Following the Pioneer Woman
I found the Pioneer Woman as I leafed through the Adelaide Advertiser Review - I’m just keeping up with the other states…
The first thing that struck me was how pretty her site looked. It’s like a personally branded magazine.
Who is she?
Her name is Ree. She is American woman in her mid thirties. She grew up in Midtown America and went to college in LA. She now lives on a ranch in Wyoming with her husband who she calls, Malbaro Man. She is a mother of 4.
At first, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like her but I’ve just finished reading the section she calls from “Black Pumps to Tractor Wheels” and I now, I think I am in love with her!
Why did she start the blog?
She started the blog in May 2006 after marrying a ‘real life’ cowboy. He lived on a ranch and she moved out there with him, abandoning her city ways, for a life of rural bliss.
What kind of things does she write about?
Her blog is predominately a fantastic - albeit well-decorated and seriously well-documented- invitation into her life. She writes about what happens everyday. She is also a terrific photographer and has documented most of her pages with great photos. She is also big on building the interactivity of her site -for instance she runs photography competitions to encourage others.
As a mother of four, a wife, a ranch worker, a home school teacher and a cook book writer she has alot to draw on and she does. What I think is so wonderful about her site (which appeals very strongly to my voyueristic side) is that it introduces us to a life, a million miles from here. It’s like looking through a window - that’s bigger and better than TV or a story because she is real (or, so I presume!)
Design Features of the site
I think Pioneer Woman.com is really well organised and easy to navigate. I really liked the amount of white space she uses. The layout is very consistent and her links are very well organised. Her aricles are archived and in terms of length are always a ‘good’ read if you are just ‘dropping’ in, and they mostly range from 150 to 800 words.
She uses alot of photos and break out boxes which help to break up the pages and also to give it it’s distinctively ‘pretty’ and ‘fresh’ look and feel.
The sound links also work really well, helping to give us an even better understanding of her family life.
Interesting quirks
- Ree has built a hands-on practical guide to Photoshop within her blog. As a not-terribly-confident Photoshop user myself, I find her to be extremely user-friendly. Other people have commented on this too.
- Her account of her relationship with her husband from day one, or as mentioned above the series otherwise known as “From Black Pumps to Tractor Wheels” which is a completely engrossing tale about how her and her husband met. I thought I would hate it, I loved it! I think I even got teary ….
- It has also inspired people.
Things I don’t like
It’s mostly two things. She constantly refers to her ‘retarded brother Mike’ and uses the word ‘hiney’ far too much for my liking. I am also a little concerned about the gushy tones of her avid return-bloggers. She has alot, so she is clearly doing lot’s of things right but they are extremely devoted.
