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