As the frigid January wind blows in, we’ve got a lot to keep our minds off the cold. The Eagles are a heartbeat away from the Super Bowl, Joe Biden will soon be a heartbeat away from the presidency, and a lot of our heartbeats will rise as we make good on our resolutions to get fit.
But nothing gets the pulse pumping quite like the pin-dropping silence as the nominees are read, the envelope opened and the winner announced. Ladies and gentlemen, awards season is here.
From the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild to the Academy itself, awards season always provides us great entertainment as we watch celebrities mingle, careers flourish and flounder and clothing often more memorable than the trophies themselves. It’s full of drama, providing us with an inside look at some of the greats in film and the great ones to come.
Perhaps not as popular as those in Hollywood, but definitely as promising, bloggers and their Web sites also have an awards season of sorts, with the Big Banana of them all being the Weblogs (2008.weblogawards.org). The Weblog Awards honor bloggers in a slew of categories including Best Humor Blog, Best Political Blog and our very own category, Best LGBT Blog. Take that, Oscars.
Although the Weblogs allow all Internet users to vote, the voting process wrapped up last week, with more than 640,000 votes cast and 2-million page views in just over a week. But that shouldn’t stop people from heading on over to the site and taking a look at all the nominees and winners.
The contest was certainly tough in the LGBT category, mainly because several old favorites were nominated along with some fresh-faced talent. If you follow this column or like blogs in general, you’ll recognize most of the names on the ballot and be introduced to some fantastic new sites with funny and factual content. Congratulations to winner Towleroad and all the fantastic nominees.
But, aside from the LGBT sites, the Weblogs give users a chance to find and explore a whole host of topics, ranging from food to fashion to parenting, education and pets. They allow readers to explore new ideas, develop new hobbies and even inspire some to start their own blogs. Many of the nominees consisted of simply one person posting about what they find fascinating.
Do you enjoy critiquing and writing about food? Well, the folks at So Good (www.sogoodblog.com) do too, dishing up on everything from Barack Obama’s rumored Ben and Jerry’s flavor to Burger King’s Angry Whopper. Unrelated to BK, I Can Has Cheezburger is one of the more popular pet blogs, placing cute animals and hilarious captions together once and for all. And for a fresh take on the fugliest fashions, Go Fug Yourself has been a reliably hilarious take on clothed (or not) celebrities.
Bloggers work hard, whether for profit or personal gain, providing us with entertainment, news and, above all, an unfiltered voice outside of the watered-down mainstream media. Aside from commendations like the Weblogs, visiting and enjoying their sites is the best way for users to show thanks and encourage them to keep blogging. Check out the Weblogs and enjoy all they have to offer.
Contact Jason with feedback at [email protected].