The Humor-Blogs.com Blog

Note: This review consists entirely of quotes copied and pasted from other sources. It's just so much easier than writing original material.

Category	Score	Points
Content	5	35/70
Writing	4.91	2/5
Web Design	5.82	3/5
Intangibles	5.18	3/5
Read Regularly	3.64	4/10
Frequency	10	5/5
Total		52

Percentile Rank: 23

Easy to navigate and really funny content. Only down-side is the look of the site is a bit boring and doesn't stand out.

NOT my favorite.

Good-old fashion dumb fun. No, I mean that in a good way.

There were some funny items here, but I feel like it was just some guy sending me forward emails.

This blog is made up, and I'm open to being corrected, of other people's stuff. If I want to be amused by a list of other people's witty football quotes, I will do a Google search for them...sigh.

Low points for just presenting other people's stuff and a wad of old jokes.

I'm so tired of blogs that do nothing but list a bunch of jokes that have made the rounds by email 100 times already.

"Is it funny? In spots. But I have a prejudice, right or wrong, against blogs that are not mainly original material. Anyone can slap together bits and pieces from other sources."

Freakin' hilarious!

Great. Now I have to explain to my wife why this blog is in our browser history.

Electric Writer scored well for the author's writing ability, but the humor is so dry that it didn't appeal to many of our reviewers. Electric Writer also got dinged for the length of the posts.

Category	Score	Points
Content	5.91	41/70
Writing	7.45	4/5
Web Design	6.36	3/5
Intangibles	6.18	3/5
Read Regularly	3.64	4/10
Frequency	6	3/5
Total		58

Percentile Rank: 50

Some quotes from our reviewers:

Even with a dry sense of humor, I found it lacking in 'funny'. It is anything but.

There was one post on the front page, and it was so long I had to force myself through it, and the only reason I did was that I was reviewing the blog. Long-winded and not that funny. Good grammar though. ;)

The posts are funny, but a bit long for my liking.

I was very impressed with the "vintage" look of this blog. And I loved the line "printed with GIFS that won't come off on your hands!" Very funny. Because I find dry wit and/or humor appealing, I enjoyed the blog very much. Because I'm not convinced he has a commitment to writing on a frequent basis, I can't say I'd make a commitment to read it regularly, but I WOULD be happy to check in, from time to time.

This is a perfect example of British dry wit, but the longish posts may turn off some.

This guy's site looks great, he's a good writer, but I didn't laugh.

A very nice-looking, well-written blog that clearly originates in the brain box of a smart person. I will likely read it regularly. But it's not very funny.

The posts are amusing in a "heh heh" sort of way, but usually rather involved and I just don't have time to get that involved in a post--I have too many blogs to read. So...I blame myself. Also, once a week is too infrequent a posting schedule for me to develop a relationship with this blog.

The perfect Brit web site. Beautifully written, with a dry wit and lots of charm. The entries I read were just my cup of tea. I will return!

The stories are too long.

Was this blog funny? Someone will have to tell me, I was too busy playing hangman, spelling bee, and Sudoku in the side bar. Seriously, I only found 5 posts on the whole blog...if the extended archives were hidden in there, I couldn't find them. The posts I did read I rather enjoyed...the author takes quite a while to arrive at any punch lines, but if you have patience the payoff is worth it. I would suggest shorter posts, more posts (or quit hiding the archives), and calm down the games for those of us with ADD.

It's pretty clear that Matt has talent, but this blog would be a more attractive destination if the posts were shorter, more frequent, and a little "punchier." Matt's bio says that he's a semi-retired TV script writer, and I think that may color his writing style. Matt, the good news is that on the Internet nobody expects you to produce an episode of The Office in every post. The bad news is that on the Internet nobody expects you to produce an episode of The Office in every post.

In any case, 58 is a very respectable score, and I think that with a few small improvements you could easily make it into the top ranks of Humor-Blogs.com. Of course, you'll have to wait until 2019 for us to get around to reviewing you again.

What Pushes My Buttons got very consistent, if not overwhelming, scores from our reviewers. The consensus was that it was smart, well written and sometimes amusing, but generally not laugh-out-loud funny.

Category	Score	Points
Content	5.17	36/70
Writing	6.5	3/5
Web Design	5.67	3/5
Intangibles	4.5	2/5
Read Regularly	1.67	2/10
Frequency	10	5/5
Total		51

Percentile Rank: 25

Some quotes from our reviewers:

The blog author does deserve points for my being able to persevere through a review after the first post I encountered detailed her being the victim of a "shit and run" (complete with photo). That was just wrong. Having said that, I found some of the posts and choices of material covered original and pretty funny at times. The overall template felt a bit cluttered (that may have been my ADD-ishness kicking in). I think if he declutters a bit, posts no more pictures of feces, he'd be a bit more humorous.

