Awards Categories for 2008

Merry Christmas, Everybody.

The Awards Categories for the 2008 Blogisattvas, honoring English-language Buddhist blogging in calendar year 2007, are 'firming up,' though -- appropriately for anything Buddhist -- all things remain subject to change.

As of this hour, there are seven new categories, while three have gone by the boards, giving us a total of 25 happy categories in the new year. The expectation is that there will be five nominees in each category for a total of 125 nominations. Last year, there were 21 categories and 115 total nominations.

There will be twelve categories honoring whole blogs, including the premier award, Blog of the Year, Svaha!

The Wordsmithing Award will be back this year, honoring the best writing done by a blogger, which can span any number of blogs. Also back is the Niche Award, which as its title suggests, might go to any of a number of uneasy-to-categorize things: unusual blogs, series of posts within a blog, or a service that aids the buddhoblogosphere.

A new category is for Best Single Photograph taken by a blogger or associate, exhibited in a post during the year

Last year, there were four categories of awards specifically for excellent posts. This year there will be ten, as Best Philosophical or Psychological Blog Post; Best Science Blog Post; Best Political Blog Post; Best 'Life' Blog Post; Best Practice or Dharma Blog Post; and Best Engage-the-World Blog Post join Best [Overall] Blog Post; Most-Compassionate Blog Post; Funniest Blog Post; and Best Multi-part Blog Post as awards categories.

Nominees and winners of the awards will be determined by votes tallied by a voting service. Voting will be done by a select, divergent body of Buddhist bloggers and blog readers [of about twenty in number] who affirm their votes will be made after a careful assessment of the excellence of the candidates in each category. Almost unique in the realm of blogging awards, the Blogisattvas are given wholly for merit, not based on popularity. There is nothing we like better than to reveal previously-hidden sources of excellence in the buddhoblogosphere.

Awards Categories for 2008
[Note: These are the categories' nicknames. The formal, long-winded names are yet to be reviewed by a grammarian and translated into Pali.]
"#" designates each of the seven 'new' categories this year

Blog of the Year
Blog Post of the Year
Wordsmithing Award
Best New Blog
Best Practice or Dharma Blog
Best First Person Blogging
Best Philosophy or Science Blogging
Best Compassionate Blogging
Best Political Blog
Blog Use of Graphics
Blog Use of Quotations
Funniest Blog Post
Most Compassionate Blog Post
# Philosophical or Psychological Blog Post
# Science Blog Post
# Political Blog Post
# 'Life' Blog Post
# Practice or Dharma Blog Post
# Engage-the-World Blog Post
# Best Single Photograph, taken by blogger or an associate, used in a post
Best Wide Range of Topics Blogging
Best Blog Design [Clean, Straightforward, Unaffected]
Best Blog Design [Wonderful, Remarkable, Elegant]
Best Niche blogging
Best Multi-part Blog Post

Tags: buddhism, buddhoblogosphere, blogisattva, blogging awards

Awards Season is Acomin' FAST

Just writing to let anybody subscribed to this blog, or whomever otherwise comes along, know that another season of Buddhist blogging awards [i.e., the Blogisattvas] is coming.

News about the 2008 Awards, honoring excellence in English-language Buddhist blogging during the year 2007, is forthcoming.

Blog on, y'all

- Tom Armstrong
Awards Administrator

Tags: buddhism, buddhoblogosphere, blogisattva, blogging awards