Before I share my list of favorites with you, let me say that not all of these blogs focus entirely on blogging. Several cover the broadly covered “making money online” topics and some post about a variety of other topics as well. My very loose criteria for this list is that the blog must regularly post about blogging or topics important to bloggers. The only other criteria was that the blog had to have been around for less then one year. This is a list of best NEW blogs on blogging, not just a list of the best blogs. So let’s get started…

Search for Blogging – Mert Erkal from Turkey is looking to leave his 9-5 marketing job and join the very small world of self-supporting bloggers. Mert shares with his readers his own thoughts on blogging and a few updates on his own progress toward becoming a full-time blogger. Click on the articles tab and you will find some of the best material available on this site. This blog has been around for just under a year. Recommended Reading: How to Track Your Keywords with HitTail.

Better Blogging for Bloggers – This very new blog is an easy addition to the list. Despite the couple design bugs, this blog is all about content. I highly recommend dropping by Liane’s blog and reading some great advice for beginning and seasoned bloggers. By the way, you may be surprised to find that this blog is hosted on a Google Blogspot site since the theme has been highly customized. Recommended Reading: Make Your Posts More Readable for Your Readers and See the Wonders Yourself.

Blogging Resources – Here’s another blog that’s been around for just a few months but is already off to a great start. The theme is one of my favorite free themes, the WP Premium Theme by WP Remix (Blogger Version). The author, Pradeep, demonstrates solid Internet experience with posts on topics such as whitehat SEO and RSS feed building. Recommended Reading: How to Improve Your Site’s Google Page Ranking and What Not to Do to Improve Your Site’s Google Page Ranking.

JT Pratt’s Blogging Mistakes – How can you not like a blog that teaches you blogging by sharing the blogger’s own blunders? Well, if JT has made some blogging errors, poor content is not one of them. I really like the detailed advice and recommendations that JT gives on everything from building a BANs website to hacking WordPress. The blog does seem a bit cluttered with lots of ads and hard to read post headings, but this is definitely a blog you should check out. Recommended Reading: 5 Key Google Analytics to Watch for Blog Progress.

Butterfly Media Corporate Blog – This is a business blog that covers just about everything related to web media publishing. The information is top quality with some great resources and brief tutorials. This is also one of the best looking blogs on this list; a clean design with great navigation and minimal advertising. The blog has been around since last August, and I certainly hope is will be with us for a long time. Recommended Reading: RSS Syndication – A Quick Tutorial.

Blogger Venue – This blog has a little bit of everything. The blog is published using the wonderfully attractive Options Theme by Justin Tadlock and the writing is conversational and interesting. Hugo Santos, the blog owner has done a great job of creating an excellent blog that touches on a variety of topics related to blogging and making money online. Recommended Reading: Bloggers Stealing Bloggers.

Zero And Up – This is one of my favorite new blogs. Zero and Up, written by a chap named Alan, is a wonderful blog with content added almost daily. Most articles are short, but very well written and great for new bloggers. I really like the custom theme that Alan commissioned. Advertising is nicely integrated and don’t distract from the content. This blog was started in February 2008. Recommended Reading: The Blogger Condition.

One Year Millionaire – Okay, I’m not a big fan of the “get rich quick” motif of this site (or others like it), but I have to say, the content is worth reading. I haven’t found any cutting edge opinion or breaking news on the blog, but the posts do make some solid recommendations for bloggers and Internet entrepreneurs. The owner has done a nice job modifying the K2 theme. This is a very new site started in March 2008. Recommended Reading: The Most Common Internet Marketing Mistakes.

BTW, I’m always looking for great new blogs to write about. If you have a new blog, or find one you like, leave me a comment or drop me an email. It doesn’t need to be a blog about blogging. It can be about anything. I will be posting more lists like this one in the future.

[PhotoCredit:Just-Us-3]

Last September Anca Bristena did just that. She started an original and fun blog called Megavegalicious.com. (Which should win some honor for the most creative blog name in some time.) At Megavega, Anca posts about everything from shrimp cocktails to blog reviews. Of course, the continuing thread throughout the blog is Vegas in all it’s glory!

I really enjoy the conversational style of Anca’s writing and the different, sometimes quirky look at Las Vegas life. After having visited Megavega from some time, I’ve decided to write a review of the site. Here’s my thoughts on the blog, the stories and the Vegas adventure.

What I love:

1. When someone said that content is the most important aspect of any blog, Anca was definitely listening. The stories and information are well written, entertaining, and often humorous. The posts remind me of conversations at a friend’s house where the topic is usually light, changes frequently, and is never stuffy or pretentious. For a couple recent examples, see My 100th Post! and 10 Things I’ve Learned So Far.
2. The simplicity of the design puts the emphasis where it belongs…on the content. The design is simple and the font is large and easy to read. There are not distracting ads or other junk to clutter the page.
3. Anca adds videos of Vegas in many of her posts. These videos may show a Vegas attraction or how to make a pizza. But each video is well chosen and I’ve yet to find one that didn’t work.
4. Anca creates a community feel at her blog by responding to comments and interacting with readers. She rewards frequent commentors with a “Top Commentors” plugin at the bottom of the page.
5. There is always something new to read at Megavega! Anca is one of the most prolific bloggers I know. She reached the 100th post after only 229 days. That’s an average of one post every 2.3 days. Recently Anca has been posting almost daily.

