Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Why even have a Black Weblog Awards?
Q2. When do the Black Weblog Awards begin?
Q3. How long have the Black Weblog Awards been going on?
Q4. Are prizes available for the winners?
Q5. Who sponsors this site?
Q6. Who is behind this site?
Q7. How can I contact you about suggestions, sponsorship or press queries?
Q8. Why wasn't my site nominated?
Q9. How is judging determined?
Q10. Why do I have to vote for a finalist in every category before my ballot is submitted?
Q1. Why even have a Black Weblog Awards?
A1. This is a question which we've been asked since its inception in 2005. Those asking it think that it causes separation and fosters racism...which is preposterous. It'd be just as easy to turn that question around and ask how come other blog awards have such an obvious dearth of bloggers of color. It's not that we're not out there -- after all, the majority of blog posts in the world are written in Japanese according to the latest State of the Blogosphere report. There are Filipino blog awards, South African blog awards, and many others.
So here are our top five reasons that there should -- and always will be -- a Black Weblog Awards:
- They help guide people to the best. Some folks may say that the Black Weblog Awards are elitist. Correct us if we're wrong, but do you know of any awards event that isn't inherently elitist? You're basically awarding one thing as being better than many others. It's the same as with the Oscars, the Emmys and any other awards junket. These awards serve as recognition as those who are doing the best in our shared craft of blogging.
- It helps black blogging continue. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, when it comes to technology, Black folks are some of the first to the forefront of the latest. Many of us are early adopters, and blogging is no exception. As the craft becomes more mainstream (and predictably, less democratized), the art of telling our stories or sharing our knowledge becomes greater with increased recognition.
- It's a great help to new readers or discoverers of these other realms of the blogosphere. For the record, there is not one, singular "Black blogosphere". Just as the Black experience spans through many different points throughout the diaspora, so does Black blogging. Granted, the entirety of it is still largely unknown to most people, those who discover Black bloggers and what we're talking about can take their exploration further to see many different perspectives on the Black experience and how it's being documented.
- It's a boon to Black bloggers. That's right; you can pop your collar if you've got a blog. It's the new cool, and it's easy to do. Black bloggers can be strengthened to create more content through recognition, not to mention gather an audience who may be hungry for their point of view.
- It shows that we matter. Because we do matter! Our lives, our stories and our voices matter. Issues that are important to us matter. And more importantly, looking back through history and how its documented is important for future generations. I know some folks may think that the Internet is this ethereal, imaginary content, but it's real. It may not be fully tangible, but it's real. And Black blogs show that people in the future can search through the 'Net, find your voice and then say "yep...that's me".
Q2. When do the Black Weblog Awards begin?
A2. The Black Weblog Awards begin on August 1.
Q3. How long have the Black Weblog Awards been going on?
A3. The Black Weblog Awards have been going on since August of 2005.
Q4. Are prizes available for the winners?
A4. In past years, prizes were available for the winners of the Awards in their respective categories. For the 2007 Black Weblog Awards, prizes were not offered in order to keep the emphasis of the Awards on the blogs and the bloggers themselves. This year, we're bringing prizes back.
Q5. Who sponsors this site?
A5. Currently, the site does not have any external sponsors, and is fully funded by the creator of the Black Weblog Awards. If you would like to financially sponsor the Black Weblog Awards, please read our privacy policy, then contact us.
Q6. Who is behind this site?
A6. Maurice Cherry is the creator of the Black Weblog Awards; he is a blogger and podcaster who has been online since 1997. During that time, Maurice has authored several blogs and has written for Metroblogging, Backwash and many other sites. He currently is a contributing writer at Black Web 2.0 as well as a professional web designer by day.
Our logo was the winning entry in a contest for a new theme for this year's Awards; congratulations to Shirley Barker for her work!
Back-end programming for the tabulation forms is done by PHP programmer Markus Robinson.
Q7. How can I contact you about suggestions, sponsorship or press queries?
A7. Please use our contact form for any suggestions, or start a thread in the forum.
Q8. Why wasn't my site nominated?
A8. Sites are nominated from August 1-16, and are done by other bloggers and blog readers, not the Black Weblog Awards staff or judges. We feel it's the responsibility of the user is to read the rules and nominate sites wisely; the three highest tallied sites will be voted on by the members of the blogosphere from August 17-31. Just like last year, each category will have two winners -- a popular vote and a judges' vote.
Q9. How is judging determined?
A9. Judging is determined by our panel of blog and Internet experts based on the following weighted ratio categories:
50% - Content
20% - Consistency
20% - Design
10% - Flavor
Content would of course be the actual blog material. This is especially important as it relates to certain topical categories. For example, would a site really be a "best music blog" if 90% of the posts have nothing to do with music?
Consistency measures how often the blog is updated. It doesn't have to be every day, but it does have to look like they actually post on a regular frequency without huge lapses of time gone.
Design would measure, of course, design vs. content. Does the design complement the written word? If there are ads, how are they placed? Is it user friendly and clean, or is stuff posted all over the place?
Flavor refers to how engaging a blog is to its readers. Is there a catchy personality behind the blog? Does the blog author refer and reference its readers to build community?
Our judges are published authors, accomplished speakers, award-winning web and graphic designers, educators, and at the top of their respective fields of occupation, so they know of what they speak.
Q10. Why do I have to vote for a finalist in every category before my ballot is submitted?
A10. The Black Weblog Awards recognizes bloggers out there that work hard doing something which they love, and they love sharing that with all of us. As evidenced by the increasing number of categories over the years, that knowledge spreads across many different realms of knowledge and experience, and we think it would do those blogs who are finalists a great disservice if they didn't have an equal shot at everyone's vote.
Even if you only visit the finalist blogs (or blogs within that genre) this one time for the sake of voting, it would behoove you to broaden your horizons past just the blogs you're familiar with and learn about some others. Who knows...you might stumble across one you like, and then you've got a new favorite blog to read!
We obviously can't control user intent; we can just hope that those voting will be proactive and smart enough to realize the importance and intent of the Awards, and use that information to vote accordingly.