Blog Awards Ceremony 2009
I didn’t think that I was going to win my category, but I decided to go to the blog awards ceremony anyway. This year was the first year that they had some good sponsors on board, it was at a decent venue (Chevelle nightclub) and there were already about 200 people on the RSVP list, so it had the makings of a good event.
I wasn’t disappointed, when I arrived at about 7pm, the place was already pretty busy. I made my way to the bar and organised myself a glass of the complimentary wine (Springleap), which was pretty good. Then I wandered around trying to spot someone I knew. The unfortunate thing about online interactions, is that you seldom know what people look like in real life. So while I did know some people there, I couldn’t figure out who they were. Anyway, it wasn’t long before people I knew arrived.
Soon after that the proceedings started (not before Butlers had delivered some complimentary pizza). There were 24 categories, and they selected only one winner out of the 10 blogs in each category, but it still took a while to get through all the categories.
I didn’t win my category (Food & Wine), so I guess I’ll just have to settle for being a finalist. Although I do write for Urban Sprout which won Best Green Blog, so maybe I can just associate myself with that win.
I was impressed with the Blog Awards this year. It was more professional and the sponsorships gave it more weight. There are some things which could be done to improve the awards and I’m sure that now that they have sponsorship, they will probably be implementing some of them. I’m sure the awards are going to get bigger and bigger every year. I know I’ll definitely be attending next year even if I’m not nominated.
I’ve listed the winning websites below, but do yourself a favour and go check out www.sablogawards.com and browse the other finalists in the various categories, there are some fabulous blogs out there which you might not know about.
Best Overall Blog, Best Entertainment Blog, Most Humorous Blog, Best Post on an SA Blog, Best Original Writing and Most Controversial Blog all went to www.2oceansvibe.com
The rest looked like this:
Best Green Blog: www.urbansprout.co.za
Best Overseas SA Blog & Best Food & Wine Blog: www.cooksister.com
Best Political Blog: thoughtleader.co.za/azadessa
Best Photographic Blog: pleasefindthis.blogspot.com
Best New Blog: from-the-couch.com
Best Science & Technology Blog: imod.co.za
Best Music Blog: moralfibre.co.za
Best GLBT Blog: ramblerclive.blogspot.com
Best Design Blog: www.skinnylaminx.com
Best SA Podcast: justvocabulary.com
Best Business Blog: daveduarte.co.za
Best Group Blog: sarocks.co.za
Best Sports Blog: keo.co.za
Best African Language Blog: watkykjy.co.za
Best Travel Blog: travelblog.portfoliocollection.com
Best Personal Blog: baglett.blogspot.com
Best Parenting Blog: joumaseblerrieblog.blogspot.com
April 8th, 2009 at 8:43 am
It was a great evening indeed! Thanks for the mention Dax :)
April 8th, 2009 at 10:49 am
I preferred last year, actually, casual though it may have been. At least that time I could hear what was going on (the sound quality on Friday was appalling!) – and they had an overhead projector so you could see all the runners up as well as the winners, which made for a little more suspense.
And, considering they’re aiming to be a bit more professional, I thought the MC should have been given a list of all the sponsors, instead of having to peer at the banner and try to figure out who was who, and which “social lubricant” was which. Ahem. Anyway, it was certainly a trendier venue than last year’s Tennis Club, but I’m not certain it was a better one.
Good to see you there, though ;-) Hope the rest of the evening was fun!
April 8th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Dax, you can definitely claim bragging rights for the good work you do with your posts on urban sprout ;-)
I must agree with Pia about the sound, although it may just be that I wrecked my eardrums clubbing a *few* years back. Still, I enjoyed the evening and will be back next year, nominated or not.
There were some good sponsors for the ’08 awards. We won a DELL monitor, which was great. Would have been nice to see the trees as prizes again this year. The world surely needs more trees.
Perhaps the green blog nominees can assist with greening the event next year?
April 8th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
@Pia – I definitely agree, there could have been more prep put into the logistics and details of the night. I should have mentioned them so thanks for commenting! I’m going to be optimistic and assume they’re aware of them and plan to sort them out for next time.
@Glen – Thanks and yes, no reason why we can’t ‘green’ the event next year. I wonder if the initiative needs to come from them or us?