The primary utility of internet is to find information. Now
internet has grown much beyond being just an information engine but still the
primary focus does not seem to have changed. That is evident in the popularity of
websites giving information on technology, cookery, travel, books etc. These
are more specialized topics. However there will be lot of people looking for
answers on generic topics. There are very few blogs I have come across that
give you answers to some of the simple questions regarding this complex world.
And Indianomics run by Hemal Shah is one such blog.
Indianomics is an excellent name for a blog giving useful
information that Indians are likely to look for. It would have however been
good to have a catchy tag line conveying the blog’s mission. The layout and
background have a nice, structured and dignified feel to it. That goes well
with the theme of this blog. The widgets have been managed well and they blog
does not look cluttered and none of the widgets feel unnecessary. I especially
liked the related posts widget. The one used here is better than most similar
widgets I have found and actually seems to throw up relevant results.
Coming to the content, I liked the simple and concise way he
explains things. He has taken up relevant topics and manages to get his points
through very effectively. However I found his articles related to stock markets
a bit technical. I feel it would help a lay man if he avoided jargon and
explained things in simpler terms. The other thing I felt is that there should
be a bigger plan to the range of topics covered. Right now the topics have been
randomly chosen. So if a reader is looking for information on a specific topic,
she can’t be sure she will be able to find it here. It might be more helpful if
he started covering topics with a broader plan in mind.
In terms of navigation, the blog has an excellent navigation
structure consisting of static pages and tabs with options and the archives.
The side bar has been used effectively to point readers to relevant pages. I am
not too fond of label based navigation as such. But it works quite well here as
short and appropriate summaries come up for the posts under each label.
Possibly label based navigation is much more advanced in Wordpress. One area I
have feedback is the tab titles. Some of the items seem to have been just put
there to fill space. There are tabs titled ‘Sharepoint’, ‘Wild Life’ and ‘X/HTML’
that I find quite irrelevant.
The Contact and Testimonial sections on his blog promote
really good interaction. I really liked the idea of Testimonials and am thinking
of having one for my blog as well. He is prompt in responding to comments and
general interaction on the blog is pretty good. One nice thing to add would be
to have a section where readers can suggest topics they want explained by him.
That way he can engage the reader better in the content creation.
Overall I would say a great blog for simple answers to questions
we always wanted to ask with a sprinkling of nice personal reflections and
poetry. Please do sample these 5 posts handpicked from this blog.
9 comments:
TF - Thank you very much for such a detailed review, and trust me I had been abandoning my blog for a bit, but this gives me the much needed shot in arm for me to start it again...
Glad you found my review encouraging. Hope to see your blog vibrant again.
Came across your blog through Indiblogger- Blog review thread. Lover website at first brush. If I have any specific thing to say, I will reply to you in the forum.
Great work!
Thanks a lot, Ritu.
Ah!So you are still continuing the reviews-glad!Because i too am somewhere down the line.
Yes, Indu. Yours is coming very soon.
Crisp and to the point review TF. My knowledge in these fields is quite close to Nil and such blogs would definitely assist.
Thanks Jaish. It is definitely a useful blog.
Good to know, Hemal. Let me check it out.
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