After reviewing everyone’s midterm blogs, my top 5 are as follows:
1. http://ml920.wordpress.com/ Published by Min Li
This blog is bright and colorful, which is very eye catching. I really liked both videos, as I thought that they were informative and they made me smile because Min just has so much energy when she is talking about her makeup and clothes. Personally, I’m more of a jeans and tshirt kind of girl, but I love makeup, so I found that aspect of the blog to be very interesting. I like that Min used many products that were not prohibitively expensive, so the blog is accessible to everyone, not just people that can afford to shop at pricey department stores. The videos were well thought out, and overall this was my favorite blog posted in the forum.
2. http://zmt6omamnews.wordpress.com/ Published by Zane Tower
I appreciate the effort that Zane put into this blog, and it is evident because of the amount of changes he made to an original WordPress template. Nearly every aspect of the blog has been customized, and it gives it a professional feel, while still being about something that he enjoys in his personal life. I like that there is a large amount of posts and content available on the site, and that there are many videos included. The posts about the videos are informative and effective.
3. http://worryfreewaistline.wordpress.com/ Published by Casey Getz
I like that this blog is bright and colorful. I give Casey a lot of credit for managing to put together a blog about weight loss/healthy eating without coming across as judgmental or negative. This is a great aspect of the blog because the descriptions of the recipes are positive and I feel like I would actually eat some of the things that she suggests. The video is quick and simple, which is great for a cooking video. I like that there is no audio component besides the music, because it is hard to speak to a camera while you are cooking effectively and often it can end up muddled. The captions were definitely a great choice.
4. http://www.hollywoodinreview.wordpress.com Published by Yassmeen Nazzal
Great concept, I like that there are national movies as well as one that is made by Yassmeen. I especially like the header image, it is well edited and looks almost as if it came as the default header from WordPress. The black and white layout reminds me of a movie scene clapperboard, which is a nice comparison considering it is a movie review blog. I feel that the descriptions of the movies could be a bit longer and more detailed, but overall it is informative. There is a lot more that could be done here, but there may have been copyright issues that go along with those ideas, such as inserting short movie scene clips. Best to stay legal, and I think that this blog did a good job of doing just that.
5. http://thecollegestudentcookbook.wordpress.com/ Published by Kristen Hanley
This blog has a great layout and is incredibly user-friendly. I get the feeling of being at home in the kitchen when I see the wallpaper-esque background and that is definitely comforting for a college student, because most of your memories of cooking come from time spent with your family at home. The video is a bit comical, which it probably wasn’t meant to be, but that’s how I took it. It almost looks as if Kristen is about to cut off a finger while slicing the chicken breast at some points and the comment at 1:11 is a bit offensive, implying that if you want more than one fajita taco you have a “huge stomach” since she can only manage one. Overall I like the layout and features of the blog, but I think that the terminology should be changed so as not to offend users in any way.
mariyahwojcik 
Something that I didn’t realize when picking my top 5 was the fact that a decent amount of these were user-friendly, so it wasn’t really something I realized when I was browsing. I feel like WordPress does a good job of making each specific layout unique but still easy to navigate. I think the people that put theirs together did a good job of keeping others in mind too.
Mariyah,
Four of the top-five on your list made mine as well. It is always interesting to see how the rankings change from one reviewer to the next, and their reasoning for it. I think it is a great example of the importance of identifying a target audience.
Most of my top 5 posts were the same as yours. Perhaps my lack of interest in makeup is why I didn’t pick that one; regardless, you did a great job evaluating the blogs and included analysis of the videos, which a lot of people neglected (including myself).
Thank you for choosing my blog in your top five, although I am a little taken aback by your comment on my video. I didn’t at all mean to offend anyone, and it wasn’t taken in the way you thought. I meant huge stomach as in huge appetite, which I didn’t have at the time. If you have something that personal to say, I’d appreciate a private message, or leave it out of your public blog. Otherwise I agree with the other blogs that you chose since I think they were all well done.
Mariyah,
We chose three of the same blogs on your top five list! We must think a lot alike! You also did a very good job analyzing other people’s blogs. Your reviews were thoughtful and in-depth.