RSSBlogging Story: Chasta Piatakovas
By Maurice | View Comments
3This blogging story comes to us from Chasta Piatakovas of Love the Game, Don’t Like Puck Bunnies.
I started Love the Game, Don’t Like Puck Bunnies on February 27, 2008. Love the Game started as a personal online diary to explore thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event in my life using the sport of ice hockey as a metaphor. After I overcame the event and really became more involved in the hockey world, I transformed the blog into a more reflective sports journalistic site with interviews, commentary, and articles about the Washington Capitals and hockey.
Why Are the Same Blogs Nominated Every Year?
By Maurice | View Comments
6The short answer to this question could be because people vote for them every year. And believe me, this is something we have been aware of for a while now.
Popular blogs are popular. We introduced the judging panel and the Black Weblog Awards Hall of Fame to counteract this. The Hall of Fame particularly does this by taking blogs which have won over the years to be “retired” for a particular category.
Nominees are a different story. They are chosen by the public and voted on by the public. So if the question is “why are the same blogs nominated every year”, then the bigger question is “why are you only nominating the same blogs”? The finalists are selected from the top 3-5 most nominated blogs, and the rest of the blogs just didn’t receive enough nominations to make it to the finalist round. It’s the classic long tail phenomenon. See the graph below.
So while there may have been blogs of better quality (which is totally subjective) that are not finalists, it still boils down to popularity for the popular vote. And that popularity is based on those voters who have nominated blogs. (The way we choose categories is also tangentially related to this; the more people vote in a particular category, the better chances are of it coming back next year. Check this post for more info.)
If your blog (or a blog you liked) wasn’t a finalist, ask these questions:
- Did the blog owner know they were nominated? Even though we’ve been doing this for six years, there’s still a lot of bloggers who have never heard of the BWAs. If you nominated a blog, do the blog owner a solid and e-mail them to let them know.
- Did the blog owner campaign hard enough for votes? Good content speaks for itself, but it can be hard to find and even harder to market depending on your methods.
- Did the blog owner want to win? We have had people boycott their nominations in the past.
I hope this helps clear up any ambiguity. Comments?
This post was suggested via Skribit. Have something you want us to discuss? Click the “Suggestions” box in the top right section of this page and let us know!
Why are Blogger and Blogspot So Popular?
By Maurice | View Comments
6Blogger, founded in 1999, is still one of the most widely used blogging platforms out there. We’ve certainly seen its popularity here on the Black Weblog Awards. On average, well over 2/3 of our nominations are either from sites on Blogger or using Blogspot.
So why is it so popular? We did a little research. Here are the pros and cons of the service.
Blogging Story: Mrs. Tiye
By Maurice | View Comments
5This blogging story comes to us from Mrs. Tiye of The Broken Brown Egg Blog.
It is truly amazing how God works. If no one had ever experienced wavering sight, no one would have invented glasses. If food had never spoiled, we wouldn’t have refrigerators. If someone hadn’t lost a loved one to cancer, we wouldn’t have so many movements against it. For every sorrow, there is a purpose. In my despair, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to bless others. That’s an omelet of which I’m proud to be an ingredient.
First comes love, then comes marriage, then what?
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To Comment or Not To Comment?
By Maurice | View Comments
5By definition, a blog is just a website with a particular format (entries listed in a chronological order). When it comes to tone or design, blogs and websites are pretty much the same. The difference comes down to comments.
So should your blog have comments, or should you disable them? Check out some of the pros and cons.
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Labels: comments, seo, spam