It has become a regular annual feature of this blog for me to nominate my Top Ten Sailing Blogs of the year. I did it in 2005, 2006 and 2007. This year I thought I'd do something a bit different. But I need your help.
Instead of a Top Ten List I thought I would choose my favorite sailing blogs in various categories. You know, like the Oscars have awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary, Best Cinematography and so on and so on.
I thought I could have categories too but I need your help in suggesting what the categories should be...
Should I break it down by sailing "disciplines" like they do in the Olympics? Best Keelboat Blog, Best Catamaran Blog, Best Windsurfer Blog... etc. etc.
Or should I make it more free form? Then I could include categories like Best Round the World Cruising Blog, Best Ocean Racing Blog, Best Olympic Sailing Blog, Best Lake Sailor Blog...
I don't want to make the categories too tight. For example there's not going to be an award for Best Blog by an Owner of a Newport 28 on A-dock in Berkeley Marina. But I would be open to a special category for Best Account of an Ocean Race by an Amateur Sailor.
And if I'm going to honor some of my favorite blogs I might have to have some rather odd-sounding categories like Most Creative Photo Series of Fish and Wahines in Interesting Combinations. You all know who I mean.
I'd be quite happy for categories that recognize individual posts of special excellence such as Funniest Sailing Video of the Year, or Most Horrendous Sailing Mistake Post.
Maybe I'll have to have some categories for specific classes of boat. For example, there do seem to be an awful lot of Moth Blogs out there these days. I can't keep up with them all.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I want your ideas. For award categories at this stage please. Later on when I've selected the categories, I'll ask for nominations for each category. Tell me your suggestion via the comments please.
25 comments:
I like how you've been doing it...simply picking the blogs you want to recognize, period. The problem with categories is they make decisions for you.
As long as you have something for Joe, all will be right. I know I've said too many dumb things here to be re-recognized...give 'em that slot!
But if you do switch to categories I'd like to see one just for Superblogs...Edward has had that sewn up for too long, and more Superblogs should receive some of the spotlight.
There are other Superblogs? Where are they? I thought there was only one Superblog.
Since your blog is very much about encouraging others to communicate and contribute via the interwebs, how about honoring your favorite contributions to propercourse's group writing projects? You could even honor your favorite propercourse comment(s) of the year.
Great ideas Derek, though maybe I could do those two things in addition to Top Sailing Blogs of the year.
How about commenter of the year? That'd be a way to recognize the fact that your blog draws the most interest and is without question the most interesting.
And you can just give me a lifetime achievement award or something if you want to open up some space for others?!?
whoops, I didn't read other comments, assuming I'm the most original of all time. Crap, now Derek is on my "smarter than me and a faster typer" enemy list.
Not sure if I get to vote as a non-blogger, but I agree with Mr. Puffin about not having categories.
If you must, these come to mind:
- Best post about saltwater taffy
- Best post involving the blogger and
more than three emergency rescue units
- Best blogger who fantasizes about women
with no feet
- Best blog about paddling in industrial
waste water
- Blogger most consistently ignored in
Tillerman writing projects
- Most annoying commenter
I think O Docker should get to vote. In view of his future roles as Secretary of the Navy & Poet Laureate & all that.
Nice ideas. Novelty, discovery, and new connections are wonderful things.
The Commenter of the Year award (thanks EVK4) should definitely go to .....
Anonymous
Maybe I could collect together all the wisdom and humor of Anonymous Commenter and publish them as a book?
TM, you're a genius!
I need a good front man. For years I've had all this great stuff with no way to market it.
The first thing they want is a photo of me for the book jacket, so most book deals end right there.
And then, I can't open my own bank account - you know how banks are about ID these days. So the money would have to go into your....
Hey, wait a minute.
complex agenda...I'm already getting a headache from learning XHTML,CSS, Flash, and now this. arggggggg.
What happened to the old days of simply blogging with no agendas, no worry about classification, super-blogging, blogging like a day on the bay with no care which way the wind blew...or the type flew.
sigh...
I'll need to meditate on this, and find the simplisty in the complexity of naming.
Anonymous - if I were you I would file for a trademark on the word "Anonymous" ASAP. As things stand now any fool could use your name for any commercial purpose.
Zen, Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity."
The old days of blogging were the simplicity this side of complexity. I strive to attain complexity so that I may attain the simplicity on the other side of complexity.
I guess that's what the racing rules are all about, too.
All of that complexity is supposed to create simplicity on the other side.
If only you guys could agree on where the other side is.
Wherever you aren't,
there's the other side.
Then there're the
other other sides.
Thanks to everyone for great suggestions. I know how I'm going to choose the Top Ten Sailing Blogs of 2008 now. Watch this space,,,
I'd go with PeconicPuffin's approach that take your favourites and think of categories for them afterwards.
Also agree with those who suggest recognising those that comment or contribute to group activities.
So, let me get this straight. A category like Best Blog Header Image with a Heterosexual Theme Paying Homage to French Nationalism or Most DR(1)amatic Retelling of a Near Drowning Incident on the Water Where No One Actually was Near Drowning, but a Couple of Kids Gained a Humbling Influence on their Father for Life would be too specific to be categories in this event?
Oh, those categories are way too unspecific. I was thinking of something much more defined such as...
Best Blog With a Header Image with a Heterosexual Theme Paying Homage to French Nationalism AND WITH Most Dramatic Retelling of a Near Drowning Incident on the Water Where No One Actually was Near Drowning, but a Couple of Kids Gained a Humbling Influence on their Father for Life AND With Post Involving the Blogger and
More Than Three Emergency Rescue Units.
Just as an example. No guarantee of course that that category will make the cut.
Darn! My humbling not-quite-so-near-drowning experience a few years ago only involved one emergency rescue unit and I walked up from the marina to it. There's much good to be said for neoprene gloves.
Don't worry Pat. There might even be a category for "Best Sailing Blog That Has A Radar Map Showing Rain in the Desert".
Oh man, "Most dramatic retelling of a near drowning incident on the water where no one actually was near drowning, but a couple of kids gained a humbling influence on their father for life" is a category?
Jeeze, I just read something that I'd nominate for that category...not too long ago...where was it, where was it? Dabgannet! I forget!
TM, did you ever award the 2008 Tilleys? I couldn't find 'em. I really wanted to see who ended up with the award for the French/near-drowning thing.
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