What makes a credible blog awards?

“I have talked to him about this matter in the past and on many occasions and suggested a lot of things especially on the areas he needs to improve with regards to PBA — publish mechanics, criteria and judges profile among others (though I believe he still wants to remain anonymous).”

the most important matter for me in this whole issue is not who won but the award-giving body itself. my blog made it as a semifinalist in one of the categories, but after checking out the site, i decided not to comment directly about it on my blog. why? well, there was no “award-giving body” to refer to. no mechanics, no criteria, no judges. it looked rather suspicious to me, so i just kept quiet about it. (un)fortunately, my blog didn’t make it as a finalist, so here i am sourgraping =)

but seriously, others have commented on the fact that the current controversy is not very much different from other controversies surrounding filipino awards. not true. this is VERY different because no one knows who’s giving the awards or what criteria are being used. in other awards, controversies arise because of what happens during the qualifying or selection processes. sometimes, even the announcement of the award becomes controversial (remember gabby concepcion?).

anyway, assuming that a blog’s popularity need not be an important criterion for selecting a blog as blog of the year, that’s just us speculating. the people behind the awards need to be more forthcoming about how blogs qualify, are selected for the semis, finals, and the awards. otherwise, the nagging feeling that something fishy is going on will never go away.

I’ve taken a lot of points on this one, and I well appreciate them.

I’ve wondered exactly what the PBA’s criteria was with regards to the judging of blogs. Is it the clarity of the writing? Is it the audience reaction? Is it the general impact that the blog has on the rest of society (internet or otherwise)?

I don’t know, really. I’d like to see the PBA come up with a set of criteria so that we all know what their standards are like. Heck, I’d like to see us bloggers come up with a set of criteria so that we all know what we should be striving for.

I’m pretty sure that it’s not a pure popularity contest; otherwise any “blogger” who caters to an established large-scale audience would easily take the crown. (Pornography, anyone?)

However, I’m also pretty sure that it’s not a question of building an audience or exerting some form of influence on one’s readers. It seems to me that such motivations reduce bloggers to the level of barnstormers and exhibitionists — it implies that we’re only in it for the attention. I don’t blog because I specifically want people to read me. I’m sure that most bloggers don’t blog solely for that reason, either.

The issue at hand is that we don’t exactly know what the “correct” standards for blogging are, or what they should be. But before we start assuming aspects of those standards, I think that we should first take a closer look at why we blog, why others blog, and what constantly draws us to those blogs that we admire.

It’s only when we can truthfully say that we have an understanding of these motivations, that we can say that we’re giving the proper awards to the right people. Based on the PBA and the corresponding reactions both for and against it, I think it’s quite obvious that we haven’t reached this level yet.

If I were judge, it would also be PCIJ. I like the fact that they wielded considerable influence in the political blogging sphere. Plus not everyone can boast of a TRO to their blogs :) that’s Blog of the Year material right there!

“build an audience and exert influence”

I’ll just clarify that this may or may not be a conscious thing. For example a great graphic artist may just want to get his work out there, without necessarily scheming up SEO techniques that Mr. SEO Philippines Marc Macalua is so good at, to get more readers. If he is good enough, and gets cited by boingboing or something, his/her new readers may just bookmark him wanting to know what he has to say in the future, therefore already affecting their browsing habits.

I’m telling you, Yugs, you have to take control, take charge, and not let these pretenders ruin the “Pinoy” blogosphere — heh. You will be an even bigger blogging superstar.

Of course I’m sourgraping. But with regards to the popularity contest issue, I think as far as judging is concerned, for bloggers, this is an important criteria. You can’t be Pinoy Blogger of the Year if nobody reads you. Probably “best kept secret” blog, but not the best blogger for the year since you have failed in one of the fundamental reasons for writing a blog which is to build an audience and exert influence. Even your argument about Technorati rankings is a popularity contest, isn’t it?

When you visit someone’s blog who is declared as “Blogger of the Year”, you should have at least a feeling of “oh yes, they’re right” — and all these people who are reading him or her are also right. But with Sean, all you get is a “huh?” reaction. I’m sure he’s a good writer, but I really question his selection — which he humorously acknowledges anyway in his blog.

And when an award-giving body (if you can call them that) misses the mark like this — you have to question their credibility.

In my opinion the Pinoy Blog of the Year is PCIJ for their Gloriagate & “Hello Garci” blogging. They are popular (meaning thousands of Pinoys from all over think they are worth the read, and not just your college buddies) and relevant.

So there you have it:
Rickey’s Pinoy Blog of the Year: PCIJ