Where to Find Uptake Vacations Blog:
Blog URL: http://www.uptake.com/blog/
Category: Vacation, Travel

Uptake Vacations Blog

The Uptake Vacations Blog is one of several travel-related blogs in the Uptake family of blogs. The Vacations blog is dedicated specifically to vacation planning in the United States, with features and travel planning tips of note to all vacation planners.

Uptake Vacations Blog – Why You Should Go

The Uptake website is described as:

“Everything you need to decide on your next trip”

From the site:

“UpTake.com is a travel search and discovery site – the first step for travelers to decide where to go, where to stay or what to do. We help users make informed decisions about what best fits their travel preferences. We scoured more than 1,000 sites to collect 400,000 places to go, things to do and places to stay in the U.S. Then we analyzed and organized over 20 million travelers’ opinions to enable search based on exact travel requirements and preferences.”

The Vacations blog is just one part of this comprehensive overall picture. In addition, the site offers blogs that cover attractions, hotels, lodging, beaches, and more. There is real first-hand information here, and real, useful tips that can help you make the most of your next trip, and avoid the potential pitfalls of travel.

Summing Up Uptake Vacations Blog

Uptake Vacations Blog is a comprehensive vacation-planning resource in and of itself, but with the added contribution of the parent site and family blogs, this blog is just the beginning for planning your next great vacation adventure.

Go here to check out Uptake Vacations Blog.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

It’s that time of week once again–time to look back and review the reviews to make sure you didn’t miss a blogging beat!

Do You Digg It Blog Reviews January 11, 2009

• We started the week with some good eats from Katherine Huether at This Girl Cooks.
• From there, we entered the animal world and got a behind-the-scenes look at The Life of a Veterinarian, complete with advice, tips, and animal tricks.
• That led us to a lighter look at animal antics at LOL Cats and Dogs (a surprisingly popular post by the way–stop by to see what all the buzz is about!).
• We got a little more in touch with the simpler and more natural side of life at Organic. Period…
• …And were inspired by the True Quotes that make you think.
• Our week ended with a review of a promising blog Network, Today.com, a place that lays host to some top quality blogs (a few from this week’s list) and offers an array of opportunities for bloggers new and old.

So ends our week of blog reviews.  Come back as we begin another week anew, with more great blogs to find.

Don’t forget we’re always looking out for more blogs to add to our ranks.  Leave a comment with all your suggestions for your blog favorites and places to see.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

Where to Find Today Blog Network:
Blog URL: http://www.today.com/
Category: Blog Networks

Today Blogging Network

Another of the more prevalent blogging networks is the Today.com blog network. This is a network that offers plenty of perks for both hobby bloggers and more serious bloggers looking to earn some income for their efforts. It is also home to some very good blogs that you’ll enjoy just for the reading pleasure. (You can see examples of Today.com blogs here on Digg It; a couple recent reviews of Today Blogs include This Girl Cooks and Organic. Period.)

Today Blogging Network – Why You Should Go

The Today.com blog network offers blog platforms and support for blogs in a range of categories. Those categories include:

• News
• Entertainment
• Business
• Sports
• Health and Fitness
• Technology
• Hobbies
• Living

Today.com offers free blog hosting, as well as a tiered payment system for proven blogs and “VIP” bloggers. The uninitiated can start off on the paid tier and enjoy the benefits of the free hosting and tech support, and then aspire to move up to a paid program based on traffic generation or a pay-per-post system once the blog grows. Describing their blog network, Today.com states:

“Today.com provides tools for both new and experienced bloggers. For those new to blogging, we offer free blog hosting…For those with an established blog looking to generate more traffic, we offer free submission to our blog directory.”

Summing Up Today.com Network

Today.com is host to many excellent blogs, and offers enticing options for new blogs or old blogs looking for a new home. Check out Today.com for the quality blog content or for the blog opportunities.

Go here to check out Today.com.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

Where to Find True Quotes:
Blog URL: http://truequotes.today.com/
Category: Motivation, Personal Development, Philosophy

True Quotes

This is not the first blog of this kind that we’ve reviewed here; if you recall, a while back we stopped in at Dexter the Quote Guy’s Quotes…In Our Own Words Blog. True Quotes is a blog that shares a lot of similarity with Dexter’s blog, with a somewhat broader topical range and author Ann’s own personal touch.

