I’m considering some long-overdue rennovations to the site, and I was wondering if I could ask for some assistance. I’d like to know what you think. Criticism can be left in the comments below, or if you’re feeling particularly nasty, by email at steven@thehorrorblog.com.
Here are a few pointed questions to illustrate what I’m looking for, though if you do decide to respond, please don’t hesitate to delve into areas I neglected to mention.
Do you prefer the old style of the blog with fewer items presented individually and in greater detail, the new style of one large post with many items, or a combination of the two?
Do you find the blog easy to read? Are there too few pictures? Too many? How’s my writing?
What is your favourite aspect of The Horror Blog? Your least favourite?
How did you get here?
What do you think about the Clip of the Day? Quote of the Day? The Horror Roundtable?
What parts do you skip over when reading? What parts are you most drawn to?
Would you like to see more Reviews? Contests? Interviews? Podcasts? A Weekly Poll? A Links page? A Film Club?
Should I post commentary to generate discussion or just stick to the news? Would you like to see more cross-blog interaction?
Do you enjoy coverage of mainstream horror news? The oddball stuff? Other blogs? Is there anything here you enjoy that you don’t find anywhere else? What do I cover that you feel is redundant?
Is there an area of horror you feel I’m neglecting, or one that I’m too focussed on to the exclusion of others? How about books, games, comics, or other media?
What can I do to make The Horror Blog better?
Thanks for helping a brother out!
P.S. I’m not going anywhere, feeling particularly insecure or fishing for compliments concerning the blog. Actually, I’m feeling pretty good about the whole thing these days, as the recent flurry of activity should show. I just want a fresh set of eyes to take a look and give me some feedback as I’m too close to the blog to have any kind of objectivity. Also, I want to do my best to provide content that other sites may let slip through the cracks. Thanks!
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January 24th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
1. Combination.
2. Everything’s fine.
3. I like birthday posts when the person is only identified by their first initial.
4. Horror Roundtable!
5. Also, Horror Roundtable!
6. I read everything.
7. They all sound good.
8. I like commentary. It brings people in, and back.
9,10,11. I like it just the way it is.
January 24th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Steve, I think you’re doing a spot on job.
I wouldn’t worry about conforming to any one firm set of rules regarding your content. I thoroughly enjoy your current way of more or less “going with the flow”.
If a story dictates a long, lone piece by all means go with it, but, if there’s just a hodge podge of eclectic tidbits that you want to bring to our attention, feel free. It all good to me!
As for what brought me here, it was Curt from The Groovy Age Of Horror & his participation in a Horror Roundtable & his subsequent link to it. With the Roundtable quickly becoming one of my favorite, most looked forward to things on the ‘net.
Peace.
- Jim
January 25th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
# Do you prefer the old style of the blog with fewer items presented individually and in greater detail, the new style of one large post with many items, or a combination of the two?
**I like the large posts so that when I check for updates quickly
# Do you find the blog easy to read? Are there too few pictures? Too many? How’s my writing?
**The blog is easy to read. I find most of the info doesn’t need pictures and the articles in the links have more than enough visual stimuli.
# What is your favourite aspect of The Horror Blog? Your least favourite?
**THE CLIP OF THE DAY…it’s how I survive work (Favorite) My least is just posts on things I don’t care about…but you have no control over that.
# How did you get here?
**Cine’s group hug…now I’m hooked
# What do you think about the Clip of the Day? Quote of the Day? The Horror Roundtable?
**Clip of the day = Awesome, Quote of the Day = should be bigger and a way to find out what it’s from easier, The Roundtable = lets me discover other bloggers to read
# What parts do you skip over when reading? What parts are you most drawn to?
**only the comic stuff, because I can’t afford to start buying and getting into those. For me I’m just into Dvd stuff, and random clips out there that are awesome.
# Would you like to see more Reviews? Contests? Interviews? Podcasts? A Weekly Poll? A Links page? A Film Club?
**You do Reviews?? I have no idea what your tastes are actually. I don’t care enough about contests…I don’t play/I don’t win. Interviews are sometimes good but it really depends on who it’s with. Polls are good if you want info from people (such as this) A links page could be good, as I’m always looking for new places to get info from. A film club? I REALLY like the idea, but you’d have to choose movies people could get easily. I mean just talk to Final Girl and ask how HER club is going.
# Should I post commentary to generate discussion or just stick to the news? Would you like to see more cross-blog interaction?