This blog makes me wonder if the author has an unhealthy obsession with food.

This blog falls into a pretty common category; writers who post clever observations without making the leap to being funny. When I read a humor blog, I want to laugh. Or snicker...hell, I'd settle for a good smirk. 'What Pushes My Buttons' is smart, it has the clever observations and the rhetorical responses, but it just never gets funny.

Not bad, but nothing spectacular. I like the fact that the post subjects are not the "same old" topics that everyone seems to cover. No "lol" but some solid smiles. Really solid web design.

Well written and sometimes amusing, but certainly not laugh-out-loud funny.

I have a feeling that What Pushes My Buttons was the victim of reviewers who are getting a little tired of blogs that are almost funny. It's a good blog, but at this point it doesn't really stand out among the crowd of humor blogs. The real problem, in my opinion, is that the blog isn't personal enough to compensate for its lack of laugh-out-loud humor. Zoning Out Again is a good example of a blog that isn't hysterically funny, but got a good review because ZOA makes the reader feel like he or she is peeking inside the life (and somewhat crazy brain) of the author.

In contrast, I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out if the author of WPMB was male or female. One of our reviewers referred to the author as a "she," which surprised me because I assumed the author was a guy. I finally found a reference to "shaking the snake," which confirmed that the author was either male or a sadistic herpetologist.

In my humble opinion, if you're trying to make people laugh you need to pick one of two paths: Either sacrifice coherency and accuracy to make as many jokes as you can (Sinister Dan, Pointless Drivel), or really let people into your life so they can see how funny things look from your perspective (Dorky Dad, Zoning Out Again). You can even veer wildly between these two paths as the mood strikes you. But a surefire way to get lukewarm reviews is to strike a compromise between the two paths where you relate mildly amusing, factually accurate stories without much of a personal touch.

Whitterer on Autism was another victim of "not really a humor blog" syndrome. Our reviewers were mostly positive about it, but gave it higher marks as a family blog or blog about autism rather than a humor blog.

Category	Score	Points
Content	4.25	30/70
Writing	5.75	3/5
Web Design	4.38	2/5
Intangibles	4.38	2/5
Read Regularly	2.5	2/10
Frequency	10	5/5
Total		44

Percentile Rank: 11

Some quotes from our reviewers:

Interesting blog, but doesn't really qualify as a "humor blog." The "[translation = whatever]" gimmick got EXTREMELY old after about the third time. By the sixteenth time it was like being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.

Although this blog is not "funny ha-ha", it is amazing in many ways. The woman shares her trials and travails of raising two autistic children and that she does so with humor, deserves major kudos in my book. I think this bucks the system of what funny is and I found myself nodding my head and smiling along.

The only quirk was her liberal use of "translation" to make a point. I think it could be funny and effective used a bit more sparingly. Otherwise, I found the blog author to be highly relatable and will be back to read more.

This blog is a pretty good read on a very heartfelt subject and it obviously expresses a meaningful aspect of the writer's life. However, I'm not sure how funny it is - it's endearing, clever and touching, but it never even came close to the territory of being funny.

It's an interesting look on a mom with an autistic kid, but is nowhere near funny.

While the blog is well written, it focuses so much on the family, to the point where it gets to be too much. Obviously it's tough having children with autism and I can appreciate what writing must do to help the writer and the family handle autism in a positive light and create an outlet for their feelings. It's a "feel good" blog for people who can identify with autism...but not sure if it's a traditional "humor blog." I wouldn't read again, but may recommend families with autistic children to read.

While interesting, I didn't really find anything to be funny.

Whitterer on Autism is, overall, a good read, and would probably be of particular interest to other families with autistic children. Rating it strictly as a "humor blog," however, it comes up a little short.

Comic Suzy Soro's blog got a decent score from our reviewers. As one reviewer noted, "It doesn't seem like she can make up her mind about either writing a blog about a comedian, or writing a blog that's supposed to be comedy." Fans who enjoyed Suzy's "inside baseball" approach rated it higher than those who were hoping for laugh-out-loud comedy. No one seemed to mind her name-dropping, perhaps because of the self-deprecating way in which she does it.

