The Best of Blogs

What Makes A Winning Blog?

I have been recently asked to explain what the panel will be looking for in a winning blog in each category.  I’ll admit right up front that the jury panel does not have a set of things they’ll be judging, and that the awards themselves will be ultimately a subjective opinion of what are the winning factors.

We already know the rules of nomination, and we will be sticking to those rules.  If for any reason a blog does not meet the requirements of the nomination, it will immediately be disqualified from the competition.  I can assure you that if a blog cannot be visited with the URL given, it will not be considered.  It is the job of the nominating party to make sure their link to the nominated site works properly.  I have already seen some links that do not work, so please recheck whether your link is working.

Here are a few things that we will be looking for in a winning blog:

• Is it navigable?  If I have to go to three different screens and links to get to the first post, chances are you won’t make it to first base.


• Is it easy to read?  If you have a black background color and a font of your text in grey, chances are I won’t be able to even read the content. 


• Does the blogger update regularly?  If you have been blogging for a year and in that amount of time you hardly have 20 entries on the blog, chances are you are not a blogger but perhaps a monthly columnist.


• Does the blog follow the theme in which it was nominated?  If you have been nominated in a category of Most Humorous Blog, and you have a knitting blog that talks about the the hilarity of picking the proper knitting needle, chances are I would get a deer in the headlights look and keep right on judging never to grace the blog again.


• Is the site easy to look at?  I don’t mean to put that each blog needs to be a beautiful piece of art that takes my breath away, but if it has 7000 flashing smilies and hundreds of buttons and obnoxious colors, chances are it wont catch my attention, and frankly could send me into a seizure.


• Finally and probably the most important aspect of the judging in the BoB Awards we must consider, is the content well written?  If I have to wade through hundreds of meme’s, poor grammar and an army of typos, I will more than likely put the blog into the “try again next year” pile.

Again, this list is not complete with every factor, but we here at the BoB Awards will have our common sense hats on and plenty of opinions will vary over what makes a winning blog and what makes a blog come up short.  Some will disagree with the panel, but we hope more than likely they will agree with the finalists and winners in each category. 

It’s not too late to get your nominations in, but we are running out of time!  Spread the word, don’t leave out that hidden gem.