The Weblog Awards

Fifth Annual Weblog Awards: The 2005 Bloggies

Where can you find the most interesting weblogs? Which blogs have made their mark this year? Who will do anything for a nomination? Those questions will be answered in the one and only...

The Bloggies™ are a set of 30 publicly-chosen awards given to weblog writers and those related to weblogs. This is the fifth ceremony, with previous winners listed on their respective sites: 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Everyone's invited to take part in the awarding process, so read below to find out how you can nominate and vote for your favorite blogs!

Read the Rules

These rules may change at any time, but they probably won't.

Learn About the Procedure

From Saturday, January 1, 2005 to Monday, January 10, anyone was able to nominate their favorite weblogs.

On Tuesday, January 18, three panels of 50 voters received an e-mail. It listed the weblogs that received the most nominations in ten categories. They had until 10:00 PM EST on Saturday, January 22 to privately submit their five favorites (six for Weblog of the Year) for each category. The five (or six for Weblog of the Year) receiving the most votes became finalists. I (Nikolai Nolan) only voted for the panel in the case of a tie for fifth place.

On Sunday, January 23, the finalists were announced and voting was open again to choose the winners.

Voting closed at 10:00 PM EST on Thursday, February 3. The winners were posted on Monday, March 14.

Come to the Ceremony

The Weblog Awards™ ceremony will be held at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival for the third time in Austin, Texas, USA on Monday, March 14 at 12:30 PM. Webloggers including previous Bloggie™ winners and prize contributors will present certificates and prizes to those present.

Those who aren't attending may join the excitement on IRC, in #BlogIRC on irc.turlyming.com. 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.

Admire the Prizes

Because of the large amount of categories, I won't personally give a award to every winner, but the Weblog of the Year owner(s) will receive 2,005 US cents (US$20.05).

Also, contributors can donate their own prizes to the category of their choice, and if the contributor has a site, it will be linked from this page. If the contributor is going to SXSW, he/she can also have the privilege of announcing/presenting the category sponsored at the ceremony. To donate one, the contributor can bring it to SXSW, mail it to the winner, or send an online gift certificate or cash to the winner. Prizes that are more creative than my $20 are encouraged.

Send me an e-mail to get your prize added. Sorry, "to be announced" prizes to reserve categories won't be accepted this year. I'll send out a list of winner's e-mails to the contributors after they're announced, but all other prize arrangements will be handled by their respective donators.

Since I intend for the Weblog Awards� to remain an independently-produced ceremony without corporate sponsorship, starting this year I'd like to restrict the contributor links to individuals, non-profit organizations, or companies that contribute to the blog universe in some way.

South by Southwest Interactive offers Bloggie™ finalists a special discount to attend the ceremony in March. The cost of Interactive registration for Bloggie™ finalists is $175.

The Webby Awards offers Bloggie™ finalists free entry in to the Webbys' Blog category.

Lulu will award each Bloggie™ winner a book made from their blog entries.

T-Shirt Humor will award each Bloggie™ winner a "Blog" t-shirt.

Be Current 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:

In exchange, these spiffy new categories take their place:

Best Meme

A replicating idea that spread about weblogs.

Prize

US$50 gift certificate to Amazon.com from Andy Wibbels

winner
Flickr

Podcasting
The Grey Album
Is My Blog Burning?
Photo Friday

 

Best Article or Essay About Weblogs

Prizes

US$20.05 from Hipster Cards

US$20.05 gift certificate to Amazon.com and an "I'm Blogging This" t-shirt from Rogers Cadenhead

winner
How to Blog

New Kids on the Blog
Random Reality Bites
Blogs, Bandwidth, and Banjos: Tightly Knit Bonds in Weblogging
Warning: Blogs Can Be Infectious

 

Best Web Application for Weblogs

Something that helps you publish, make comments, anything that has to do with developing a weblog.

Prizes

US$20.05 gift certificate to Amazon.com from Playground Finder

Self Help for the Bleak from Naked Blog

winner
Movable Type

HaloScan
Del.icio.us
Flickr
MT-Blacklist

 

Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog

Prize

AUS$20.05 from Ben Hosken

winner
What's New, Pussycat?

Bizgirl
Boudist
Spiceblog
Kitta.net

 

Best Asian Weblog

Weblogs from Asia, not including the Middle East.

