Niche Blog Research
In this blog, the author's purpose is to inform readers of what they should know BEFORE they apply to the Disney College Program (DCP), and tips for when they are filling out the application. They are writing with the intention of being helpful to those who are interested in applying. The page contains a title for the blog, an introductory paragraph, and 5 sub-headings with corresponding information. It's neat, organized, and easy when reading. What grabbed my attention the most was the bright, colorful image of a performance in front of the Disney castle. It allows the reader to make an immediate connection with Disney before even reading. The top of the page contains a picture and the text runs straight down the page. On the left side are quick links to share the article on social medias such as Facebook and Twitter. However, there is no other sites associated with the blog. I believe this is intended for the readers to be able to quickly share the post that they read with friends and family on social media. It's a simple, and convenient, feature. This specific blog was posted a year and a half ago. On the right side of the page are links to other "popular" articles and ads. There is a KFC ad, an ad to receive email updates on the Odyssey website, and a car ad. The author's name, image, and information that they are attending the DCP currently are shown on the right side of the page, but the author does not formally introduce themselves. The author simply jumps in and states that "here are some tips I highly recommend you consider before finalizing your application!" It's strange that they do not try to make a connection with the reader at first. In order to find out any information about the author you have to click on the image next to their name. I accidentally discovered this feature while searching for other social media platforms. They don't inform us of how their application process went or how they felt about it. This makes the blog more difficult to connect to. Sometimes it feels as though they are only spitting out information/opinions they feel are correct. The author's primary focus group are college students, male or female, who are interested in applying for the DCP, but don't know much about it. This blog does not allow comments. While you can share the post on Facebook, comments cannot be left on the actual post. This article provided great information, but it also allowed me to value the importance of connecting to your readers.
This piece is written differently than most blogs. It's not paragraphs or loads of detailed information. Instead, it's 180 thoughts that you have as you go through the DCP. The author's purpose is to allow the reader to feel what she left as she went through the program. She is writing about 180 different ideas that no one mentioned to her before she attended. This article is written for readers who are looking to find out what it feels like to be a part of the DCP. This includes students in college, or who will be attending college, and are looking into the program. This post is not meant to give information about what the program is, but rather learn about how it feels to be a part of the DCP. The blog post will three years old in June, but it is still relevant to the readers. It doesn't matter how much time goes by, it does not affect how this author felt during the program. At the very top of this post there is an ad for Chegg, a website college students use to rent/purchase textbooks. Then, there is a photo, the title of the blog, and additional tabs for the reader to click on. After this, there is the title of the post. The author does not introduce herself in this post, I am assuming because she has another tab that's all about her. However, it would have been nice to learn something about whose writing before reading. It would allow the reader to see who the author is and maybe why they are writing this in the first place. The author's main goal of her blog is to write about something that most people forget about, how it FEELS to actually experience the program. It's a personal post about a personal experience. At the conclusion of the post, there are photos and links to share the blog on social media. Additionally, there is a space available for readers to leave comments or ask questions. The number of comments is not calculated, but there are a lot of people who responded to the post. The author frequently responded to her reader's comments. This shows that the author cares about their blog and their readers. By talking to them, they are connecting with them.
The source of this blog is from the Disney internships and programs page. The author of this post is a Disney College Program recruiter, and has been for 14 years. While the writer does not state her name, it's posted with a picture at the bottom of the blog. However, the author includes an introductory statement about herself, and why she is qualified to write this blog. It's a little bit of information about herself, her experience with Disney, and a statement about what the overall post is about. The author's intention is to be informative. While reading, I get a sense that this woman is upbeat and happy. She is not demanding in her tone and stating that if you don't follow her tips you won't get in. She wants nothing except to be helpful to the student applying for the program. Being a recruiter herself, she is letting applicants know how a recruiter thinks when reading applications. At the top of this page is the Header for the official Disney Program's website. It contains links to other pages within the websites, and the programs social networks on other platforms. The blog itself has a slideshow at the top of the page. It contains images and quotes on the different stages of the Program's application process. The actual post, after the introduction paragraph, contains five different headings with bulleted statements underneath. This keeps the page clean and organized. It's easy to follow and understand without having a lot of information thrown at you. It breaks it down into readable steps. There are not ads on this page, but rather links to other posts that could be helpful for the reader. I believe this is Disney keeping it all Disney. They want their readers to be able to focus on the importance of the process and other aspects of the program. This post is almost two years old, but after further research, this woman is still a Disney recruiter. Like the other blogs, there is no direct social media link, however, there are links to SHARE this post with others on various social medias. I know for a fact that this recruiter has a twitter and uses this platform to interact with those interested or involved with the program, but it is not linked to this page. While comments can be made on this post, there are none. I attribute this to the fact that there is a "Contact Us" link at the top of the page. Students may be more inclined to contact the recruiter there in hopes for a more direct and personal response. The recruiter is writing to college students who are looking to apply, in the middle of applying, or have been accepted. She includes little tips for students throughout the stages.
