Hey guys, I just started a new blog and just wanted to put it out there for you guys to take a look at it, feel free to give me feedback on here or on there. I appreciate it. The NBA, as told by me.
Nice blog...only thing is that since the season just ended, the basketball interest will die down, even though there is still the draft and free agency ahead.
Yeah, you are right, interest may die down in the off-season, but I think if I stay updated and keep it interesting, it can be a pretty good central location for rumors around the league, as well as my opinions. I am just very passionate about the NBA and I have been putting out articles like this on facebook and places like that and they were getting good receptions so I decided to try my hand at this blogging thing.
I really appreciate the feedback, I'll be writing another article tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to cover the whole NBA but will have some section about the Rockets most days. Are there anythings in particular yall would like to see? Rockets related or another team, just let me know and I'll give my perspective.
Focus on the internal growth of the Rockets.Would would you like to see the players working on over the off season?(Landry in particular) I would like to get your opinion on who should be targeted with the MLE? Should we split it between Von and another player or not? What should management do if Ron asks for too much money? Don't let homerism get in the way.
If by saying "feel free to give me feedback" you actually meant "feel free to give me positive feedback", you may want to stop reading. Then again, maybe not. I'm not too harsh. Let's start with the visuals. Your blog currently looks like a white sheet of paper in the middle of the desert. Get some color in there to liven it up. Break up the text with images relevant to the content. If you have the ability, maybe try your hand at Photoshopping some images or adding funny captions. If done right, that can add a lot of character to your blog. Technically, there are just too many errors regarding sentence structure and grammar. I lost count of the instances where a comma should have been replaced by a period, or a "your" replaced by a "you're". Of course not everyone cares about that stuff, but the only thing that matters to a writer is that some people do. Seeing as I don't really know anyone who takes issue with proper sentence structure and grammar, it's best to just get it right and keep everyone satisfied. Much better than alienating a portion of your readers before they get to the end of your second paragraph. (and speaking of paragraphs...) Your paragraphs start out at a decent length at the beginning of the blog, but they slowly start to get larger and larger as you go down the page. Type on the internet are much different than type on paper, and you need to provide sufficient white space for your reader's eyes to rest. For your blog, at its particular width, I'd say a good maximum length for each paragraph is about 12 lines. Any longer and you should probably chop it up. Keep in mind that tossing in an image is a great way to break up text. Just don't do it in the middle of trying to make a point. Also, you should use outside links to help bring your blog to life and support your content. There are a ton of opportunities throughout your first entry where you could have linked to a draft profile or to a trade rumor. In fact, trade rumors should all probably be linked to as a rule. You can even embed or link to YouTube videos to show a player's highlight video, or to give emphasis to something you mentioned. You might also want to remember that writing a blog isn't just about sharing your thoughts. It's about creating a point of discussion. So, don't forget to ask questions, particularly toward the very end of each entry. That will get your readers involved, and when people feel involved, they come back. Also, don't try to be funny or people will see right through it. Just write what's on your mind and it will all come naturally. Good luck, and I hope my advice is helpful. You've got a passion for this, and that's the most important thing.
I appreciate ate it man, the positive feedback is great but I know I'm not a great technical writer after my 1st blog so a post like this helps me out. I also find encouragement in the fact that the criticism is geared towards the grammatical aspects as opposed to what I was actually saying, and I would think, content is the most important thing at this point. Thanks for the post and check back in on me sometime and see how I'm doing.
It's definitely easier to fix the grammar and sentence structure than it is to come up with thought provoking topics and strong arguments. If you have the latter and continue to work the former, you'll be in good shape. That said, I wasn't particularly entertained by the subject matter of your blog entry, but it wasn't bad either. Just keep it up and you'll get there eventually.
Well my first entry was something where I went the obvious subject matter, because I really do find the draft very interesting. Today my blog will contain some draft information definitely, but also there will be the following: 1. Jeremy Tyler 2. Nikoloz Tskitishvilli and his attempted return with the Grizzlies 3. Bill Laimbeer's pursuit of an NBA coaching job 4. And then I also will probably go in-depth on the Tracy watch, and outline different scenarios involving him.
Sounds good. I actually wasn't aware of any of those first 3 topics. I guess I should check out your blog sometime later today EDIT: I actually did read about Tyler a couple of months ago. Still interested in an update, though.
I was hoping to see some of my suggestions from yesterday make it into today's edition, but I was disappointed to see that none of them did. For example, you could have easily broken up that 19 line monster paragraph, but you didn't. I didn't go to all the trouble of giving you that advice for my own good, you know. I can see that you have a passion for this and I'm just trying to help you make the most of it. So anyway, this statement was a little strange to me. One can only infer that you aren't aware that Cuttino Mobley retired from the NBA due to a heart condition. It's a pretty large oversight to not know that someone is retired, especially when they (or more accurately their contract) are part of a trade package. Inaccuracy will lose readers more quickly than anything else, so make sure all your facts are straight before making an entry. Maybe let at least one other knowledgeable NBA fan read your entries before they go live. That should probably catch most things. Good luck with the next entry. If you need help with anything, my e-mail is kmrankin@gmail.com
I am very aware of his retirement, it's part of the reason I am against the deal, I just had to throw in the love you Cuttino reference because he is one of my all-time faves. haha As far as format and grammar, I typed that article on my work e-mail and sent it through via their automated posting service. I wanted to get one out because I had promised a post and knew I would not be getting home until late last night. Check out my posting tonight around 7, hopefully you will like it. I really am enjoying this, so I want other people to enjoy it too, I would never change my opinions so that others will like them, but I have no problem correcting flaws in my writing skills.
I understand how it can be misunderstood, and that's another thing I need to look out for. I wouldn't want a statement made by myself to make me look not well informed when that is not the case.
