Aug 24, 2014 / Community Pool

Community Pool

Feedback, camaraderie, and free popsicles! (Free popsicles: not included.)

Have you just published a new post and are dying for some feedback? Did you recently start your blog and could use some layout or design advice from your more seasoned peers?

Tap into the wisdom of The Daily Post blogging community and leave your question here in the comments. Others can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

To help us make the Community Pool a productive space for discussion, here are some tips you might find useful:

TIP: To keep from losing your place in the comment thread while you visit others’ blogs, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.

  • While you’re not required to, we encourage everyone who requests feedback to also reply to at least one or two other bloggers who need some help. Spread the love!
  • The Community Pool comments section can get quite big — and starting duplicate threads doesn’t help. Thanks for not posting the same question more than once!
  • If you’re looking for quality feedback, be as specific as you can. Questions about a particular post tend to draw more comments than ones about entire blogs. Questions about specific design elements are more likely to be answered than ones asking for general layout advice.
  • We discourage leaving links without a more substantive message or question. These are often overlooked by other bloggers, and we frequently remove them to make the comment reading experience smoother.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. The idea is to have fun — it’s a pool, after all!
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
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Photo by Brian Cantoni.

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    1. Hi Sharon, I liked it. It was warm and inspirational and I felt like you were talking to me. I like the overall theme and layout of your blog too – clean, simple and easy to navigate, with comfortable tones. I’d probably revisit!
      Pixie

      Like

  3. I’ve started my blog a few months ago and would like to ask for some advice of the content I am publishing. Is it subject-appropriate and is the layout of my blog, in ways, professional or not? First impressions count. Some feedback on my posts either via a follow-up comment or on one of my posts in particular would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wow. You absolutely have a talent for prose and poetry, a.c. Your writing clearly has meaning to you and only you, which is an amazing quality to have. Your poems kept me wondering about your experiences and about who you are.
      I am thoroughly impressed!
      -erin

      Like

    1. OI, I’m Dana, I loved your post. I really want to move too, but not forever, You are a really great writer. I wish I could write like that. as of feed back to the topic. Why not? work hard and save up, try it out. Gotta at least try, or you’ll never know. I’m just a beginner but check out some of my post and tell me what you think too, I really want to know.
      http://dana4anime.wordpress.com/

      Like

  10. ramseyfamadventures.wordpress.com
    Hello, all! I am very new to the blogging world and would certainly appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism. Thanks so very much

    Like

    1. Your theme, Bouquet, is a responsive one — meaning that it automatically optimizes your site’s layout depending on the device or screen size your readers are using.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you for your response 🙂 is there a way I can view the page as if it was on a Iphone, to make sure photos don’t get bunched and paragraphs are readable? I only have a laptop.

        Like

  16. Hi Yousra,
    I have been following your blog. If you let me give you some advice, I would suggest you to write with the same frequency, for instance once a week, instead of three times a week and then weeks of no writing. That will give you more visitors.
    Cheers

    Like

  17. I Just began a brand new blog. My first post was about 30 minutes ago. Its simply about life in general and daily understandings of what we experience in the human condition. I’d love your support and feedback. Thank you for your time and consideration.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sarah, I hope you have a wonderful school year at your new school! Thanks for sharing from your heart. One critique – you had a few spelling and grammatical errors. You should be able to spell check and/or proof read your article before you post it. Good luck!

      Like

  21. Hello everybody. I decided to make a blog to host my English short stories some time ago. I write a lot in Vietnamese, but just tried to switch to English for a broader experience. I love to know your thought about it, especially my literature style. I have three stories so far, but got a little bit discouraged by some of my friends. Please comment about it if it is worth your time 🙂
    http://afatewalker.wordpress.com/

    Like

    1. Hi fatewalker, I think you should definitely continue writing. I’m not sure about your cultural history but you mentioned you write in Vietnamese too. There’s a lot of recent Vietnam history worth writing about and I believe your story is trying to reflect this time? I would put a by-line in your story, “Mother”, because in the first paragraph it wasn’t apparent what it was about. I was interested enough to read till the end and eventually understood, but preferred if I had been prompted that it was about war, civilian self-defence, family, mother-son relationship etc (any hint would have helped). I got a bit confused toward the last two paragraphs as to who the soldier is. There were some uses of “he” (like when he yelled “kill her! Kill her!”) as the main character and I understood it as the soldier was the mother’s son, and she shot him to prevent him from following the wrong path – the General’s path. But who was it that yelled “kill her?”. Maybe if it could be written a bit clearer it would help the reader. Hope this helps! Keep it up!

