Adopt-a-Blog: Film Intel

Film Intel – Sam Turner

Film-intel.com

1.      History of the Blog

1. Sam Turner started the blog as a way to continue writing after he left college.
2.  The blog was started January of 2008, and he has been a part of it ever since.
3. The site was redesigned in 2012, and again this year.
4.  More professional over the years

2.      Facts of the Blog

1.  Sam Turner is the blogger, and the one who responded to me. He is 27, has a degree in English, and is the Marketing Executive for a marketing company. (The blog indirectly helped him earn his job.)
2.  For Sam to continue his writing after graduating with an English degree and getting a job that didn’t involve much writing.
3.  Ads, but no money. Just enough turnover to cover cost.
4. Recently added a second writer: Brian Broadribb.
5. Both writers are based in North England.

3.      Statistics

1. He aims to post 8 articles per week. 3-4 of those are his writings.
2.  Twitter – 3,800+ followers
3.  Average 20-25,000 page views a month
4. No Google follower. Sam believes his blog followers is around 300, but isn’t sure.

4.      Unique

• Not all recent movies, a mix

5.      Strengths

a.       Simple template

b.      Colors

c.       Rating as tag

6.      Weaknesses

7.      Advice of blogger

·         Full quote: “Only do it if you really enjoy it and realize that, unfortunately, most people have to blog for a very long time before you get any level of recognition or readership, even if you're great at content marketing. Writing is a passion and a skill but it is also a hobby: like most hobbies, the reward you get from it will be largely in how you enjoy the time you spend doing it, rather than in earned riches. That said, hey: there are lots of bloggers more read and more popular than I, who make money from essentially 'doing their hobby'. If you've got the time and you love writing, get going and you never know what will happen!”

What I got out of speaking with Sam…

o   Simplify my template

o   Review old movies, too!

o   Review the way I review, and enjoy it.

OkieFunk hits the Blogging Class

Dr. Kurt Hochenauer, journalist and English professor, came into our class to give us all insight into the world of blogging from a successful stand point.
His blog, Okie Funk, is a blog with "populist and liberal information and ideas," and it all started because he felt the desire to fill the need for news from more than just our conservative sources. He has an average of 3,000 unique visitors per month, and has been mentioned throughout news in our area.

One thing I've taken from his blog is that it is equal points journalism and opinion. His posts clearly have a voice, unlike many written news post we see. For example, he has a post called Beware: Pension Cuts Loom For State Employees, and in this post he gives his ideas of what he believes will happen; specifically using the word "I."

"I suspect the answer to that would be probably yes, in most cases, but the change will begin reducing the money pool in the defined-benefits plans, thus precipitating an eventual crisis that will lead to even more cuts."

He also has a polls (see most recent to right) run on his page that gives viewers the option of leaving their opinion on the question, but even the answers available lean in his frame of thought.

He gave us lots to think about as he went into how he got into the world of blogging, and although his information was from a political blog, there were things that all of us could learn.

He discussed formats and layouts and different places to create blogs. He also talked about how keeping the layout simple and easy to read is important.

There were two main things I took from him as far as ways to have a successful blog:

1. Be Unique
2. Good Writing

~Tonico

But Really...This is How He Met Her

And so, we now embark of the end of the world of How I Met Your Mother. The mother was shown to us at the finale of the last season, and we now begin to see what really happened, and how Ted met the kids' mother.

Last night was the big premiere...and I missed it. After the newscast last night, I had to go grocery shopping and missed it. HOWEVER, I will be watching it tonight. I have my ways. And I will be recapping and gushing my thoughts on it afterward. Be prepared, friends!

~Tonico

Possible Adopt-A-Blog Candidates

These are blogs I am considering for my Adopt-A-Blog project. They're all movie/TV review/recap blogs that I could learn a thing or two from!

1. Film Intel
2. Cinematic Corner
3. Early Bird Film Society
4. Large Popcorn, No Butter