True Quotes – Why You Should Go

True Quotes has a refreshingly simple format. Ann simply gives us a quote for the day, one to each post, and then takes just a couple of paragraphs to offer commentary on it. Whereas Dexter’s blog is based primarily on quotes focusing on positivity, Ann’s blog is a bit more liberal, including quotes on all manner of subjects. Says Ann, these are quotes taken

“…from a variety of sources including authors of classic literature and poetry, Holy Scripture, writings of the saints, and possibly even bumper stickers!”

—anything she finds that inspires her and she thinks will inspire you to thought and contemplation. Topics can run the gamut from inspirational and positive, to commentary on human nature and character. It’s all to get your thought processes moving and to make the written word meaningful to you in a personal way, the way that it is to her (to that end, be sure to see Ann’s Meaningful Project).

Summing Up True Quotes

Visiting True Quotes will only take a few moments out of your day, but those few moments will be enough to inspire you to thought. It will be a few moments very well spent at this interesting and inspirational blog.

Go here to check out True Quotes.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

Where to Find Organic. Period.:
Blog URL: http://organic.today.com/
Category: Green Living, Organic, Gardening

Organic. Period.

Organic. Period. Is more than a gardening blog, it is an entire course in living green, healthy, and organic. Our resident organic gardener takes us throughout the year on a journey to achieve a higher level of simplicity and health.

Organic. Period. – Why You Should Go

It’s a gardening blog, yes. That’s undeniable. But it is also an organic blog. The blog focuses on “what matters”—the “pure and simple” side of life. This is a blog to go to to plan for the organic garden and organic lifestyle all the year round. Our guide walks us through gardening, planning, and organic topics each month, discussing the issues and tasks at hand for the time. Along the way, you’ll learn many things about organic food production, DIY organic growing, and the lifestyle topic as a whole. You’ll also be treated to posts to inspire your mind and set it at ease. The author invites you to,

“Learn to live a greener lifestyle, one step at a time… [through] articles about organic gardening, green living, energy efficiency, renewable resources, and many other related topics.”

Summing Up Organic. Period.

The organic lifestyle somehow has gotten a reputation as a complex and delicate thing, but in reality it is not. It is a lifestyle that relies on simplification and a step back to the natural state of the things. It’s all very simple, really, and that is what this blog has set out to show. For a simpler life…

Go here to check out Organic. Period.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

Where to Find LOL Cats/Dogs:
Blog URL: http://icanhascheezburger.com

http://ihasahotdog.com/

Category: Animals

LOL Cats & LOL Dogs

The most recent place these blogs were linked from was on the Life of a Veterinarian site. But LOL Cats—known as the I Can Has Cheezburger blog—is one that is run into time and again across the internet. Both this and the dog version of the blog—I Has a Hotdog—are places to put on your list when it’s time for life on the lighter side.

LOL Cats & LOL Dogs – Why You Should Go

It seems inevitable that these blogs would be reviewed given as many times as I’ve come across them on blogrolls all over the net. They’ve been linked to from blogs from serious to silly, seemingly for a bit of comic relief.

The blog itself is simple. It’s a place to have a little fun and enjoy entertaining photos of animals. It all started with one famous cat in a picture captioned, I Can has Cheezburger? – the caption that was to become the address and name of the blog, and the beginning of an LOL empire. The blog grew to be a place where visitors could caption existing photos or upload their own for the community to share. And share it does, with captions and comments numbering over 100 on the average animal pic.

Summing Up LOL Cats & Dogs

There’s not a lot serious about the LOL animals sites, which is likely why they’ve grown to such popularity. If you haven’t been there yet, allow yourself a few minutes to play around with these pets and add your creative captions to the mix.

Go here to check out LOL Cats and LOL Dogs.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

Where to Find The Life Of A Veterinarian:
Blog URL: http://avetsguidetolife.today.com/
Category: Pets, Animal Care

The Life Of A Veterinarian

The Life of a Veterinarian is not something a lot of us pay regular attention to, even though many of us are pet lovers and/or owners; and these are the people we go to when we need either medical assistance, preventative medicine, or plain old pet advice. With this blog, we are gifted with an uncommon look into the life and mind of a veterinarian.

The Life Of A Veterinarian – Why You Should Go

The title of the blog may make it sound like a day to day account of life in the vet’s office, of which some posts are. This blog has loads more to offer, though. Veterinarian Dr. Chris Bern maintains the blog, where he talks on a full range of animal-related topics, offers tips and advice, and accepts reader questions for Q&A (with a reasonable disclaimer, of course). He also tackles issues of controversy head-on, having recently dedicated a full week to controversies and misconceptions in the animal world. All of this he does in an approachable, down-to-earth manner, hitting just the right balance of common sense and care.

