It's time for the 2009 Weblog Awards, the annual non-profit ceremony that celebrates the best in blogging. The Bloggies are the Web's longest-running blog awards, and the nominations, finalist selection, and votes are all up to you, the blog reader. The votes are in, and you'll discover which blogs are this year's champions.
What You Need to Know
- A "weblog" is defined as a page with dated entries.
- The contest is open to any weblogs that existed for a period of time during the year 2008, so weblogs that were discontinued during 2008 are also eligible.
- Only one nomination form and one finalist voting form may be submitted per person.
- E-mail addresses are required to vote. You must use your own address and confirm the validation e-mail.
- If you attempt to submit a second ballot, your first one will be replaced.
- In the nomination phase:
- URLs are required.
- At least three (3) different weblogs total must be nominated.
- There is no limit to the number of categories a weblog may be nominated for.
- Nominees have to fit the category they are placed in.
- Weblogs may win a category over multiple years a maximum of three times.
How It Works
- Thursday, January 1
12:00 AM EST (GMT-5)
- Nominations open.
- Monday, January 12
10:00 PM EST
- Nominations close.
- Wednesday, January 14
- 200 randomly selected voters receive an invitation to choose the finalists from a list of the most-nominated weblogs in ten random categories.
- Monday, January 19
10:00 PM EST
- Finalist voting closes. The five (or six for Weblog of the Year) weblogs with the most votes become finalists. I will solve any ties for fifth place.
- Thursday, January 22
- Finalists are announced and voting reopens to all to choose the winners.
- Monday, February 2
10:00 PM EST
- Voting closes.
- Monday, March 16
- Winners are announced.
Where It Will Happen
The Weblog Awards ceremony will be held at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas, USA on Monday, March 16 at 12:30 PM EST (GMT-5) at the Trade Show Day Stage. Webloggers including previous Bloggie winners will present certificates and prizes to those present.
Those who aren't attending may join the excitement on IRC, in #Bloggies on irc.freenode.net. Winners will be announced live and a play-by-play of the ceremony will be given.
After the ceremony, the results will be posted on this page.
What the Winners Get
As is tradition with the Weblog Awards, the Weblog of the Year will receive 2,009 US cents (US$20.09).
South by Southwest Interactive offers Bloggie finalists a special discount to attend the ceremony in March.
What's Changed With the Categories
Most categories will remain as they've always been. But because of revision or removal, it's time to bid farewell to:
- Best American Weblog
- Best Art or Craft Weblog
- Best GLBT Weblog
In exchange, these spiffy new categories take their place:
- Best Art, Craft, or Design Weblog
- Best Travel Weblog
- Best Microblog
The votes have been cast and the winners follow.