate blog can be created for that kind of content.
In terms of navigation, I feel he has done a great job. There are archives, most read section and the search feature. One suggestion from me is to give links inside a new post to other earlier posts on related topics he has written earlier. That would reduce the bounce rate of the blog and retain the reader on the blog longer. He has managed tabs quite nicely having the awards on a separate tab and having spate tabs for the about him section, for contacting him and reading and requesting guest posts. That helps in de-cluttering the sidebar. In terms of widgets, I feel they have been chosen with care and arranged neatly. One suggestion however would be to move the followers widget to the side or bottom. It does not look good to see the ‘followers’ widget coming up right on top even before the content begins.
Coming to the interaction, it is quite good and he does take out time to respond to readers. He is also active on social media and actively tries to engage with folks. The brash attitude that works well for the blog however can rub people the wrong way at times when carried over to interpersonal interactions. That is however unavoidable as one cannot provide a different image on a blog and different image on personal interactions.
This is definitely a blog I would recommend everyone to try out. I can’t assure you will definitely like it but you will definitely admire the spunk this kid has got. Find below a selection of five posts that is reflective of his writings
1. TICK TICK
2. OMG!
3. Gangs of bloggers
4. A TIME TRAVEL
5. ANGELS OR DEMONS
The blog name is appropriate. ‘Whatever it takes’ kind of conveys the bold hard speaking image of the blog. The design and colors are kind of neat and the blog presents an overall no nonsense look which again goes well with the theme. The widgets have also been chosen appropriately. They are arranged neatly without giving the blog a too cluttered a look. One suggestion I would give when he goes for his own domain would be to have the blog url same as blog title so that people can remember it.
In terms of content, the blog posts are mostly opinions on social issues, though now and then one can see creative works such as 55 fictions too. He expresses his opinion crisply and in a lucid manner bringing in a personal context as well making it an engaging read. The language is not very elitist and the kind a regular Indian would be able to relate to. However I would still recommend paying some attention to spelling and grammar to ensure reader feels he cares for them enough to edit the content he gives out to them. Overall he conveys an image of someone who strongly believes in what he says. He says things strongly without mincing any words and is not cowed down by social norms. His posts do not indicate deep analysis and he may always not be right in what he says. But his writing bells the cat. Many of his opinions are those that many people have in their minds but afraid to say it for the fear of being politically incorrect. So all the people silenced by need for diplomacy will have a vicarious enjoyment reading him say the things they wanted to say but could not.
One advice I would give to increase readership would be to introduce a pattern to his writing and stick to it religiously. What I mean by pattern is to give some predictability in his postings. Say, he can make it a point to make a post on one burning issue every week. That way the readers know, if there is a serious issue, Deepak will definitely have a say on it and as soon as an issue comes up, they will go over to his blog to check what Deepak has to say on it. Also as I suggest for most people it is better to make the blog niche and bring some focus. So things like generic creative expressions can be avoided or a separate blog can be created for that kind of content.
In terms of navigation, I feel he has done a great job. There are archives, most read section and the search feature. One suggestion from me is to give links inside a new post to other earlier posts on related topics he has written earlier. That would reduce the bounce rate of the blog and retain the reader on the blog longer. He has managed tabs quite nicely having the awards on a separate tab and having spate tabs for the about him section, for contacting him and reading and requesting guest posts. That helps in de-cluttering the sidebar. In terms of widgets, I feel they have been chosen with care and arranged neatly. One suggestion however would be to move the followers widget to the side or bottom. It does not look good to see the ‘followers’ widget coming up right on top even before the content begins.
Coming to the interaction, it is quite good and he does take out time to respond to readers. He is also active on social media and actively tries to engage with folks. The brash attitude that works well for the blog however can rub people the wrong way at times when carried over to interpersonal interactions. That is however unavoidable as one cannot provide a different image on a blog and different image on personal interactions.
This is definitely a blog I would recommend everyone to try out. I can’t assure you will definitely like it but you will definitely admire the spunk this kid has got. Find below a selection of five posts that is reflective of his writings
1. TICK TICK
2. OMG!
3. Gangs of bloggers
4. A TIME TRAVEL
5. ANGELS OR DEMONS
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