Prizes

US$25 from Wacky Stuff

US$15 gift certificate to Amazon.com from The TypePad Users Ring

winner
Xiaxue

Weblog Wannabe
Noodle Pie
Tokyo Times
Life in Mono

 

Best African or Middle Eastern Weblog

Prize

US$25 from Wacky Stuff

US$15 gift certificate to Amazon.com from The TypePad Users Ring

winner
Where Is Raed?

360 Degrees of Sky
A Family in Baghdad
Subzero Blue
Benn Loxo du Tàccu

 

Best European Weblog

Weblogs from Europe, not including the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Prize

20.05 Euro, a shipment of gourmet coffee, and an invitation for sightseeing in Dresden from Martin Röll

winner
My Boyfriend Is a Twat

Papel Continuo
Chocolate and Zucchini
La Coquette
Near Near Future

 

Best British or Irish Weblog

Weblogs from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Prizes

£10 and a four-finger Kit Kat from Richard Bloomfield

Schott's Original Miscellany from Sam Breach

winner
PlasticBag.org

GreenFairyDotCom
Londonist
Hicksdesign
London Underground Tube Blog

 

Best Latin American Weblog

US$20 gift certificate to Amazon.com from eCuaderno

winner
Overcaffeinated

Isopixel
Bibi's Box
Denken Über
KnowProSE.com

 

Best Canadian Weblog

Prizes

CAN$30 gift certificate to the iTunes Music Store from Digital Apoptosis

Souvenir of Canada and entries published into a hand-made book and submitted to the National Archives from Jason Shim

winner
Photojunkie

Marmalade.ca
Bacon and Eh's
The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century
ChromeWaves.net

 

Best American Weblog

Weblogs from the United States.

Prizes

US$20.05 from The Blog Herald

US$20.05 from blahgKarma

US$24 gift certificate to I-Pets.com from Julie

winner
Dooce

Go Fug Yourself
Eschaton
Tequila Mockingbird
Wonkette

 

Best Tagline of a Weblog

Prizes

US$20.05 gift certificate of your choice from MarketingSherpa

US$20.05 from Stuntdubl

winner
Dooce: "Not your average clenched-cheek sprint to the bathroom"

Pesky'Apostrophe: "Always better than an unexpected period"
Scaryduck: "Not scary, not a duck"
The Gospel According to Rhys: "Chronologically inept since 2060"
Random Acts of Reality: "Trying to kill as few people as possible..."

 

Best Photography of a Weblog

Photoblogs and other weblogs that regularly feature photography.

Prizes

A copy of BlogJet from Dmitry Chestnykh

A Lomo LC-A from John Poetzel

US$21.12 from Ron Slattery

winner
Daily Dose of Imagery

Rion.nu
Satan's Laundromat
The Narrative
The Snowsuit Effort

 

Best Non-Weblog Content of a Weblog Site

Many sites contain more that just a weblog. This is for those pages with something extra.

Prize

The Andy Warhol Diaries and The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellows from Johnny America

winner
Gothamist

WorldChanging
The Soxaholix
Siteway
The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog

 

Best Food Weblog

Prizes

Toast by Nigel Slater from Lisa H.

A large olive oil gift set from Alejandro & Martin

US$15 gift card to the Pier 1 Imports from The TypePad Users Ring

winner
Cooking for Engineers

TastingMenu
Simply Recipes
The Food Section
101 Cookbooks

 

Best Entertainment Weblog

Weblogs about music, movies, television, and/or theater.

Prizes

A package of DVDs and music/film promotional material from The Gate

US$20 gift certificate to the iTunes Music Store from eFanGuide.com

winner
Defamer

Stereogum
Largehearted Boy
Fluxblog
Whatevs (Dot Org)

 

Best Weblog About Politics

Prizes

"History of the Political Parties" print from EchoDitto

US$25 gift card to Barnes & Noble from Wacky Stuff

winner
Wonkette

Low Culture
WatchBlog
1115.org
Pandagon.net

 

Best Web Development Weblog

Weblogs completely about Web design and development.

Prizes

One year of Web hosting from xaXax

A free year's listing on Xemion from Bot a Blog

winner
ScriptyGoddess

SimpleBits
Mezzoblue
Stylegala
456 Berea Street

 

Best Computers or Technology Weblog

Weblogs about computers and/or technology, other than Web design.

