STRANGE STATE: REVIEW 068

I love reviewing blogs ... but more than that I love reviewing good blogs! Strange State is one of the good ones and arrived at my door following my review of SPOOKED.

Strange State covers a nice range of topics all of which the author writes about very well. Add to this the fact that he obviously knows design and you get a winning combination. He sources decent eye catching images to go with his posts. I also like that he keeps mostly to Oklahoma and he has definitely given me plenty of reasons to head out that way if I ever get the chance .... and to prepare for it I'll have to pick up a copy of his book Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma - available through the blog.


So now I have to hand out another well deserved full marks ...... I'm gonna have to find a site to be nasty about before I get a rep for being too nice!

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 10/10

PARA PATROL: REVIEW 067

And the review requests just keep coming!

A request from Para Patrol came in about a week ago and as soon as I clicked it I though "oh no" - sights with Tripod just throw up popups and annoying adverts.


I managed to look past all that though and while this site isn't going to reinvent the wheel it does have a couple of things I like. The logo for one is pretty funky, its got a whole Scooby-Doo thing going on that made me smile. I also like investigation table and would like to see that level of organization applied to the site as a whole. If these guys want to dramatically improve the site then do one thing ..... get rid of the adverts at the top and the bottom.



THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 5/10

SPOOKED!: REVIEW 066

A GAY GHOSTHUNTER'S SNIPPETS OF LIFE ... AND THE AFTERLIFE

SPOOKED is a blog I used to read a couple of years back and how I ever lost track of it is beyond me? Anyway, thankfully its landed in my lap again and I can share it with those of you who may not have come across it before.

SPOOKED is one of the most interesting and funny blogs you are going to have the pleasure of reading. On top of that its got some great design elements and even though it has the restrictions of a blog you really don't notice them.

One thing I dont like (because we all know I have to find something, right?) is that the archive is right down the bottom on the right - having it at the top would make it a lot easier to go back through the almost 4 years worth of blogging. Ok so thats not really a big thing but if I didn't have that I'd have to start looking for typos!

Seriously, check it out and I predict a book in the works by the end of the year.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 10/10

GHOST IN A BOTTLE: REVIEW 065

The say people will buy anything? I'm sure thats what the guys over at Ghost in a Bottle are hoping anyway! Am I having a laugh doing this review? Hell yeah! I mean some of the sites I've reviewed in the past have been laughable so why not do one that is a bit more forward with the fact its tongue-in-cheek?

The site itself is amateurish but hopefully when the cash starts to roll in they might pay for something a tad more professional ... I doubt they will though.

The product looks well presented for what it is and I may even pick one up for a laugh, its a novelty after all.

One correction that popped into my head as I read the warnings was this:

Original "If you open or break your bottle you may experience any or all of the following

• A voice out of nowhere.
• Muffled Moans and Groans for long periods of time during the day or night.
• Doors opening or closing slowly.
etc etc"

I'd fix that a bit with:

"If you open or break your bottle you may experience any, all or none of the following"

Still a bit of fun if nothing else (which I'm sure it isn't).

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 4/10

TNSPIRIT: REVIEW 064

TNSpirit jumped the line for one reason .... at 20 days old its the youngest site I've reviewed yet. Its a brave step to request a review for a site thats hasn't matured a bit but sure in the game of running arounf scarey places in the dark bravery is one of the essential bits of kit.

The look of the site is fine, they put up a good body of stuff in the 20 days. Some issues I do have though are small but addressing them will tidy up the place a bit:

• Having images of text such as on the "Our Team" etc isnt great - bit rough looking.
• The equipment section would benefit from images of each piece.
• The home page starts off with their ads f or the myspace and the Ouija Petition. By all means include them but the first stuff you see should be more welcoming or informative.
• The forum button does nothing.
• No info for one of the team members.

No as I said its the youngest sites I've reviewed but looking at it they have obviously been investigating for a while. I like this, you see alot of groups making sites before they even go to a location .... never a good sign.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 6/10

Death Is Only The Beginning: REVIEW 063

Death Is Only The Beginning, atmospheric name but damn they can be hard to fit into the banners!

