According to the subhead, the blog “Poorer than You” deals with “Money issues for college students and 20-somethings, without being boring,” therefore catering to a pretty well defined audience.
The sole author is Stephanie, a “22-year-old college graduate, living in Rochester, New York.” Like many college graduates, the author is in debt; she owes almost 40,000 dollars in student loans. And, like many other college graduates and 20-somethings, she’s trying to find ways to get rid of that debt. Stephanie aims to be debt free by 2011.
To achieve that goal, she reads and reviews financial literature, like personal finance books. Besides book reviews, her blog contains accounts of her accomplishments and failures in her crusade against her personal debt. Additionally, guest entries from other blogs and links to giveaways can be found.
This “blend of personal stories and articles” is delivered in a very laid back tone, which sometimes gets personal (e.g. she calls an author a “douche bag”). I believe that using the lingo of the target audience definitely makes it easier for those readers to follow financial stories, which can be complex at times.
Also, the author describes episodes of her personal life, like her moving across the country. These stories are witty, easy to read and sometimes funny. The blogger aims to educate the reader about how to safe money and get out of debt, or avoiding getting into debt. Unlike a journalist, she includes a lot of personal stuff, which is definitely subjective.
Overall, the blog is entertaining and seems to offer some helpful advice, but I stumbled upon a link that made me wonder. One of Stephanie’s book reviews ended with recommendations who should buy the book and the sentence “Buy ‘A Million Bucks by 30’ from Amazon.com today!” The sentence included a link to amazon.com and it did not look like an automated advertisement you often see on the web, but just like with an integrated link.
This made me wonder whether or not they were sponsored. Fair enough, she recommends the book to certain readers who would like to become millionaires by the time they’re thirty. But does she have to include a link to an online bookstore. And why do I need to buy the book on Amazon.com today(!)?
While some of the seemed really helpful, or at least interesting, I am a little concerned about the link to Amazon.com. Things like that just make me cringe.
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Good post. You raise some good issues. Make sure you draw more identification for your voice into these posts. Imagine a random reader from somewhere else and consider how they should relate to you (this will help you understand what you need to reveal to get their attention).
ReplyDeleteYour analysis is fairly good, but it made me wonder where you're coming from on these issues. Identifying yourself as a student, as well as your personal concerns, would add important context.
Also, illustrate WHY the amazon link bothers you. Give a rationale and an example of what you're afraid of.
Finally, watch that grammar ("safe" vs. "save," etc.)