Summing Up The Life Of A Veterinarian

The Life of a Veterinarian is a blog that any animal owner will enjoy. This is a place to learn more about life with pets and to get answers to your questions and concerns. It’s like having your vet on-call 24 hours a day, only he thinks to advise you on topics you haven’t even thought of yet.

Go here to check out The Life of a Veterinarian.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

Where to Find This Girl Cooks:
Blog URL: http://thisgirlcooks.today.com/
Category: Food, Cooking

This Girl Cooks

This Girl Cooks is the cooking blog of domestic diva Katherine Huether, a writer by day and a culinary curioso by…any time of the day. It’s her blog-space to experiment and explore, and share her journey to better cooking; and better eating.

This Girl Cooks – Why You Should Go

This is a great time of year to start exploring a cooking blog, for a number of reasons. First, like Katherine, many people are using the spirit of the New Year to form better eating habits, or meet a health and lifestyle goal. Second, it’s a time when we’re coming off of a season of food favorites, and comfort-foods tend to be all the rage. And third, it’s always a good time for great food and exploring new ingredients and recipes.

One of the best things about Katherine’s blog is that it’s focus is on the enjoyment of food, while capturing the peripheral benefits. Yes, she does keep a food journal, but not for the express sake of dieting, and yes, attention to good food does lend itself to better eating overall, but Katherine never loses sight of the sheer joy of cooking and eating great fare.

Summing Up This Girl Cooks

Whatever your motivation, you’ll enjoy your time spent with Katherine, her great tips and recipes. This girl can not only cook, she can show you that enjoyment of food does not have to be pretentious or trying, it can be just plain satisfying.

Go here to check out This Girl Cooks.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

It’s time to take a look back at all we saw and discussed this week here at Do You Digg It.  Take a look at the blogs we visited, and spend some time chekcing out the links for those you might have missed!

Week In Review: Week Of January 4, 2009

• We started the week with a review of Anthony KIrlew’s Old School SEO blog.  Anthony’s blog is a place to be if you want to maximize the potential of your blog and onlnine endeavors.
• Next we took on the topic of spirituality and perseverance to see how Lori incorporates faith into a life of challenges, making it her foundation stone to living well.  See how Lori is Faithfully Persevering at Persevere.
• Come the middle of the week we were ready to tackle some personal issues head on with life coach Tim Brownson.  Daring to look discomfort in the face, we stopped in to see how Tim was changing lives at his Daring Adventure blog.
• Rounding out our blogging portfolio, we looked at another source of blogger and SEO support, enjoying the simple format of Daniel Scocco’s Daily Blog Tips blog.
• To close out the week, we reviewed another blogging network, one with a dedication to education.  Edublogs is the place to go for student, teacher, administrator, and otherwise education-related blogs, and they have all the support and features a classroom could need.

That wraps up the week for the first full week of the New Year.  We’ll start fresh tomorrow with more reviews of hot-topic blogs and little known spaces in the blogosphere.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012

Where to Find Edublogs:
Blog URL: http://edublogs.org/
Category: Education, Blog Networks

Edublogs

Educators need all the help they can get these days, and all the affordable technology resources to put the power of electronic media in the hands of kids. Nothing is more affordable than free, right? So this free education blog network is a prime resource for people with a stake in education.

Edublogs – Why You Should Go

Edublogs is a blog network specifically maintained for students, teachers, educational policy-makers, schools and universities. It offers top-notch features, resources, and support, with many of the best features available to the blogging community.

Edublogs is an international effort that “hosts hundreds of thousands of blogs for teachers, students, researchers, professors, librarians, administrators and anyone and everyone else involved in education” led by Australian Founder and CEO James Farmer. Farmer is assisted by a diverse international crew that includes Andrew Billits, Lorraine Brusch, and fellow Aussie Sue Waters. Together, they have developed and continue to maintain a large, reliable blogging network complete with the behind-the-scenes marketing and support a good blog network needs.

Summing Up Edublogs

With all the many niche blogging networks in the blogosphere, it is nice to see one that puts modern media tools in the hands of students and teachers. It is even nicer to see one with a proven record of support and success, a resource to rely on with the real potential to lend educational advantage.

Go here to check out Edublogs.

Mary Ward
Do You Digg It!
Blog Review Team
Do You Digg It! © 2012