SinChew Blog
SinChew-i (星洲互动) started weblogging recently. It is good news, but I am quite disappointed by their blogs.
On the SinChew-i front page, I don’t see any blog post highlights. There is only a small link(鬧部è½) on the sidebar that leads to http://www.sinchew-i.com/blogger/.
Table of Contents
Incomplete blog installation?
SinChew blog with default blog installation
As you can see from the screenshot, it is a default blog installation, which is still using the default header. The blog is powered by myWebland‘s “myBloggie” (an open source blogging script).
Apparently, myBloggie is an abandoned project because there are many spam posts on the website forum and the latest website announcement was dated 15 Jun 2005 (nine months ago).
Another SinChew blog?
However, the advertised SinChew blog address in SinChew newspaper is http://www.sinchew-i.com/myblog/. But I can’t find any link to the blog on the SinChew-i front page. I am confused.
The “real” SinChew blog?
SinChew MyBlog is powered by myBloggie as well, but it is customized to look much better than the previous blog (SinChew Blogger).
Why myBloggie?
I don’t understand why SinChew-i gives up WordPress, the award winning free open source blogging script, but choosen myBloggie?
Sin Chew Blog limitations and bugs
- Not using search engine friendly URL.
- Shows wrong phrases(“您的查寻没有å‘现任何比赛。”) when no search result found.
- Membership is required to post comment.
- Character encoding error on membership registration page.
- Limited features because it does not support plugin.
My two cents
There are few things Sin Chew Blog can do to increase the blog traffic. First of all, I strongly advice them to switch to WordPress. I may have personal bias towards WordPress but it is definitely better, more support and more secure than the myBloggie script.
Secondly, use search engine friendly URL. Website address like “http://www.sinchew-i.com/myblog/index.php?mode=viewuser&user_id=22” is meaningless. Search engines do not like the format.
Last but not least, highlight recent posts or hot posts on SinChew-i front page. SinChew-i is a high traffic website, they should use it to boost the Sin Chew blog’s traffic.
What do you think?