This blog is set up in a similar way that ours will be, in particular, mine. The author is writing about the application process, I chose to analyze her post about the web-based interview. This is a part of the process that many people skip when writing about the application. However, knowing how make-or-break it is to getting into the program, I needed to research this topic as well. This writer's intention is to inform, but also give advice and tips. It's different than other blogs I've read about this program because it discusses something frequently forgotten about. This blog is only a little over a year old and she sheds light on the this section of the process without being too serious. By that I mean that she also includes her own personal flare to her writing. She isn't rewriting information she has read from other sites, she includes advice and tips to the readers. Her audience is a little more narrowed than other blogs. While she can still be writing to college students looking into the program, this blog is directed to college students who have made it past the first stage of the process. The Web-based interview (what this blog is about) is the second stage of the application process. The author breaks down what it is, what to know before you take it, and what to do while you take it. This page is simple, and plain. It has the author's name at the top with a blurred image. There are no ads posted on this page, to me this means that the author is not being funded to post about this. She may want to in the future, but as of now her main focus is posting content for there readers. Under this are the various sections of her blog. Not only does she write about the Disney College Program, but also "College Living" and "Balanced Living." Afterwards is the title of the post, and then the information is broken up into sections. Some of the information is bolded, underlined, colored, or bulleted depending on what is being said. However, most of the writing is in the same size font which leaves it sometimes more difficult to follow along. At the bottom of the page are links to, once again, share the blog post. After this is a little blurb about who the author is, and why they feel they are qualified to write this post. There are also links to other Disney College Program posts by this author. There is a section available for comments to be left, however there currently are none. Finally, at the bottom of this page are links to her other blog posts, photos of herself, and a link to follow or subscribe to her blog.
What I first noticed about this blog is that it's nearly four and a half years old. However, from my personal experience of actually referencing this post during my process, it's still relevant. I LOVE the way this blog is set up. It's bright, colorful, and attractive. There are also images that are clearly personalized for her page and post. This post is unique to this topic. Usual blogs about the phone interview phase of the process are advice, tips, or tricks. This blog post is a "cheat sheet". The author provides sample prompts, questions, and responses for the reader. It's reference that has been created to be used to practice your phone interview, or to have handy during the phone interview. Her main goal is to prepare the reader for the interview. She intends to expose the reader to what a phone interview could entail. Like another blogger I've researched, this author does not write about or introduce herself. This is not her only blog post, so it's assumed that if you want to get to know the author you will go to her "About Me" page. This page has a title, as well as the job description of the author. This allows the reader to see that she has been through this process before and is here to share what she knows. Additionally there are multiple tabs at the top that lead to other pages on her blog site. This particular post contains a title, and an image about the post. Afterwards there is an introductory statement about the post, then the author introduces the "cheat sheet". The post is then broken up into five different headings with various information, questions, and responses posted underneath. On the right side of this page there are ads. One about Photobucket, another for a suit company, and one for a link to create your own blog using their site (Blogspot). These are all ads that young college students might be attracted to. In fact I started to explore blogspots website and view it next to Weebly's. At the bottom of the page there is an area to follow the author, explore her other posts, and view her schedule of postings. There were no links to any other social media site on this page, there wasn't even a link to quickly share the post on Facebook or Twitter. A reader can leave comments on this post, in fact twenty-four people already have. Some readers left commentary on how much this sheet helped them, others asked questions. From what I can see, the author kept up with her page and answered questions/discussed with her readers. People who would be attracted to this page is an even smaller audience. Once you have made it past the initial application and web-based interview, you have to complete a phone interview. So, she is writing to college students who have made it to this point and are preparing for their phone interviews.
I made the decision to use another Odyssey article because even though it's the same website, it is a different blogger with different intentions. This post is attention grabbing, it has a large image of Simba. It's clean and clear what the focus of this post will be on. The title under this is big and bold. Like the other Odyssey post, the author's name and image are posted at the top. If you'd like to find out more about this author you have to click on their picture. The main purpose of this post is to help prepare the applicants for their phone interview. This means that the audience of this post are college students who have made it to this phase of the process. Her main goal is for students to be ready for what the recruiters throw at them during the phone interview. Under her title is a little blurb, "Prepare, prepare, and then prepare some more." This lets the reader know a little bit about what her post is all about. The first thing the reader sees under the title is an ad. It's an ad for a weight loss and exercise app. This is something that most college students are interest in and attracted to, so it fits the audience that will be reading this post. The only other ad is at the very end, and it is for Nordstrom. This is a "higher end" store that sells clothes, shoes, etc for people of all ages and genders. However, online shopping is a hobby that most millennials love to do. So it makes sense that an ad like this would end up on this website. To me, I find ads distracting, especially ones with videos, such as the exercise app. This post, like some of the others, is broken up by headings. There are six of them with information written under them. This post does not have any links to other social medias, but there are links for the readers to easily share the post. There also is no opportunity for the reader to leave a comment for the author.