Anyway its a decent blog but with not many posts. Luckily the posts that are there are well written and full of interesting information. I had no problem ready the whole blog in a couple of hours, now while its good that it held my interest it really needs to have more than 1 or 2 posts a month. Dont get me wrong I know how hard it can be to upkeep a blog but its a labour or love or its not worth doing.

I'll be checking back on it again in the hope of more good articles.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 5/10

DESTINATION: REVIEW 062

Ok so the whole site isn't Paranormal but for this review I will be focusing on the Paranormal section of Jim's Destinations Website.

Not a ground breaking site by any means but the guys been an Investigator of the Paranormal since the 70's and thats respectable. He also seems to know what he's at when it comes to electronics and while its not presented in a stylish fashion he's got some great builds for some handy equipment.

So while this site is ... well ... unattractive I would recommend that people who are serious about investigating show it the respect it deserve and have a good look around.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 5/10

LATEST UPDATES

Okay so the latest batch of links have been added to the main site over at www.PARANORMALIZER.com nice to see there have been a couple of banner links as well the text links.


Since setting up the new site and system the review requests have been steadily coming in. It used to be a case of maybe 1 request every other week with the rest of the reviews being site I come across in my travels. Now its been 3 to 4 requests a week and while its more work for me its work I enjoy!


So I'm glad I took the step and have more plans for the future. Next big marker for me will be the 100th review, and while this seems a long way off if I can continue at the current pace its only 12 weeks away. Even in the week since the Google Adsense post the average views a day has gone from 49 up to 64 thats a big difference. Long may it continue!

So keep the requests coming, if you've been reviewed or dont have a site why not request one for a site you've come across?

S.P.I.: REVIEW 061

Seems that 99% of the sites I review are for Investigation groups there are a lot of them out there but some of them stand out as really being well put together. Sonoran Paranormal Investigations are one of those groups.

Lets get the bad points out of the way so we can look at why this groups is so good:

• I'm not nuts on the logo and even as it is it could do with some sharpening up.

• Some pages are very slow to load due to the size of images etc.

Thats all the negatives I could find!

So positives:

• The pages are nicely blocked out. Links to the left, main content in the middle and ads etc neatly on the right.

• This group covers everything it needs to and has a fair few bits that other groups should look at. The Protocols, References etc make may have alot of information that people take for granted but its helpful to have it written down.

• They handle themselves like a business (though I must point out they are a not for profit organisation) and this seems to be mostly down to Danielle but as the whole the group seem to work well together.

• Its easy to follow and the copy is well written. This is a group I wouldnt be surprised to see on the TV at some stage.

Well thats that.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 8/10

PHANTASMA: REVIEW 060

PHANTASMA, a fledgling community with 61 members. I suppose we all start somewhere and they seem like decent people so I've no doubt their welcoming attitude and openness to discuss anything and everything means all they need is for people to stumble upon them - I guess thats why the requested the review?

I mean there isnt much for me to review as I tend not to make comments of the content and views of the sites I review ... unless something needs saying or I feel passionately about something.

Anyway, the look of the forum is pretty washed out and the cutout on the text of the logo is annoying (I had to make a new banner for this review). So I'd say get a better version of the logo, it doesnt need to be animated (hell I'll do it for you!) and lose the background image - maybe a solid colour? Its a forum and its the people that use it that make it what it is, you really dont need it to look overly designed.

People will come so just be smile and engaging, you really dont need much more for a Forum.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 4/10

COGS: REVIEW 059

Well when they requested the review they did say it was a free website so I'm sure they are under no illusion that the site is anywhere near perfect.

The COGS (Central Ohio Ghost Squad) website, as I said, is put up on FortuneCity so that means Pop-Ups, Adverts and flashing Banners ...... oh the pain of it all. Even now I've had to close their page as its causing my browser to drag.

Obviously not everyone can go out buy a domain and put together a site by themselves but these guys really need to do something. I'd suggest even having a blog here on Blogger as you can put anything on here that they'd need and it would be so much easier.

