Handwriting Analysis vs. Blogging Analysis.
Years ago, I’d glanced through a book on handwriting analysis. There are tell tale signs of a person who is a liar when they write (liars hesitate while writing yet their writing hand continues to move a bit forward…so if there is noticeable space between one part of a sentence and the next, odds are that a mistruth might be tucked in there), those that behave immaturely/childishly (large loopy “O” and “L”), those that are dreamers (crossing their “T” high), and those that are forever stuck in the past (words angle leading leftwards…or they may be lefthanded). It was a handy cocktail party trick and on occasion I’d use it to impress freshmen while at UM. Granted, impressing freshmen isn’t really that hard, but I digress.
I consider some of these same elements to be transmutable in evaluating/stereotyping (yes, stereotyping) the personalities of individuals based on their blog designs and stylesheets vs the actual content of their site.
Some evaluations are obvious but I find myself, almost dismissively evaluating websites based upon a few key elements.
#1. Domain/Hosting: Terrible of me, but I tend not to take any blog seriously that is hosted off of geocities. Higher in my esteem are those on Xanga or blogspot. Lower are those on diaryland or livejournal. Consider it domain ownership snobbery but I don’t think I’m the only one who does this. I confess that my own journal used to be on clunky Homestead. I’d like to believe I’ve moved on up. Even though this design, itself, is ass.
#2. Color Palate: Obviously the dark grey font on black background with red links gives me the distinct vibe that this person could probably use a little bit more vitamin c.
#3. Font Size: Like in handwriting analysis, the smaller fonts give the impression of higher intelligence or temperament/care with word choice/content. Unfortunately, five times out of ten, this is misleading and the author, in spite of clean design and small font choice, may be a total asshole.
#4. Image: Choice/Size/Placement. Consider me a snob. A large photo of your cat in a sweater & apron at the top of your page and taking up 70% of the screen will not compel me to read further about your life in Omaha. I’m sorry. I know how vicious that is of me to tell you.
#5. Information architecture: Granted, we get all a bit cookie cutter on how we organize information, however some reasonable organization is a gentle request by readers to see if you’re A.sane; and B. worth reading.
#6. Links list: The company you keep speaks about you. Linking to AzNSeXKiTtN82 is *slightly* less impressive than linking to Zeldman. If you’re *into* that. And while not necessarily subscribing to the whole notion of “A-Listers” or not, a community of like minded individuals are easily identifiable from the link-hoing that is akin to a Mohawk in the Hamptons.
Least important, to me at least, is if a site uses Blogger, GreyMatter, Moveable Type, or some other independently developed content system.
And hey, it’s still only a cocktail party trick. Everything I say is a latent, ugly, and vicious lie and should never *ever* be taken seriously. Heaven knows, *I* never take myself seriously. And with that I announce…
That I will start thinking about a redesign. I’m well overdue and am rather inspired by Kristin’s new site (as designed by Tom Cosgrave).
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