This website really reminds me of how our Weebly's are set up. This blog page is also unique compared to the others because it's put together by 5 different girls who become friends/sisters through the the Disney College Program. While I love this blog, and the entire idea of girls coming together to write pieces that are helpful and informative, the particular blog I am interested in is not signed by one girl. It appears as though it is written by one person, but the girls do not claim who writes what. At the beginning of this post there is a disclaimer that they all applied and got in the first time, so these are some tips that they have all put together for their readers. For this piece, author is giving advice for applying to the program. She writes in a way where she is being helpful rather than a cocky, "We know everything." Her main goal is to help make the reader's application process less stressful. The page is headed with a photo that clearly signifies it's about Disney. The top of the page is set up with links to other parts of their blog page. Down the right side of the blog is a photo of the girls, a short description, quick links for their site, and also ads. One ad is for a vacation company and another is for Glassdoor. I believe the vacation company ad is posted here because the girls also write about tips and advice for going on a vacation to Walt Disney World. Additionally, Glassdoor is a company many young, job-searching, students/graduates use, and this is the age group of their readership. The audience of the blog page are college students who are interested in applying to the Disney College Program. The girls write to them in an attempt to give them advice and tips for when/how they complete the application. The actual blog post is written neatly and organized. There are headings to clearly identify each section and the information is organized in short, yet detailed paragraphs, or bullets. You can go to the "About Me" page for the girls to find links to their Instagram pages, but there is no Facebook page for the blog. However, you can share this post on your Facebook/Twitter account. This blog has a space for comments. There are 11 left on this particular post, and the girls appear to keep up with and respond to their readers.
Right off the bat, I noticed that the author had a little blurb about herself posted on the side of the blog post. One of the major things I realized throughout this research process is learning a little bit about the author before reading. Her overall blog's purpose is to share her personal experiences from all aspects of her life. The author informed me in her information on the side, and at the start of the post, that she is writing from experience. In this post, she is writing to share her audition story, the process she went through, and how she felt. There is a lot of "stuff" all over the page. What I mean by this is that there are a lot of ads along the side, and it's kind of distracting. The author has links all over this post to her other posts, basically like personal ads. However, there are some at the top, on the sides, and at the bottom. I just feel as though there could be less. There is an ad for a cookbook, this author is also a cookbook author, and a public speaking training company. These ads are catering towards the author's readers because she is also a cook, along with other things. For this particular post, her readership would be people interested in learning about the Disney audition process. This includes male/female college students, eligible to apply to the program. However, the readership for her overall blog varies to do the variety of different posts she makes. At the tip if the page is the title, under this is a link to the author's about me page along with the date that the post was published. Although this post was created in 2013, from personal experience, I can say that it is still relevant. Under this are links to share the post on Facebook, twitter, and Pinterest. At the bottom of the page, there is a link to like the author's Facebook page, there are 6 likes. This post has comments available, and there are 18 comments. It's clear that the author responded to her readers and kept up with the comments left on her post.
I chose this blog as research on the topic of finding roommates. I actually found this page when I was personally searching for roommates because I had no where to start. The author of this blog is a college girl, like me, who was going to Disney World to work for Disney. The blog starts off with the name of the page at the top, with a little blurb about the author. Again, I find this extremely important. Then, there's all of the tabs for the readers to navigate around her blog site. This includes a home page, about me, FAQs, and links to her Youtube, Twitter, and Tumblr. After this, there is the title of this post, which is about how to successfully find roommates to live with during your Disney program. Her purpose is to give advice and tips to those who got into the program and might not know how to go about finding roommates (like me). The author has a playful, happy, and upbeat tone. Upon further reading, I do not get the impression that she is a "know it all," she's just trying to help out those who are confused. The blog is written down the center/left side of the page. There are pictures and text that go straight down. On the right side of the page is the blog's archive. This makes the page, and posts, easy to navigate. There are also some of the author's twitter posts. This blog does not contain any ads. The blog was make solely for the author to create, write, and inform readers. There are links, at the bottom, to the author's Facebook page, google account, and twitter. The amount of likes on Facebook are not available for me to view. Also, while you can leave comments, there aren't any on this particular post. The majority of the people reading this page are those college students, male and female, who have been accepted into the Disney College Program and are looking for people to live with during the program.
My first impression of this page is that it's kind of cluttered. The top of the page contains the blog's title, and under this are the links to other pages on the blog. Down the right side of the page are the blog's archives as well as a few of the writer's "popular" posts, and a contact form. Down the left side are pictures that let us know a little bit about who the writer is. The actual post is written down the center. The author's purpose for this post is to inform readers about the different types of housing that you can live in during the program. This post is solely meant to be informative. She provides information about what makes the four housing structures different as well as the amenities that are within each of them. The author is mainly writing to college students who have gotten into the program and are now researching which type of housing they want to select. This post was created in 2013, but upon other research I saw that all of her information is still current. I selected this blog because I liked the way that it was written. She had titles, sub-titles, words underlined, bulleted, and inserted pictures. There are no ads on this page, but there are links to share this post on varies platforms such as twitter, Facebook, Google, Tumblr, and Pinterest. However, aside from the pictures on the side of the post, there is no other personal information about the author. This post does have comments available, but there are none left on this particular post.