Monkey See

I must admit, although I am a fan and frequent visitor of pop culture blogs (including PerezHilton.com and StoolLaLa.com) this is my first shot at blog authorship myself. I’ve never been one to keep any type of journal – though I have made multiple attempts, only resulting in a sad collection of empty diaries. I do, however, believe I have something to offer as far as critique and evaluation of the plethora of entertainment blogs circulating the Internet today. 

I’d like to begin my discussing one of the more upstanding, if you will, pop culture websites: NPR’s Monkey See (http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/). My first impression upon entering the site is that the layout is organized, uncluttered and user-friendly. In typical blog fashion, the most recent posts appear first, while older posts follow. Surprisingly though, for such a well-know media outlet as NPR, there appear to be only two to three new blog posts a day. For me personally, this won’t cut it. While on the Internet at work I’ll keep a tab open all day on my browser, specifically for my pop culture fix. With only two or three updates a day, we’re talking very little slack time for me to take my mind off work. That being said, the blog host, Linda Holmes, has her work cut out for her. But not without help from other NPR staff members, including Steven Thompson with NPR Music and Trey Graham, Movies Editor.

A unique feature of Monkey See is the Pop Culture Happy Hour. Blog editor, Linda Holmes, sits down with NPR staff members and special guests to discuss current pop culture events. The dialogue runs for approximately an hour and can be played directly on your computer media player. This type of podcast is fitting of a radio station website, but also interesting in that the audience can opt to listen to the day’s pop culture exclusives rather than scroll through blog entries.

A second element is the use of blog categories. Although not unique to most pop blogs, I appreciate the organization NPR’s blog uses in categorizing its content. A post’s category appears underneath the story headline. As well, general blog categories are listed in the right-side column of the website. This feature is helpful when looking to reference a particular story for any form of media. Along the same column is an area for the Top 5 Most Popular Monkey See news stories, contact and social media information – including links to follow them on Twitter, and of course, the ever present advertising banner. However, the site does not flood the visitor with obnoxious ads or quick time commercials. The message of the website is intentionally informative and self-sponsoring, including multiple links to additional NPR sites. 

I briefly mentioned the general nature, or spin, of the content in Monkey See’s blog posts. Keeping in mind this is a blog (therefore the editors are free to offer their subjective opinions on the news) the overall feel of the site is nonjudgmental. This is a refreshing change considering the abundance of celebrity-bashing websites and blogs that fill the Internet. I am not exempt from those who subscribe to the juicer tabloid authors, but I take it only for what it is - entertainment.