I'd hard to give a fair review of this site because I cant really look at it or follow it ... but isnt take a review in itself? They ahve 4 different logos on the front page so consistancy needs to be addressed.

I would ask one question of COGS, are you actually making money from all the ads on your site? If not then why have them? If you are, then fair play. Personally I'd be happier making no money and having a site that people can use.

Its not easy to give a bad review but I've no doubts they'll take it as its meant.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 3/10

SPIRIT: REVIEW 058

S.P.I.R.I.T. - St. Louis Paranormal Investigation and Research Interest Team ..... man they went all out for that one!

Still whats in a name as they say? Well given that they put so much effort into the name, did they do the same for the site? Quick answer is ... yes.

Now this site isnt without its faults but I have to say I like it. Everything is easy to read and its easy to get around. They havent over done it with graphics and there isnt an advert to be seen anywhere.

Now Steve from SPIRIT asked specifically what I think can be improved so here it goes:

• Once you leave the home page there is no direct link back to it. Try having the banner at the top clickable?

• The text on the site overall is a little big. Have a look at it with it dropped a couple of point sizes. (I mean the body copy)

• The banners on each page mean the site has a fixed width, not a bad thing but you should use that to layout your whole site. The news and notes section on the front page does it well but the equipment page in centered up and leaves a lot of black on either side.

• Boxing up the EVP section and investigations section as you have with the notes on the front page might help.

• Gallery page, I love the content but try having the large images all the same size and the crops the same size too.

• You do not have a links page. Now thats hardly a sin but most groups do and the benefits of networking and banner sharing are great. Go to http://www.dnscoop.com/ and put in your URL .... see whats missing? Now try it with another groups site.

So thats it, I like it but I am a bit picky. I didnt really look much at the forum cos I see it as a weak point but something which is probably more for the group members anyway. Once the traffic starts coming in though you'll have to work on it.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 7/10

Can't please everybody

Ok so the point of this site is to give honest reviews ..... but not everyone likes what they hear! Its nice to see that they are at least using the new contact form on http://www.paranormalizer.com to throw abuse at me.

For the record, name calling and threats on the internet is pretty useless and a bit lame. Still though at least when these keyboard warriors are in front of the screen they are off the streets. Every cloud.

Earl

GHOST STORIES: REVIEW 057

Ok here we have a blog thats all about the content. At first look its nothing special with not much thought gone into style etc but really that actually doesnt matter too much when the content is so well written. On further digging I wasnt surprised to see that the author is actually a writer.

She doesn't pull her punches either and I can definitely respect that and posting since 2004 you can tell her interest is genuine. There is a good bit of response to the blog with comments made on almost every post.

A personal favorite of mine would be the Question of the Week posts ... check it out.

One bit of advice ... drop the .: TAG BOARD :. ... nothing but trouble.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 7/10

PAIR A NORMAL GUYS: REVIEW 056

So its a lot easier for people to request reviews now through the new site but this one had me scratching my head? Its either a cry for help or they are simply looking to increase their hits.

I can't be 100% sure but I think its a shop for buying their T-Shirts and other merchandise .... I could be wrong? Anyway if that is the case then I think they need to go back to the drawing board because when you go to the Product Page is as about as inspiring as a gray woolen jumper (which thankfully they don't sell ... yet!).

The logo is ... actually, thats not a logo. The background image wouldnt be so bad if it wasnt tiled, like another review I did before this site reminds me of the old Geocities pages. thrown together with flashing gifs its painful to look at and doesnt even have the saving grace of quality products.

So as not to put me in a bad mood for the rest of the night I will end on 2 good points:

• The name made me laugh
• I've found some good sites linked from their page

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 2/10

PULSE-TV: REVIEW 055

PULSE-TV, this could grow to be one of my favorite sites.

OK so why do I like this site so much? Is it:

• The great domain name?
• The affective and well executed logo?
• The easy to follow, functional and well thought out site design?
• The original and high quality content?
• The lack of distracting ads and gifs?