Category	Score	Points
Content	5.38	38/70
Writing	6.62	3/5
Web Design	5.62	3/5
Intangibles	5.12	3/5
Read Regularly	3.75	4/10
Frequency	8	4/5
Total		55

Percentile Rank: 36

Some quotes from our reviewers:

Come on - she's a PROfessional, people! But she's good, funny. I enjoyed the blog and the fact that she dropped Larry David's name only sent her stock up a bit in my book.

This is a professional standup comic's blog? Talking about buying surge protectors at Best Buy? I'm no pro comic, but like you say, you can see the punchline coming and I saw boring headed my way.

I realize that the writer of this blog does comedy for a living and she a gets a big tip of my hat for being able to do that while most of us just play at it - also, I don't think that the quality of her blog reflects her talent.

Yeah, it's pretty apparent from the writing that this person does/did comedy for a living. A good deal of cynicism, which doesn't make for hilarity but for some good solid reading. I think most of the material would be better delivered live than in written form, but I enjoyed my visit.

This blog shows that a stand-up comedian isn't necessarily funny in other areas (like blogging). It seems this blogger saves up all her funniness for the 60 minutes she spends on the stage.

I don't think I really really laughed at loud reading her blog, but it is solid work. The fact that she's a Hollywood celebrity allows her to delve into great anecdotes based on what she's seen and heard throughout her years in Hollywood.

There's plenty humor to be found here...although sometimes I just wished I laughed a little harder, like I'm waiting for the punchline or the funny moment and it passes without that hearty guffaw I was hoping for.

I don't think Suzy's going to have any trouble generating a following, given her solid writing and interesting perspective on L.A. and the entertainment industry. Her blog doesn't fit the mold of the typical humor blog, which definitely hurt her in this review, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing overall. This blog is about the author, and I suspect that's enough to keep a lot of people coming back.

There are different types of humor. Some people enjoy dirty jokes, some people enjoy biting sarcasm, other prefer scathing social commentary, and still others enjoy pictures of cats with sunglasses.

It is now clear which type of humor our humor-blogs reviewers do NOT prefer, and that would be the latter. The Cat Realm was met with harsh criticism from the humor-blogs reviewers, who were obviously hoping and/or expecting something else. Credit should be given, however, for a completely accurate blog title. This is certainly nothing less than a Realm for Cat Lovers, though our humor-blogs reviewers were quite convinced that it was nothing more than that, either.

Category	Score	Points
Content	3.12	22/70
Writing	3.38	2/5
Web Design	4.12	2/5
Intangibles	2.88	1/5
Read Regularly	0	0/10
Frequency	8	4/5
Total		31

Percentile Rank: 0

Some quotes from our reviewers:

That site scares me.


hmmmm


YES!!!!! Another CAT BLOG!


The fact that the "Other Cat Bloggers" section of the sidebar is longer than most blogs' sidebars should tell you something.


Meh-ow.


Wonderful, a lolcat blog. Better yet, one with a niche: cats wearing sunglasses in funny lolcat pictures. Elton John sunglasses no less. This site is as funny as a ten-year-old with cancer and diabetes...and AIDS.


It's just not funny.


Wh-what???? I don't get it.

--------------------------------------------

So while "humor" may take many forms and functions in our society, it is clear that the majority of humor-blogs reviewers prefer certain flavors of humor. If you are looking for amusing pictures of cats, I can not think of a better possible destination than The Cat Realm. If you are not looking for that, then it's probably best to steer clear.

Joel signing off for the week. I hope you enjoyed (tolerated?) my filling in for Diesel this week. He'll be back next week with more reviews!

Joel here again, as I will be all week. For today's review, I promise to let bygones be bygones , and I will summarize the reviews for Zoning Out Again.

The comments were generally positive for ZOA. More than one reviewer commented on the unique perspective the author takes on seemingly everyday subject matters. The style of humor was not everyone's cup of tea, though, as some reviewers are automatically turned off by personal anecdote blogs no matter what shape they take. One reader mentioned the template, but April has done a lot of improvement in that area recently, so kudos for the effort on that end.

Overall, just as many people said that they would visit ZOA again as wouldn't....and that kind of batting average gets you to the Hall of Fame in some sports.

Category	Score	Points
Content	5.75	40/70
Writing	5.88	3/5
Web Design	5.75	3/5
Intangibles	5.75	3/5
Read Regularly	5	5/10
Frequency	6	3/5
Total		57

Percentile Rank: 38

Some quotes from our humor-blogs reviewers:

This woman makes me laugh and cry, er, I mean, cry from laughing. She's very funny and her perspective on everyday things is off the wall... in a good way if that's possible. The site is easy to negotiate and looks good. I will visit this often.

