Attack of the Killer Blog Awards!!!
January 19, 2006 – 11:05 amThese awards have been quite an experience this year. Come to think of it, they were quite an experience last year as well. Each time now I have vowed never to return to this place. I have vowed that I would never again want to help a new blogger feel what it was like to get numerous hits and have lots of comments for a job well done and to have a good feeling of hard work rewarded.
I tried to explain my motivation for the blog awards in my previous post. I suppose that not everyone could read the post as it fell off the opening page. Like everything else, the added publicity sometimes can go to a persons head and who knows what creatures will be loosed upon the blogosphere.
I have struggled with the decision about the popular vote and how we could make it have more integrity with the entire process. I am a strong believer in the ability of readers of blogs to voice their own opinions through voting. I am also a realist in knowing that not everyone will play fairly or that some won’t go to extraordinary lengths to win a popularity contest. I suppose in this arena as in real life, things are not always fair. We (read I) try to level the playing field, but that would be in a perfect world.
As of this post, we have had over 60,000 unique hits to our site and we are well on our way to 200,000 page views. I cannot see how each of those people are going to be satisfied with every part of this process. Overall, we have a large percentage of people that have emailed or commented that the purpose of the BoBs have been met. They have had some better traffic, met new people, made new friends, and have had some other links to add to their daily reads. In my mind I could stop this now and I have fulfilled my mission. Of course, we then have to get back to fairness.
The finalist in each category have worked very hard to be good bloggers, and I feel I owe them a fair shake at being the winner in their category and I will make a promise that each will receive a fair shot at winning.
My decision is to stop all voting as of 6:00 p.m. MST, 4:00 p.m. EST. At that time, the votes will be tallied and the number of votes will be recorded. The voting has been flawed in some respects and we cannot produce concrete evidence that they are not in some way skewed. We are going to go forward with the remaining judging in each category awarding points based on the previous rules.
Each blog gets a maximum of 50 points.
20 points goes to the blog with the most popular vote, 18 for second most popular, 16 for third, etc. THE CHANGE WILL BE THAT NO SINGLE BLOG WILL BE AWARDED LESS THAN 10 POINTS IN THIS CATEGORY. THE LEAST AMOUNT OF POINTS EARNED WILL BE 10 WITH THE MAXIUM OF 20. THE FIRST PLACE VOTE GETTER WILL GET 20, DOWN TO LAST PLACE RECEIVING 10 POINTS. THIS WAY ONLY 10 POINTS WILL BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIRST PLACE AND LAST PLACE. AN AMOUNT THAT COULD EASILY BE MADE UP IN THE OTHER CATEGORIES.
The remaining categories will continue:
Each blog can be awarded a maximum of 10 points for presentation. (This is not meant to give points for design, but merely how the blogs is set up and ease of use and readability.)Each blog can be awarded a maximum of 10 points for readability (grammar, spelling, font/text size)
Each blog can be awarded a maximum of 10 points for content (interesting, thought-provoking, quality)
If there’s a tie, the judges will be voting for their favorite of the two.
Believe me when I say that there really are no losers among the 10 finalists in each category. All of you have benefitted from these awards, and the people that have visited here have also been rewarded with your great blogging.
27 Responses to “Attack of the Killer Blog Awards!!!”
I think what you’ve done is great. I don’t care if I win, but I “met” some really cool people who stopped by to check things out. So, thanks for that.
By Jurgen Nation on Jan 19, 2006
I agree as well. I certainly appreciate the recognition. I have found some good (and new to me) blogs through this process and thank you for your efforts.
By morpheus22 on Jan 19, 2006
No one could have said it better. The fact that we’ve all found new blogs & new friends is reward enough. It’s been a fun ride and that’s all that matters.
By tj on Jan 19, 2006
Jim,
I just want to add that all of us that I know are incredibly grateful to you , and your team for the amount of hard work and effort you have put in. I have loved knowing what it is like, for a short time, to be famous and have loads of hits, comments and readers..
Thank you for giving me a taste of the high life..Not just that but letting me meet so many wonderful other blogs too…
Thank you,
Minerva
By Minerva on Jan 19, 2006
Hello Jim,
I like the change regarding scoring on the popular vote, much more equitable.
Thoughts on your mission – I’ve had the pleasure of some delightfully eloquent and generous souls on my pages. Such connections are priceless and could not have been made had it not been for these awards. My links are more abundant with some fascinating new people to explore.
To echo Minerva, this taste has been rich and appreciated.
By Magdelena on Jan 19, 2006
To all involved,
I think you have done an excellent job managing this whole proccess and keeping grace under fire.