Its all of the above, simple. There really isn't a whole lots to say about this site but seeing as I have to try be constructive, I'll try.

Ok so the site is still fairly new and because of the lack of videos it has me kind of wish that I didnt come across the site for another few months or until there where a couple more projects available. On the site they say that more are in the works and I'm quietly confident that, unlike some sites that vanish as quickly as they appeared, PULSE-TV will come up with the goods.

They provide their own banners etc but unfortunately none of them suit the size/format that I use ... pity.

More content would have gotten this site top marks.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 9/10

Google Adsense

Ok so when I started doing this blog I decided to follow the crowds a bit and add Google Adsense. I've never actually received any money from it (you need to get up to $100 before they'll send a check) so I was planning on ditching it for some more specific ads ... that was before I looked at their reports.

The reports are worth as much as the money to me in that it allows me to see how many page impressions I get on the blog. I've hardly breaking any records but having being going for the last year I have an average of 49 clicks a day with the most being on 08/05/08 (yesterday) at 174.

Will I be keeping Google Adsense? Yes. Will I ever make a cent from it? Probably not!

TAzPS: REVIEW 054

T.Az.P.S .... well who can blame them for using that name? It may not be original but its smart if they want to increase their profile by mis-association. They clear it up on the home page anyway.

So on to the review of The Arizona Paranormal Society.

Apart from an ugly logo the site is fairly average. White text on a black background is the norm for sites like this (Hell I use it myself a fair bit) and its easy enough to read. They have everything they need on the site, members area, equipment page, gallery etc. They have a fair amount of investigations to their name which is great to see. If you're not going to have a great site then you have to bring up the points in other areas .... and TAzPS do just that. All the images in their gallery can be viewed hi-res which always helps, the members page has plenty of info and I couldnt find a sinle broken internal link.

So thats it. Its worth a look just to check out a good investigation group. At this stage they are not going to change the logo as its on merchandise etc so there is not much they can do ... apart from maybe add a forum?

The group is very good, the site is ok.


THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 7/10

UPRA: REVIEW 053

Another Investigation group today and are far as groups go them seem nice enough ... can I say the same of the site? Lets have a look.

The UPRA site isn't awful but its not very good either. The red text on the mauve background is hard to read and once you go past the home page the buttons on the left are white text out a 50% tint of the mauve ... impossible to make out! Easy fixes but then theres more. The Gallery page has no buttons and they appear to have just been forgotten about. So now that you're stuck on the gallery page you may as well look at the photos ... if you dont mind scrolling about 4foot to the right if you want to see them.

The home page is fine except for the colors and if the other pages followed the same template it would be a huge improvement. The actual content of the site is fine, they aren't missing anything and the TV is a nice touch. Finally, a bit of info on each of the team would be nice ... as well as not refering to them as staff.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 5/10

Demontales: REVIEW 052

Ah, the blog style website, how I enjoy them! Demontales is a fairly young site having only popped up last October put already its found its feet. The logo/banner is strong even if I don't really "get it", it does look a little out of place with the color scheme of the site but it doesnt discract from the content too much.

The content itself is tabloid and some days that just what I want. What is nicely different about this site is that it also features a forum which while its nothing new its not something you see attached to many blogs. As for the forum? Well it seems to be thriving especially given its age. Its not often I add a site I review to my main bookmark folder but I cant help but think that Demontales will throw up a few stories/videos that I might otherwise miss. This site doesnt really have anything that needs fixing - I'm sure its doing exactly what the owner wants it to do.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 8/10

PRAI: REVIEW 051

And off we go on the first review since the new site was launched!

Paranormal Research Association of Ireland, sounds official.

So I guess I'll start with the design of the site and move onto the content later.

First off .... someone please do something with that banner! Its on nearly every page and looks like a poor quality scan of a poor quality print of a poor quality screen shot - seriously people this is your identity! Its not a particularily nice logo to start with but you can barely read the tagline "Truth through Science" and thats the bit I actually do like.

