QMusings

I’d been noticing John’s blog on numerous link lists. I thought, “Who is John Chow?”

All that came to mind was, “Well…must be some Asian Guy.”

I never bothered to click on those links.

It wasn’t until I read someone’s comment that they liked his site because of his easy-to-read conversational style as well as all the great information found there. Now THAT made me go to his site. I had to laugh when I saw his “Who is John Chow?” page and I laughed even more when I read it.

Is John some Asian guy? Yeah. He’s an Asian Guy who sports a crew cut and is part of the new wave of Asian guys proving to the world that wait – Asian guys are more than just good-at-math-tech-geeks – they’re COOL! I believe I can get away with writing this, as Ms. Q is Asian. I’ve seen too many movies where the Asian guy is either the flying-fists-of-fury-and-chop-chop-chopped dialogue or Elderly Inscrutable Fortune-Cookie Generator Dude.

Why am I writing about John Chow? Well, John is offering a Free Linkback to anyone who reviews his site and I thought, what the heck.

Content:

John gives great content. He really does have an easy-to-read conversation style and he provides valuable information on topics ranging from increasing web traffic to your site, product reviews and restaurant reviews.

I find the restaurant reviews hilarious. Oh, the information is great – not that I can fly to Vancouver to try any of them, but his comments are what get me: “I have tried frog legs before when I was a small child. I now know why I haven’t tried it since.”

John provides a photo of each dish he is reviewing. As you read his reviews, imagine him in the restaurant taking photos of foie gras and close-ups of satay. Imagine him moving the food from one side of his mouth to the other with a thoughtful expression. He then leans over the table and asks everyone there, “So what do you think? Good texture? Or too gummy?” He includes shots of himself with a big smile and upraised utensils.

John writes funny and eye-catching headlines and his posts are easy to read because he keeps paragraphs small and uses lists to good effect. He speaks directly to other readers and you feel he is your friend, sharing his experiences. You feel he is on your side and wants you to succeed. He pumps himself up as well as shoots himself down and you feel that you’d really like him if you ever met him.

Design:

I like the clean and uncluttered design. What I would like is perhaps fewer posts on the front page or “collapsed” entries so I can see the headlines and maybe the first few paragraphs. I am sure there is a term for this, but I don’t know it. I have to scroll and scroll and scroll, which I found tiresome. Or maybe he can just show 5 posts instead of 10 on his first page.

Site has:

• 2-column layout.
• Colors are Blue, black and gray.
• Excellent use of pages – I like the fact that he has a page for Archives and Top Posts.
• Ad placement reasonable – doesn’t appear cluttered.
• No biggies: I don’t much like the current “NewToTech” ad at the top of his posts. It almost looks like a part of the design because the colors are similar to that of the blue Corvette he uses as his header image. I don’t know if it would look better if it didn’t match or worse. I find the dancing bananas distracting.

John’s site is more geared towards readers who want to monetize their blog so he is not for everyone. But if you want a sense of what’s the latest buzz in the blogosphere, check out John’s blog.

Update since I posted: the “NewToTech” ad has disappeared!

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