Well, here we are, more than a little satisfied that we made a little mark in the blogosphere. The Galloping Beaver finished second out of ten in the TTLB category in which we were competing. (As a matter of interest, we are no longer in that category and have a higher ranking with The Truth Laid Bear).
We're having a little trouble with Blogger this morning, and there are two other issues that need addressing, so rather than list all the winners here, I'll provide this link to the Weblog Awards front page where the winners are listed.
I'd like to thank everyone who consistently voted for us and send a special thank you to the other blogs who promoted us to their readers. For what it's worth, I had hoped to be in company with you in that competition. I'll make an effort next year to get nominations in, now that I'm actually aware of when the nominations occur.
That we were even selected as a finalist was something of a surprise. I didn't even know we had been nominated. Given that, I will give you the reasons we were noticed: Dana, Alison, Boris, The Rev. Paperboy, Laura and Cheryl. Where I could bore you to death, they have added diversity and colour.
These online voting competitions can be hazardous to one's mental well-being if one isn't careful. They are, despite the best efforts of the organizers, open to all forms of manipulation. And they, more often than not, do not represent a true picture. I say that with some confidence. Whether we actually deserve to be ranked 2nd out of 1500 blogs remains a question. That we gathered support through constant reminders to readers and open support from other bloggers is not a question. But there was a blog which, had we not been competing, I would have supported over all others in that category.
So, while there is an emotional boost for having placed so well in something of a popularity contest, I take the results with a small grain of salt.
And, I have some other doubts about these competitions. There are some heavy hitters out there. In that the central focus of this particular competition is US blogs, I was disappointed from the outset at a couple of developments.
TBogg, although a winner in his TTLB category, deserved to be among the more definitive categories. Without diminishing the TTLB competitions, the blogs competing can be coming from a variety of angles and subject matter thus turning it into a popularity contest. TBogg is already popular and should have had the opportunity to stand with his peers, higher on the food chain. For what it's worth, I would have voted for his work no matter where he was in competition.
The Best Science Blog competition was almost horrifying. It has resulted in a "yet to be determined" finish after some incredibly acrimonious poo-flinging. But worse than that, it became a science vs. anti-science fight. Watching it gave me more than a moment's pause and I began to question whether these competitions have any real value at all.
There is one issue, however, which I cannot reconcile. If the competitions (outside the TTLB rank categories) are supposed to be "The Best Of" then I leave you with a question:
Where was Digby?
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