I started to read Ted Casablanca’s blog The Awful Truth on E!online in high school, back in the day when it was updated on a weekly basis. I can remember when he started updating daily just a few years ago; I was shocked at the amount of information available about celebrities at my fingertips (less surprised now considering the big money celebrity gossip and tabloids make).
As celebrity blogs go, Casablanca’s is one of the more popular. A strength is that it has a writer with a really strong voice who also has credibility because he regularly appears on E!News, in addition to his blog writing. Another good aspect of the blog is that it keeps the news short and sweet. The blurbs are usually no more than a paragraph or two, and they make good use of links and photographs, when appropriate. This is particularly helpful when it comes to celebrity news because people often want simple bios of the stars to link to. This helps make the site more navigable.
Another thing that Casablanca employs well is the use of teasers to keep his readers wanting more. For example, Casablanca will give clues about celebrity vices, and his readers will write in and try to guess who he is talking about (he’s very cryptic; people rarely guess correctly).
There are also links at the bottom of the page to previous Casablanca columns and the option to sign up for a gossip newsletter. There’s also a link to leave and read comments, making the blog more interactive.
Overall, if you like to get your fix of celebrity gossip, Casablanca’s blog is a grade A product to provide that. Just be careful, you might get addicted!
