Can you spare a little time helping feed back on a new blog we’re launching?

pjran

Doc_N wrote: »

Layout looks good to me - and the content. The only criticism I'd make would be the Facebook-only comment/discussion. That may be just a personal view, but haven't a lot of people moved on and away from Facebook now?

I agree, keep away from Facebook comments please.

camelot1001

Looks good to me.

LadyDee

Sorry - can't see the point if this is for only MSE deals - they're already here. If it's not for only MSE deals then it's yet another site to try to find time for. I honestly don't see that it's necessary, but I'm sure many people will like it.

Also agree about the huge pictures. They completely dominate the page.

lizziebell*80

The section explaining the Coke deal/glitch- paragraph 5, it should say 'labels showing the two for £2 offer' rather than just 'labels showing £2' then again in the last paragraph it says '£2 bottles' when she means 'two for £2 offer bottles'. It could confuse people thinking that you are looking for bottles that cost £2 each rather than those included in the offer.

lizziebell*80

I read the coke one and the cussons one and the boots one. It reads to me as a 'how to' for working the deals. There tends to be at least one post on a deal thread in the forums with an explanation of how to get the deal so this is like pulling out that post and highlighting it.
I tend to stick in grabbit only so I might miss some deals in the other threads like 'shop but don't drop' and this may consolidate the good ones. However all the ones shown in this trial/initial blog, I have been aware of and as such must have been in grabbit.
Another question- are the deals going to all be current ones or is the idea to just give pointers on how to sniff them out, like checking for double promotions on Boots.com?

MoJo

I can't see the point really. As LadyDee says we can find it all here, and more easily I think.

I looked at the herb deal and was disappointed to read all of it before coming to the p.s. The deal is not online and they only have a few shops. I would have liked to know this before I read it all.

lizziebell*80

This could probably be covered in the MSE weekly email whiçh picks out the best deals anyway. If it was possible to pin the 'instructions' on how to do the deal (if required and not already in the first post) at the start of the deal thread instead?

It does feel a bit repeaty.

malebolge

I had a look carefully at the blog; here's my first impressions.

It doesn't seem to contain anything that cannot be found easily on the site already - in fact the grabbit forum & the e-mails contain a lot more info. In addition, the grabbit forum is far more current as deals can be minutes old when posted.
The item on herbs confused me. It started by talking about a tip to save a fortune on herbs, but was actually just a promo for a particular store. Felt more like veiled advertising than a tip. There are very few of the stores, too, so not something most people could make use of. Equally, the M & S section also felt like an advert. M & S deals are posted so regularly in the grabbit section I can't see why the store needs promotion in a blog.

I'd prefer to see a different sort of blog. I've noticed on some other forums on MSE that there are good money saving tips that people might not see because they don't visit that particular forum. A blog that selected some of these would share tips with a wider audience. (For example, there are often tips in the gardening section about storing/preserving stuff that might be useful not just to gardeners but to anyone who's got a load of reduced stuff from a supermarket. The old fashioned money saving forum, too has tips that would reach a wider audience this way)
Perhaps, also, MSE members could be encouraged to be involved by sending in their best money saving tip; one could be published each week.
I do like the layout; it's colourful and set out well. I like the right hand column particularly.

montymud

It's okay but the grabbits board has most of the deals anyway so I'm not sure on the reasoning behind this blog? Also the scroll bar on the left is a real PITA. I see it also looks like the MSE pages that are being trialed at the moment - far too in your face, burn your retinas until they bleed white.

Whilst I like the concept it would not be right to have exclusive grabbits on here, grabbits belong on the grabbit board, regardless of finder and then why have the same grabbits on the blog as are on the grabbit board? You grabbin me?

Jazzy_B

I think MSE is a bit late to the party on this one, as there are several other sites doing the same thing. The articles were things I already knew about, or had no interest in. I don't see the point tbh. I find the forums easy to navigate. I asked my student daughter what she thought, and found the blog a bit patronising. Just saying.