**Well, if your opinions suck, I’d say stick to the news. But being that I haven’t really gotten much of a feel for your tastes, I’d say some commentary could work. All you bloggers and a fun group that I oneday hope to join…so interaction is always great!
# Do you enjoy coverage of mainstream horror news? The oddball stuff? Other blogs? Is there anything here you enjoy that you don’t find anywhere else? What do I cover that you feel is redundant?
**I like the stuff you get from bloody-disgusting, as my work’s firewall won’t let me access it. Covering other blogs is good, and just weird stuff in general. Though I like mainstram stuff, I do check Dread Central every hour on the hour.
# Is there an area of horror you feel I’m neglecting, or one that I’m too focussed on to the exclusion of others? How about books, games, comics, or other media?
**For me, my main focuses is on movies/TV/Dvd…the other stuff is nice too, but it’s just not where my interests lie.
# What can I do to make The Horror Blog better?
**GIVE OUT FREE MONEY!
January 25th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Hey! My Film Club is fine! So the last movie I picked was a clunker because I misread the Netflix entry. Sheesh.
I like the fact that THB is full of little tidbits…it’s like a magazine- it works for my sometimes-short attention span.
January 26th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Thanks to eveyone who responded, both publicly and privately. One of the reasons I decided to ask is because I’ve been hoping to add some new things for awhile, but by the time I’m done with the stuff I usually deal with I’m too burned out to write anything else, like reviews. Just thought I’d trim the fat a little and devote more time to those other things.
Expect to see some reviews and commentary in the near future.
And I’m a proud occassional member of The Final Girl Film Club. Unfortunately, I don’t have Netflix, so whenever possible I actually buy DVDs to join in. Such is my devotion!
January 27th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
• Do you prefer the old style of the blog with fewer items presented individually and in greater detail, the new style of one large post with many items, or a combination of the two?
Combination works fine. While it’s fun to check back during the day for
updates, it’s also handy to have a bunch of links to explore at once.
• Do you find the blog easy to read? Are there too few pictures? Too many? How’s my writing?
Design is nice and clean and the writing is great – keep it up. I particularly like The Horror blog because you actually put some effort into editing it, unlike so many other horror news blogs that crap stuff out without so much as a spell check.
• What is your favourite aspect of The Horror Blog? Your least favourite?
Clean look, well written and a nice variety of interesting news, without having to read every pointless studio press release. Don’t get much out of the birthday listings.
• How did you get here?
Saw link on Rue Morgue message boards.
• What do you think about the Clip of the Day? Quote of the Day? The Horror Roundtable?
Yes, yes and I have to admit, I tend to skip over the Roundtable about half the time. Might be better to run it bi-weekly or keep it to fewer participants – but a larger variety of participants.
• What parts do you skip over when reading? What parts are you most drawn to?
See above for first part. Most drawn to the well written news, and I dig the effort put into the graphics – a little design and photo manipulation makes the blog stand out for sure.
• Would you like to see more Reviews? Contests? Interviews? Podcasts? A Weekly Poll? A Links page? A Film Club?
Interviews are always welcome, as long as they’re with genuinely interesting people in the genre and not simply the latest teen horror star provided by a studio, or the same semi-cult B-horror personalities that get interviewed over and over again.
• Should I post commentary to generate discussion or just stick to the news? Would you like to see more cross-blog interaction?
Commentary, definitely. Cross-blog stuff could be cool too.
• Do you enjoy coverage of mainstream horror news? The oddball stuff? Other blogs? Is there anything here you enjoy that you don’t find anywhere else? What do I cover that you feel is redundant?
Stuff that I don’t find elsewhere is the main draw. Nothing wrong with mainstream stuff, as long as it’s worth caring about. Go with what piques your interest.
• Is there an area of horror you feel I’m neglecting, or one that I’m too focussed on to the exclusion of others? How about books, games, comics, or other media?
Feels well-rounded.
• What can I do to make The Horror Blog better?
Kill the birthday notices, as they’re kinda pointless, or at the very least post how old the person is, just to make it a bit more interesting. The day planner is great, and it’s always fun to catch a weird YouTube vid, as well.
Hope that helps. Keep up the good work.
January 29th, 2007 at 5:25 am
Thanks for taking the time to respond, Dave. I’m particularly grateful that you mentioned editing. My writing is sloppy and my spelling is atrocious, but I strive to give every post two or three readings before sending it out into the world, and I often go back and re-edit when I notice something amiss. I appreciate that it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
As for interviews, I somehow doubt I’ll ever get close to the latest WB clones, though I would love the opportunity to put them through the wringer.