Long posts are an automatic turn off, kind of like a guy with a nasally voice.

I'd crack a smile every once in awhile, but nothing that lasted long. It's like she tries too hard to be funny and ends up not succeeding.

I don't know why, because I don't usually like blogs that have a penchant for cuteness, but I really dig ZOA. Maybe because ZOA doesn't rely on the author's excessive cuteness, but there is also some real talent for humor (in a very unique voice). Whatever...I dig it.

Zoning Out is fun and light. I don't like the template, but I really dislike all of Blogger's stuff, so that's not her fault.

A blog commenting mostly on her personal life. Usually that means boring but this site pulls it off and her kids add funny comments to boot. This one is like a cool, funny, unforced version of the Mitt Romney Five Brothers blog.

Is this the official butt kissing Web site of Humor Blogs? A link on every post, a promotional entry about Diesel's book at the top. Maybe if the blog actually contained something funny, it wouldn't need to rely on people clicking on Humor Blog links to feel like it belongs.

------------------------------------------------

I would like to personally defend ZOA on the last review...until Diesel really sinks his fangs into you, it's hard to know how much power over the internet he really has. Look at me...writing blog review posts on a blog that isn't even mine for a person I've never even met. So, April, don't worry about excessively shilling for humor-blogs. I know how tough it is to say "no" to the Big Man. :



See?!?

You might consider, however, tightening up the post length a little bit, and stretch your writing into some more unfamiliar territory, just to see how it turns out. It's easy to see the apparent talent in your writing, but some people want to see some different subject matters. I'm pretty sure whatever you do will turn out funny.

And, really. No hard feelings. At all. I swear.

(One more review for this week, and I'll be back tomorrow with it!)

Hey everyone! Joel from CCS here, pinch-hitting for Diesel in the summation of our humor-blogs reviews. I guess when one is on the brink of becoming a world-famous author and hanging out with famous people one has little time for such frivolities as posting blog reviews.

No matter, we shall press on fearlessly.

The first blog that was reviewed this week was Pointless Banter. Pointless Banter was an unqualified success with our reviewers, earning Kevin a solid 68 (raking in the 92nd percentile of all reviewed blogs, and no, I swear to God I am not at all jealous.)

Some reviewers wished that there were fewer advertisements on the site, and some commented on Banter's penchant for posting pictures of hot (and some not-so-hot-at-all) scantily clad women, making the blog a probable NSFW destination. The general consensus, though, was that Kevin was a funny guy and his material should be read by anyone looking for a laugh:

Category	Score	Points
Content	6.89	48/70
Writing	6.78	3/5
Web Design	5.11	3/5
Intangibles	5.67	3/5
Read Regularly	6.67	7/10
Frequency	8	4/5
Total		68

Percentile Rank: 92

Some comments from Humor-blogs reviewers:

Funny POV stuff that made me laugh. Enjoyable read. I'll stop back from time to time.

Anyone who can reference Cop Rock is OK by me.

I actually smiled through most of the posts and even laughed out loud a couple of times.

Except for the dreaded Double Sidebar of Death, I really enjoyed my visit to Pointless. While much of the Hilton/Lohan humor has been revisited elsewhere, who else writes about Craigslist hookers? Nobody, say I. Maybe some of the pictures are a little too graphic for me to be able to visit regularly.

Having read this for a few months, I discovered it takes a little getting used to, but there are some very rewarding posts sprinkled in throughout the drunk, bikini-clad babes.

This guy is pretty funny. I wish he didn't have all that ad bling to distract the easily distractable like myself. There's so much going on it's like VEGAS. What happens in Vegas should stay in Vegas! Anyhow, as funny as this guy is, I might not venture over there again because of all the hoopla!

I like this blog. It has some great topics and interesting entries. My only beef is the grammar, there are many places where common errors occur, like not using the correct punctuation. I don't know what it is, but this blog actually left a smile on my face. There are some gems in here, and they all appeal to the 13-year old boy in me. Me like, and me want more.

So, congratulations to the fine folks (folk) over at Pointless Banter! While you might earn yourself some more readers with a more PG-13 direction and a few less advertisements, there is no denying the humor and the talent on the site. From the looks of it, you've found yourself a nice readership anyhow so you might choose to completely disregard the above advice, and who could blame you? Either way, nice job and keep up the good work!