      Like

      1. Thanks for your thorough comment, Pixie. I’m so glad that you understand so well my story. The one who yelled was the officer, i will rewrite that part. Indeed I adopt a diverse style, so the other two stories (if you have time to read them) are a romantic and a fantasy one. I love to write thoughtful stories in free settings, and readers must read until the end to grasp the whole picture. Truly appreaciate it, I will continue to write more.

        Like

  22. Hello everyone, I’m trying to do some funny videos here in australia (australia is not really related to my videos in general though…) and I made a wordpress to be able to reach more people and to have more interesting feedbacks than the common ones we find on youtube =) So I’ll be glad if any one could take a look and maybe give me their opinions.
    Thank you in advance for the futur help/returns =)

    http://ernestvideos.wordpress.com/

    Like

    1. Hi, Pixie! I love your reviews of the spas–I’m bookmarking it so I could have a reference for when I am in Hongkong and in need of a massage.

      However, I was hoping you would explain what you meant by the number of dollar signs after the spa. What is the price range for “$$$$”? It would be more helpful to someone who is looking for a good spa to go to but is also very particular with their budget. Other than that, I love how your reviews are from your own experience of the places. Keep it up! 🙂

      Like

  25. I’ve had a blog about kids TV for a while now. But, I haven’t gotten a lot of feedback about it. It is meant to be more informative than personal. Is there anything in particular that you like or don’t like about it?

    Like

  26. Hi All,
    Until recently my blogging was only shared with my writer’s group. Now I’m getting the courage to share it with more people. At this time I don’t have a specific question. Rather I would love some general feedback on the look and feel of my blog and if there are any suggestions on how to improve my writing to get more views.

    Thanks!

    Winning the doggy health battle

    Like

    1. Hi, glad to visit your blog. What I have noticed is that it gets very difficult for reading. Have you tried another themes? Look at mine, Ryu. It makes things look bigger. My two cents!

      Like

    1. NIce look of your blog. I also write about travelling. I would suggest to use pictures that fit within the column of writing, I mean no blank spaces on each side. Do you crop you pictures?

      Like

      1. Thanks! I will look into changing that format. I am just beginning to learn to crop and edit my photos. Do you have any specific suggestions? I love how your site can allow me to read in a variety of languages. Is that a plug in? I also like how your site is really clean. That is the look I was trying to achieve.

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks! I showed my son the Panda. He loves it! It is a marvelous idea. I look forward to reading more of your blog. Isn’t the Panda interested in going to South America?

        Like

      2. Thanks!! Yes he is very interested in South America! But I think it will still be a while before I get to plan a trip there. I have a strange pull towards Patagonia these days though…
        Thanks for checking out my blog!

        Like

  28. Hi everyone!
    I pretty much just started my blog this week and there’s not a lot there, but I would really appreciate any feedback you’ve got!

    The only blogs I’ve ever really done were for school, but now that I’m graduated I wanted to focus on a project I was genuinely passionate about. And for me that’s learning how to be a better cook.

    Please let me know if it reads well/is digestible! (Pun may or may not be intended)

    Thanks so much!

    littlegrainofsalt.wordpress.com

    Like

  29. Hey, guys!

    I am an aspiring journalist who is getting her feet wet in the world of prose and poetry, and I would love a little feedback! I have a lot of emotions and things I want to say, but I’m really having a hard time typing them out in a way that satisfies me. After reading my stuff, are there any styles of writing you could recommend me trying out? Does my writing have the raw quality I’m looking for, or does it seem forced? I hope that you’ll be honest!

    I will link my most recent post below. Anything anybody can tell me would be appreciated!

    Regards,

    Erin Rain

    http://tumblingwordsoflove.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/bloody-lover/

    Like

    1. Hihi!
      I took a look at the first poem and I have a little feedback! I majored in English so I had to I take a couple poetry classes in college and I found what really helps a poem read more powerfully is your line breaks. Every line doesn’t need to be a sentence or a complete thought you can break it off in the middle on a word that makes it more powerful. And that makes the poem flow more into the next line. Think about it like how chapter books have cliffhanging endings at times. But ultimately, if you keep writing and expressing yourself you’re on the right track. Practice makes perfect. And what I believe poetry really comes down to is if you as the author/poet is really comfortable/finished with a piece. It has to feel done to you.

      Sometimes what helps is trying different writing exercises like giving yourself 30 seconds or a minute to write down a poem and the words that first come to you are more raw than when you take your time. And from there you can rewrite that poem or get inspired by a thought you had in that small amount of time.

      But keep doing your thing! Hopefully this helps (:

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Hi Shelby,

      I really enjoy your posts and think you’re writing them well.

      One thing I’d say is that the layout prob could use a bit of jazzing up, perhaps pick another template or if you’re a skilled designer, make one yourself! 🙂

      regards

      Liked by 1 person