They have some well taken photos dotted about the site but personally I dont like how they are positioned i.e. centered amongst the text with not effort to uniformally format them. The gallery section is also a bit of a let down as it has very little content for a group thats been going since 2004.

The main scheme of the site is fine, bar some poor graphics the overall look does come across as professional. The sheer amount of text on the site makes it appear like an official body. So with them apparently leaning towards the official/professional/scientific side of the paranormal scales here is what really makes it hard to bare:


What is with these graphics? They look as if they have been poached from a few different sites with now consistancy of style, they are so out of place.

With all the text and little in the way of photo/video/audio it really looks like a case of all talk no action? A good read of the site clears that up as they do appear to have done a fair bit, unfortunately as a visitor we dont get to see the fruits of their labor.

There are alot of pages within the site and maybe its busier than it needs to be? Some of the links are broken such as the links off the merchanise page and the guestbook.

The site does seem to have a good forum and there's some pretty good discussion on it. The thing about forums though is that they are the product of all the people who use them not just the site owners - so they cant really take credit on that.

If I was to give a few simple points of advice they would be:

• Fix the logo/banner
• Frame the pictures used and get some uniform size style were possible
• Look at who fonts are used on the site i.e. sizes, colors. Choose a set font (size, colour, style) for headers, subheaders, body copy and captions.
• Look at the site map - too many pages.
• I spent so much time scrolling on this site, a simple starter paragraph for long bodies of text with a "read more" button means its not so hard on the eyes.
• Stick with the template of the site, I actually like it.

So that might seem like a harsh review but I only picked so much because I think it could be a very good site.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 5/10

Additional note: I have to ask about the logo .... what is that form? Is it meant to be a candle flame type thing?

NEW SITE, NEW REVIEWS, NEW BADGE

Ok so with the new site up and running the requests for reviews are flying in ..... which means I have to get my ass in gear!

The old review badge I used to ask people to put on their sites was pretty big so I'm replacing it with the below 152x26 pixel graphic. Its nice and neat so I'm hoping to see people put it on the blogs/sites.


Linking it to the main blog, your review or the main site at www.paranormalizer.com are all perfectly fine.

Have a good day,

Earl

UPDATE: NEW SITE

So why have I been so quiet the last month? I hope the answer is obvious and that its been worth the trouble!

The new look site is coming online in the next couple of days and above is a sneak peak.

A few changes have been made to how it works and a few inactive sites have been dropped. The blog will change soon too but nothing big.

Anyway the main change in the workings of reviews etc is as follows:

Sites scoring 7/10 or higher will receive a banner ad on www.Paranormalizer.com as well as priority listing over on the review blog. We see this as a way to both reward sites for their good work as well as give those site who have just fallen short something to aim for. All sites reviewed are listed as text links in order of date of review.

Would love feedback and look forward to reviewing a few sites I've had waiting around.

LOADED PARANORMAL: REVIEW 050

Review No.50 and I'm serving up LOADED PARANORMAL! This site is not a romantic meal for two its more of a quick burger from McDonalds. I'm not sure what to make of it to be honest, it kinda reminds me of an 80's Space Invaders Arcade game?

Its definately in its early stages with a couple of dozen members and not much on the content side of things - not really a site I'd visit again unless I got a heads up that things had changed. I hope I come across it again in 6 months or so and find it has calmed down on the graphics and has grown into an interesting and booming site.

For now though this site lacks any reason for me to check back on a daily basis.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 3/10

UNITED PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS: REVIEW 049

United Paranormal Investigations, this site takes me back to the days of Geocities ... and they were not good days. Normally I can focus on the design if the content is weak or vice versa but what can I do when a site falls down on every possible element?

Is ugly and if you were to take away all the tacky flashing images you'd be left with very little content ... and this site is over 2.5 years old!

I really dont like giving negative reviews but thankfully their article "The Curse of Amateur wannabe Ghost Groups" made it very easy for me not to give a crap about what they make of this review.

THE PARANORMALIZERS REVIEW: 1/10

Please people check out this site and tell me I'm not crazy for hating it!