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10 defining factors: Breaking Tweets

Posted by Ben on February 09, 2009 | Permalink | Hits: 492 

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The 10 defining factors concept is simple: I will highlight 10 things that I consider to be the defining factors of the blogs I review. Some may be good, some may be bad, some might need to be changed. This time, I've decided to review Breaking Tweets.



What are the 10 defining factors of Breaking Tweets?

1. News stories sourced from other sites.

Each post starts with a link and a quote from a "traditional" news site. Initially, this raised the question of whether there's any original content here. But there's a twist...

2. Comments sourced from Twitter.

Once the story has been outlined, the remainder of the post contains a few comments from Twitter users. It's such a simple idea, but it works well.

One gripe I have is that the feed doesn't always display the comments correctly - see below for an example:



Other than that, I like the usage of Twitter avatars alongside the comments.

3. Totally original.

This is a really clever site. The author is creative and combines blogging with Twitter usage, and doesn't take the obvious route of posting Twitter tips. Good job!

4. Raw and real.

While many larger news sites offer little more than a synopsis of events, Breaking Tweets lets the Twitter users do most of the talking. This is a refreshing change and it's why I've already subscribed to the site.

5. The map.

I like the use of Google Maps, but I can't help thinking it'll get too crowded as more content is added. Still, it's a much nicer way to find content than trying to find posts by date, something that just doesn't work for most blogs.

6. Effective use of multiple navigation methods.

In addition to the map, the Regions and Labels links provide a good alternative to the usual blog navigation. The only criticism is that the Labels are not used consistently, with some being used for places and some for the type of story - e.g. Politics, Sports, England, Middle East.

These may prove more useful when clicking a label in a post on the front page, but as it stands, the sidebar links are rather lengthy and haphazard.

7. The globe.

I quite like the green and black globe, although the green is a different shade to the colour in the blog design. However, the globe itself appears to serve no purpose, and its perpetual motion is distracting.

8. Empty design.

While I really like the colour scheme, I think the header area would benefit from a "news-y" background image. This could be quite subtle, and I think it would bring the theme to life.

9. Odd font choices.

Arial seems to dominate here. There's a bit of Trebuchet MS in the "show your appreciation" box, and some Times New Roman at the bottom. Those two should be changed to be consistent with the rest. Also, the "Breaking Tweets" header might be better in a different font from the body text.

10. Surprisingly compelling.

I read news sites every now and again, but there are a lot of stories that don't interest me. Breaking Tweets is tipping the balance so I want to read more. It's an extremely well put together site and I highly recommend checking it out.

• Follow the editor on Twitter: @ckanal or follow @breakingtweets for news

What do you think?

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