It's always a pleasure when I come across a blog that isn't just like every other blog in its category. "Things I’m Grateful For" is a unique personal blog.

What is "Things I’m Grateful For" all about?

It appears to be a daily journal of all the things Solomon Broad is thankful for, and it dates back to January of 2007. It's interesting to read the entries from then and the entries from this month to see how much it's changed.

Site Design

Everyone has their own color preferences, and Solomon's seems to be shades of green and yellow. I haven't seen the theme before and I consider that a plus.

Although the sidebars have a lot of items, they appear organized and uncluttered. There are things missing. I didn't see an "about" page anywhere, nor a contact page of any kind. I also didn't see "recent posts" anywhere. While it's not necessary, it's a handy navigation tool.

I have a suggestion, for the sake of hotspots and readability: Solomon should optimize the placement of his sidebar items, to put the most important items above the fold. I don't think the blogroll deserves the position it's in. That are should be reserved for advertising, recent posts, archives, and categories in no particular order.

I'm always interested in the person behind the blog, much more so than the blog itself. An "about" page is where you tell people who you are and other things that let your readers know the whats and whys of the blog. It doesn't require a lot of detail, and it doesn't require changes except on rare occasions, so why not include it?

Contact pages aren't necessary either, but there should be a way to contact the blog author without leaving a comment. It doesn't even have to be a page. It could merely be a prominent link in the sidebar. Anything is better than nothing.

Article and Post Content

I was looking for something that stood out from the rest. The daily journals are interesting, but I wanted something with a little more bite. His future-dated post, The “Things I’m Grateful For” April Contest, is the only thing I found. By the way, that future-dated post can be fixed by installing the WordPress Redirection plugin. Change the date and then enter the old and new URLs on the redirection page of the plugin. By doing so, you can prevent the link from breaking here and in the search engines.

My Overall Opinion

Although it's an interesting blog, it isn't the kind of blog that'll attract a huge following. I like the design and I wish him luck with it, but I won't be following it. If Solomon has other blogs, I would suggest he concentrate on them more than this one. If not, I'd recommend he start another, impersonal blog, perhaps within a niche of some kind.

Would you like a Review?

My reviews are not the best, and I won't pretend they're even close to being the best, but they're free! You can't beat that with a stick. Submit your blog on my Request A Blog Review page and I'll see if I can do your blog justice.