Prizes

A copy of BlogJet from Dmitry Chestnykh

US$100 from Wacky Stuff

US$20 from UberGizmo

US$20.05 from Coupon Craze

An iPod Shuffle from dealnews

US$250 from Gadget Madness

US$20 from Bryan Carter

winner
Gizmodo

Slashdot
Engadget
Daring Fireball
Near Near Future

 

Best Topical Weblog

Weblogs with a definite topic other than the ones in the categories above.

Prize

US$20.05 from Timothy Latz

winner
Bookslut

The Policeman's Blog
Treehugger
London Underground Tube Blog
The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog

 

Best GLBT Weblog

Webloggers in the gay/lesbian/bisexual/ transgendered community.

Prize

Prisoner Cell Block H DVD from Naked Blog

winner
How to Learn Swedish in 1000 Difficult Lessons

SistersTalk
Tranniefesto
Troubled Diva
Hot Toddy's Toaster Oven

 

Most Humorous Weblog

Prizes

US$20.05 gift certificate to Amazon.com and a PEZ dispenser (candy not included) from Brad Youtz

US$20.05, a copy of Aaron Wall's SEO Book e-book, and a t-shirt from Aaron Wall

US$25 gift card to Barnes & Noble from Wacky Stuff

winner
Dooce

Go Fug Yourself
Geese Aplenty
Davezilla.com
Defective Yeti

 

Best Writing of a Weblog

Weblogs with great writing, from personal journaling to professional journalism.

Prizes

A copy of BlogJet from Dmitry Chestnykh

A hardcover book containing the winner's favorite weblog entries from Kevin Hale

US$150 gift certificate to Amazon.com from Ricky D

US$25 from Poplish

winner
Dooce

Real E Fun
Tequila Mockingbird
Londonmark
Greek Tragedy

 

Best Group Weblog

Weblogs written by an exclusive group.

Prize

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, a US$5 gift certificate to McDonald's, and US$8 from Johnny America

winner
Boing Boing

Go Fug Yourself
Popgadget
Low Culture
A Fistful of Euros

 

Best Community Weblog

Weblogs where everyone is invited to post.

Prizes

US$20.05 from Delight

US$20 from UberGizmo

US$25 gift card to Barnes & Noble from Wacky Stuff

winner
Slashdot

Overheard in New York
MonkeyFilter
MetaFilter
Fark.com

 

Best-Designed Weblog

Prizes

US$20.05 from Delight

US$50 from Wacky Stuff

For the first runner-up: US$25 gift card to Barnes & Noble from Wacky Stuff

winner
Loobylu

Karen Cheng
Jason Santa Maria
Brookelyn.org
ShaunInman.com

 

Best-Kept-Secret Weblog

The best underrepresented weblogs.

Prize

US$20.05 from The Blog Herald

US$15 gift certificate to the iTunes Music Store from The TypePad Users Ring

winner
Teaching the Indie Kids to Dance Again

Manhattan Transfer
Mixed Media Watch
Susan Mernit's Blog
He Looks Like...

 

Best New Weblog

Weblogs that began during the year 2004.

Prize

One month's advertising on The Blog Herald from The Blog Herald

US$20.05 from Coupon Craze

For the first runner-up: US$50 from Wacky Stuff

winner
Defamer

Petite Anglaise
He Looks Like...
Preshrunk
The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog

 

Lifetime Achievement

Webloggers who have been blogging at least since January 1, 2001. This award can only be won once, so Jeffrey Zeldman, Evan Williams, Jason Kottke, and Heather Champ are not eligible.

Prizes

Two registrations for the 2006 South by Southwest Interactive Festival from SXSW

US$50 gift card to Barnes & Noble from Wacky Stuff

winner
Tom Coates

Ernie Hsiung
Meg Hourihan
Derek Powazek
Firda Beka

 

Weblog of the Year

This is it: the category for the best weblog overall.

Prizes

US$20.05 from Nikolai Nolan

Two registrations for the 2006 South by Southwest Interactive Festival from SXSW

US$100 from Wacky Stuff

US$20 from Bryan Carter

Blogumentary DVD from Chuck Olsen

For each of the runners-up: US$10 from Coupon Craze

winner
Boing Boing

Gawker
This Fish Needs a Bicycle
Wonkette
The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog
Gothamist