Your solution seems fair and reasonable. You have done much for the blogosphere and all the blogs involved here.
Keep up your hard and good work
Peace,
Tenn
By Tenn on Jan 19, 2006
I’m just honored to be part of this. Thank you to the judges, sponsors and all involved.
By Barbara on Jan 19, 2006
Jim, I cannot imagine all the work you’ve done—but I thank you. It has been wonderful to find new blogs, and to find new readers, and your effort is greatly appreciated. This sounds like a really solid solution to an issue that was at risk of spiraling out of control!
By christina on Jan 19, 2006
Jim and Jury,
Thank you for all your hard work! Now that the voting is over, the fun begins. I am going to check out the blogs in all the other categories that I don’t already know.
Here I come!
By Raehan on Jan 19, 2006
Jim, I totally agree with all of these comments. I think that you all have done a wonderful job here. I’m still honored to have been nominated, and I’ve also met some wonderful bloggers through this experience. I think EVERYONE should put on a lovely tiara and drink a round of bubbly. A toast to you and your team!
By Last Girl On Earth on Jan 19, 2006
I’m confused; is voting over or is there technical difficulties?
“Voting to last until…
January 16 2006 || 9:23 pm
We will accept voting until January 30, 2006, and until that time we will continue to …”
Thanx
By Vin on Jan 19, 2006
Well I for one have had a great time. And I’ve certainly enjoyed meeting new friends and making friends with the other finalists. The voting process can either be a great big bitch or an endless source of hilarity, depending on how you look at it. I choose the latter.
Thanks, Jim. Sorry you’ve been stressing.
By Lucinda on Jan 19, 2006
Thank you so much for hosting this. It’s really an honor to have been involved.
By educat on Jan 19, 2006
I know there has been a lot of glass-half-empty griping going on but I can honestly say that I’ve only had fun since this started. It’s been a real revealer of human nature in certain instances, and I have made some awesome new connections, so your original mandate has scored big time in this corner. Thanks for all the hard work.
By andrea on Jan 19, 2006
I think you’ve come up with a fine solution. We all appreciate your hard work.
By brettdl on Jan 19, 2006
How brave of you!
I am SO honored to be part of this whole thing.
All of your work has certainly not gone unnoticed where I am concerned. As I said before, win, lose or draw, I am having the time of my life meeting so many wonderful and interesting people.
Jim, thanks once again for thinking of “the little guy”.
By Anne on Jan 20, 2006
Sounds like a great plan to me, Jim. I’ve enjoyed the traffic surge while it lasted and found some new blogs along the way! All in fun :).
I hope this won’t be the end of the BoBs – although I could understand how you’d want it to be after all this.
By Anita on Jan 20, 2006
As I said before we’re delighted to be taking part. This decision sounds pretty fair, good job, tough decision to make.
Cheers!
By frankp on Jan 20, 2006
This has been a great experience—I agree. Thanks so much.
By Lisa on Jan 20, 2006
Thank you so much for including me. I appreciate it!
By cubbiegirl on Jan 20, 2006
Yeah cheers Jim , you are a glooping effervescent star among the blogosphere of perpetual Joy ..
Big up that man
By London cokehead on Jan 20, 2006
Jim & all, I just wanted to say thanks for the hard work you have put in to make this experience possible. I have greatly enjoyed discovering new blogs while exploring the finalists, and it has been a joy to have so many new folks visiting my site. It was quite a thrill (and shock!) for me to see how many loyal readers I have! What a fun ride this has been. Thanks so much!
By Melissa on Jan 20, 2006
Oh, stupid me, ignore my comment on the last entry! I totally forgot about the scoring.
Thanks for doing all this work, and dealing with all the crap.
By suburban misfit on Jan 20, 2006
Thanks all for your hard work to make this happen, and for leading me to a host of great writing.
L
By Londinium on Jan 20, 2006
Good solution. It sounds fair indeed.
By Anne on Jan 20, 2006
Jim, you and your team have done a phenomenal job! Thank you all so much for your time and effort. Being nominated has been such a great experience – I’ve “met” countless cool bloggers and added several hithero unknown blogs to my list o’ favourites. All your work is much appreciated!!
By Creampuff on Jan 21, 2006
I’d like to add my voice to the chorus of appreciative blogging finalists. I’ve had a chance at the high life, I’ve made new friends and found new blogs that I just adore, and I’ve gotten an amazing bump in traffic. I never planned to win, I just wanted to get exactly what I did get, recognition for my efforts as a blogger and some new and devoted readers. I can’t even begin to express how much I appreciate this opportunity.
By margalit on Jan 21, 2006