I must preface all of this with a heartfelt thank you to Aussie Dave of IsraellyCool for beginning the JIB Awards and for all his hard work. He's doing an amazing job, and it's extremely well organized. Getting the JPost to join just adds to the fun. Wonderful job.
NOTE: Thanks to Dave for taking out the time to respond in the comments section! It's great to know you are listening to all of our suggestions.
Now, as with every type of award, there will be issues. The most obvious ones are the vagueness of certain categories, and the exclusion of certain types of blogs from just about every category. Orthomom and Krum have both discussed a few of these issues: Krum feels there should be a "Best Commenter" award, as there are bloggers who don't necessarily blog all that often. That one's a bit tricky, but would probably be really interesting. But there are many blogs, such as Krum's, my own, and Orthomom's, which don't really fit neatly into any one specific category. In addition, some (such as myself) don't focus our blogs on Jewish and Israeli topics, yet we're definitely part of the J-blogosphere.
So, while it's likely too late for this year, here are some ideas for next year:
Some of the categories should be split: Best Series should be split into Best Humor/Comedy Series, Best Personal Series, Best Special Series, Best Life Series, and the like. Perhaps retaining an overall Best Series is still a good idea, as there will always be many that can't be categorized. The same should probably apply to Best Post.
Best Political and Current Affairs should be split into Best Israeli Politics and Best Politics, and Best Current Affairs should be seperate.
Best New Blog should probably be split into 2-4 sections, as a year is a really long time in the blogosphere. For instance, I've been around for 5-6 months, and Orthomom and Mirty seemed like good ol' bloggers. Meanwhile, people who are just starting think I'm this 'well-established old blogger'.
Any more suggestions, leave them in the comments. I plan on emailing this post to Dave for next year, he seems to be very open to comments and critiques. Once again, thanks Dave for all your hard work; it's really quite incredible and we're all thankful.
Technorati tags: Jewish, Israel, Blog, JIB, Awards.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. It is always worthwhile to hear the opinions of others.
ReplyDeleteNow for my response.
Regarding the vagueness of category issue, I don't really agree. I think the current categories are fine. A blog needn't "neatly fit" into any category, but still fit nonetheless. There just may be some blogs that do not fit into many. But ein ma' la'asot.
Regarding your other suggestions, what you have to realize is that there is already A LOT of work involved. Don't ask how long it takes to capture all the nominations and review, let alone set up polls etc. Adding to the categories will only increase the workload, which is not what I want to be doing :)
Having said that, your feedback is valuable, and I will consider everything I hear. These are just my thoughts at the moment.
Thanks for responding!
ReplyDeleteI understand that a blog need not neatly fit, but it just seems that too many fit into zero categories. Obviously, this will always happen regardless of the number of categories, but it just seems that it's throwing too many completely dissimilar blogs into one pile.
Even with that, I still feel that Best Series and Best Post should be split: There is a huge difference between a comedic series and an emotional one, and it would be nice to see that acknowledged.
Of course, if the I'm sure already incredible amount of work will increase too much, no changes are worthwhile. Ticking off the host is never a good thing... :)
I know you asked for help this year; perhaps next year there will be more takers. (I'd consider it more seriously than I did this year, for instance.) Also, as the JPost gets more involved, perhaps they will be able to set it up more easily.
Thanks again for all your work, for listening to comments, and for your response. It's much appreciated.
"I understand that a blog need not neatly fit, but it just seems that too many fit into zero categories."
ReplyDeleteI don't see it. Each Jewish blog has at least a "flavor", and will fit into one of the categories at the very least.
"Thanks again for all your work, for listening to comments, and for your response. It's much appreciated."
And thank you for your comments, and enthusiasm for these awards. It is all of YOU who make it a success.
I guess. It's more loosely defined then, I take it...
ReplyDeleteAnd of course we're enthused: Who doesn't like awards!? ;)