What I would change:

1. The graphic and logo for Megavega are begging to be improved. Just like the logo on my own blog, the Megavega logo would benefit from some design work.
2. There is no search feature on the blog. Anca could help her readers find posts and Las Vegas topics by adding a search function.
3. Several key features are hidden at the bottom of the page. I would move the popular posts, archives and categories lists to the empty right hand column. Currently the column is just wasted space and these features would encourage visitors to discover more of the gems at Megavega.
4. With the already long list of posts on the blog, I would love to see an archives page like the one generated by the Clean Archives plugin from iDunzo.com.

Anca, thanks for all your work to bring us Las Vegas from a blogger’s point of view. Keep up the great work and the sense of humor. I’ll definitely be back, and may even plan a visit to the city of lights this summer!

Well, SevenActions.com is the under-performing blog. Here are the performance facts:

• I have averaged 3 posts a week since launching on January 1, 2008…68 days ago.
• Traffic is currently averaging 94 daily uniques, but nearly all of that traffic is from two posts that were wildly successful with Stumble traffic.
• Subscribers currently total an unimpressive 11, with a past high of only 19.
• Comments are rare on any of the posts.  The average is .9 comments per post.

What these numbers tell me is that readers are simply not connecting with the blog.  Design is some of the problem, but I believe content is a much bigger issue.  Here are the problems with the blog from my perspective.

• First and foremost, the blog suffers from an unclear mission.  The idea of Seven Actions was to look at our entire lives through seven different actions, but that has lead to posts with varied topics and no consistency for the reader.
• The blog design is boring, from the amateurish logo (my design) to the simplistic theme.  I am using a premium theme on the site, but I’m not happy with the results.
• The subscriber button is not prominently displayed.
• I don’t post frequently enough about my own success with personal goal achievement.  These posts seem to get the most reads from non-Stumble traffic.

So, I’m left with a dilemma.  And like some other desperate men before me, I am considering murder as an easy way out.  I am thinking about killing the blog.  Of course, there are options.  Here are the ideas I have come up with.

• Sell the blog to someone who could turn it into a successful site.
• Make changes to the design and content – try to make it work.
• Revamp the entire concept of the site.  Change it from a blog to a resource site for personal achievement.  Some of the existing content could be used.
• Call up my cousin’s friend and ask him to “take care of the job.”  I’ve been told he is discrete and efficient.  I don’t want any problems…if you know what I mean.

OR, I could post about this on Blogging Startup and ask your opinion.  So, what do you suggest?  Is it possible to save this blog, or should I put it out of it’s misery?  Making the changes needed to give the blog a clear direction could be quite challenging…any thoughts on how to do that?  I’m looking forward to hearing your ideas.

By the way, there are five more days in the BS contest, and every comment here will earn one entry!

Alrighty, time to take a look at the Push Standards blog started by web designer, Tom Ross. So Tom, here’s my completely biased, opinionated, and seldom coherent review of your blog…

First, I have to say, I love the simplicity and attractiveness of the design. Well, except I see you had some trouble with the top right corner staying up on the screen, but the tape is holding fine. Also, since I know that you did the design yourself, you should add this to your portfolio.

Okay, here’s my breakdown of the pros and cons of the blog so far. Since there is very little content, I will comment mainly on the design.

PROS:

1. You actually put thought and energy into your blog launch! That’s great. (My first two blogs were launched with zero fanfare and zero visitors for several days. I finally got smart with this blog; see the news report.)
2. Great subtitle! I love it. Readers immediately know what the site is about. Very well worded.
3. Clean, attractive design. Artistic, with good use of color.
4. The writing looks good, so far. And you already have three posts up in the first day! Excellent. Be sure to proofread, as I found a couple small spelling errors. (And no, don’t tell me about my own spelling problem unless you write a review with a link back to BS!)
5. Blog has tab links at the bottom of the page. Most blogs miss this, but readers love it. Even my own blogs are missing this.
6. The tab titles help clarify what this blog is about; for example, “Portfolio” and “Hire Me“.
7. Having your portfolio with links is a great sales point.
8. It’s a new blog and you already have all your tabbed pages filled with content. That is excellent. I also like that you included a contact form and have a photo and description of yourself.
9. You’ve added three major social bookmarking links at the bottom of each post. Now to write some posts that will attract those clicks.
10. You’ve started doing some SEO work such as having clear post titles in the URL.
11. You’ve already got the blog listed on Technorati.

CONS:

1. The RSS feed button is small. This is a problem on one of my blogs and the subscriptions reflect that.
2. As you add more content, you will want to have more links in your sidebar for readers to access the older content. A list of categories is a key way to help readers find what they are interested in.
3. Blogroll only has one blog on it. Add some more, even if you need to drop them in the next few weeks. It just looks better and lets readers know you are connected.
4. The title graphic could be a bit larger.
5. Need to add a favicon to your site. (I know…who the hell am I to suggest this? Hey, mine are on the way; be patient.)
6. Still some SEO work to be done, such as improving the home page title. Right now it is just “pushstandards.com” with no keywords.
7. Personally, I wouldn’t list blank advertising spaces on a new blog (especially with no ads sold). Until you have traffic and stats to help sell your ads, these will be hard to fill. Add an advertising tab and list your ad space prices there. Blank ads announce that no one is advertising here.

Your domain name is a challenge, but not bad. Push Standards is probably not going to be a great keyword domain, but it does allow you some flexibility in creating your own image. My other two blogs use domain names in the same fashion. The key is to get your name out there and start developing lots o’ links. And I know you have already been working on this.

Overall, I think you could have a winner with this blog. The real question is, what will the future content look like? Readers need to have a reason to come back to a blog, and content is what gets them back. If your content is strong, this blog will do quite well.