I was just listening to the [email protected] podcast a while ago and heard about Kid Flash X talking about the Philippine Blog Awards and how it basically sucked (he calls it bogus).
Trying to be as objective as he can and trying to pretend he’s not sourgraping (which he isn’t really), Rickey questioned the credibility and rationale behind the awards. I don’t blame him. None of his blogs were nominated (which basically means either nobody who knows him or his blog sent a nomination for him or the hundreds of bloggers who sent out their nominations haven’t heard of him at all). Kidding aside, a lot of other really good bloggers were not on the nomination list. (I wouldn’t even dare to start a list for fear that this page isn’t enough to fit them all.)
What makes a credible blog awards really? Is it the people behind the awards body, the process and criteria of judging, or the results of the awards given? But all that are still subjective.
I checked out the winners and I thought most of them deserved the awards (or at least to be among the finalist). Ironwulf that won the Best Photoblog category shoots really good pictures and he has an awesome custom WP theme to boot which could have been his winning edge over runner up Jeff of Dubai Chronicles (hey dude, send me those pictures you took last PinoyBlog X’mas Party, ok?).
Dr. Emer IS is prolly one of the leading medical practitioneer who blogs about what he does best and also one of the most linked Pinoy blogs around (currently at 12th on Phil. Top 100 and has a Page Rank of 6!). Gans of SuperBlessed, who is famous among his peers for his “the one with” blog entries is also widely linked to (#21 on Phil. Top 100).
And why do I often refer to Technorati for this? Well, I have this idea that if a lot of bloggers are linking to you, then it means they like your blog and find it amusing or informative. It’s like a seal of approval from your fellow bloggers. One of the reasons why I came up with this list.
For the Best (Designed) Blog, I would have chosen Ironwulf (who came in second) because of his sheer talent in creating a custom WordPress theme. It’s not only a show of artistry but of programming skills as well (everyone who runs WP knows how hard it is to create a kick-ass theme from the ground up). But that’s just my opinion.
The more controversial one might be the award for Blogger of the Year. I don’t personally know Sean of Length of Words but we’ve exchanged emails a couple of times before (and he’s a good blogger). However, a number of people have questioned why Manolo, Connie or even BryanBoy (#8 on Phil. Top 100 and probably the most popular pinoy blogger in terms of solid “repeat visitors“) didn’t make it. That doesn’t even count the other half dozen or so journalists and editors who were also nominated. We’ll have to look at the critera there or maybe ask the judges (reminds me of the MMFF). What do you think should be a fair gauge for this?
On an added note, I personally know the person behind the Phil. Blog Awards (PBA). He’s an old friend and a kumpare but this entry is not intended to defend him or the PBA (this is more like defending the winners actually). As a matter of fact, 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). He’s kinda hard-headed too.
I would not question if the winners deserve it or not. It’s not a popularity contest where a thousand votes is a thousand votes or 1 million unique visitors is much better than 10 visitors a day. It’s a matter of taste. Even the Philippine Webby Awards gets a lot of flak despite their best efforts to get the best judges from the industry.
There’s still room for improvement here I know. I just admire my friend for taking his time to do this for the last 3 years and spending his own money sending a really nice trophy to all the winners.
So are we still having another contest?
“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.
It is so subjective…
I participate in a lot of photo contests and I know it is like winning or loosing the lottery…
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.
There are lot of good blog sites out there. I think the problem was nobody nominated them or maybe the person nominated those sites didn’t even put the right email addresses of the owners or the email didn’t reached the owner’s inboxes. So, how can PBA contact the blog owner? Isn’t it they need to approve the nomination first before entries are posted on the site.
I remember two other Philippine Blog awards put a site like PBA but they went offline? why? I don’t know. The challenge here is can anybody put a blog awards something like Philippine Blog Awards so that the blog industry will be happier. Imagine Blogging has been around for quite sometime but how come no organized group with funds started something like Philippine Blog Awards ? maybe after this post?
here’s a tip : what will happen if a good blog website went offline during the screening of… let say blog award winners? now you need to get a good web host. hehehe
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!
Hmmmm… my food blog won the “most informative award” on PBA’s first year. Is it an unwritten rule that after a blogger wins once (irrespective of how many blogs he/she has), he/she is disqualified?
Not that I am seeking a future nomination again with the PBA. I mean, without wanting to sound immodest, I’ve been nominated to bigger awards and I refused to launch any campaign from my end.
In the end, popularity contests does not make/unmake a blogger nor his blog.
“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.
Maybe the problem was PCIJ wasn’t nominated. ;)
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