And why Witness This deserves a blog award ...

VOTING for the SA Blog Awards 2010 clicks off in September and there is bound to be some stiff competition. One's main instinct is to vote for the blog(s) that you enjoy most and perhaps read the most often; but there are a few questions voters should ask before casting and determining who the winners will be this year.

1. Number of Authors

It's a lot easier for a blog to gain rank and readership when there are several people behind its content creation. Blogs that publish fresh articles several times daily are bound to get more attention than those that only publish once or twice a week. Google Caffeine also smiles favourably on blogs that update more frequently - further increasing rank and attention. So take into account how many authors each blog has before voting.

2. Ads and monetisation

Some blogs are purely in it for the money, which is usually evident by the number of ads a blog displays as well as the nature of the content. One should question what a blogger's intentions are before voting. Are they trying to sell you something or promote certain things or do they freely offer information or something of interest or entertainment value? Is there a good balance between the number of adverts on display and useful info that is freely available?

3. Success within a single year

Most blogs work hard to gain rank and popularity, but a steady soaring up the ranks is indicative of the author(s) dedication and persistence. Assess how well a blog has done in a single year and whether or not it is still improving and likely to soar to even greater heights. Compare or ask what a specific blog's rank / readership was a year ago with what it is now and use these stats as a measure of its success before voting.

4. Awards and Recognition

Ask if any of the blogs being voted for achieved any awards in the past. Did they snatch up a SA blog award (or awards) last year, and if not, were they a runner-up? Has their content being published elsewhere - perhaps in print publications or on other websites? Have any of the blogs won any other competitions or perhaps had a mention on popular, non-blog websites?

5. Free Design

Custom blog designs don't come cheap, but kudos to the ones who spent 20k for a professional to zoosh up their blog. Although design is an all-important aspect of any blog, consider whether or not bloggers have made the most of a free blog template, or perhaps designed their own template themselves before voting. Flashiness and bling are great at catching attention but not nearly as important as content. Don't be put off by blogs that make use of free templates, and remember that there is a whole separate category for the bling blogs.

6. Valuable Online Resource

Several blogs are becoming more popular than mainstream websites by virtue of the material they offer. News websites, for example, offer information daily but tend to build up an archive of outdated and irrelevant material. Dedicated bloggers will cull the content that no longer serves some kind of purpose, and will work to build a valuable online resource that readers can keep coming back to and make use of. Assess older entries on blogs that you are keen on voting for.

7. Interaction with Readers

Interaction is a key feature of a successful blog. Comments show that readers have engaged with the content and the best comments offer something of extra value. Responding to comments (on the part of the author) shows that the blogger cares about what people think and have to say about their articles. The best posts are often ones that get some sort of discussion or argument going where everyone feels free to throw in their 2cents without fear of ridicule.

Why Witness This deserves a SA Blog Award:

• I am the sole author of this blog and manage to publish three times weekly.
• This blog was only recently monetised and refuses to ruin its integrity with casino or bling ads.
• All articles that are no longer relevant or offer something of value are purged off this blog on a regular basis.
• Every comment is responded to asap and responding to readers/subscribers via email is a regular occurrence.
• Witness This started off with a free WordPress template but has since managed to get a free, new design from a family member.
• Roughly 40% of my articles have been published in a South African newspaper and last year one particular post won me a Foozi Foozball table valued at R12 000!
• In less than a year Witness This has managed to gain a top-ten spot on MyScoop and a top-hundred spot on Afrigator with an average of 30 000 unique visitors a month.

I hate self-promotion ... but if you are sold and feel that this blog deserves a SA blog award please do nominate it by clicking on the Blog Award badge up top. Otherwise I hope that some of these voting tips and questions will be put to good use when voting for the best of the best blogs this year. All the best of luck to the finalists!

• 2010 SA BLOG AWARDS: Categories, Casters and Criteria

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2010 BLOG AWARDS: Categories, Casters and Criteria

WITH many bloggers now focusing on their blogs full-time, blogs have moved from a fun sideline project to a lucrative form of business. Keeping in line with this trend, the SA Blog Awards have also matured and bloggers will see statistics from their site forming part of the evaluation criteria for the judges in each of the categories in 2010.

Now in its 5th year, the awards will take place on 25 September and will feature more judges per category than in the past. Judges will also be experts in their respective fields with a keen interest in social networking.

Given the past success of the awards and the increased interest in the 2010 event, The SA Blog Awards warranted the addition of a new member. JP Naude, Cape Town businessman and radio personality, takes on the role of CEO for the Awards. One of Naude’s focus areas will be raising the profile of the awards ensuring a heightened sense of credibility in 2010.

Naude has already implemented a partnership with Afrigator, one of South Africa’s foremost blog statistic measuring companies, whereby it will act as an independent auditor providing accurate and up-to-date information on the nominated blogs to the judges.

Naude will be working alongside the original SA Blog Awards team with organiser Chris Rawlinson being the backbone of the awards, and Huddlemind CEO Dave Duarte, adding strategic value.

News24 has been confirmed as the headline sponsor this year.  Naude says, “Having News24 on board will help us take the awards to a new level. Last year alone, the event attracted more than 5 000 blog nominations and over 100 000 individual votes. With News24’s commitment to showcasing content from the nominated blogs to their audience of more than 2 million online South Africans, we expect these figures to increase impressively.”

Karen Dempers, Head of Marketing at News24 believes the sponsorship is a natural fit: “Many South Africans are referring to blogs for updates, opinion and insight into what is happening around them. We have seen a significant increase in the popularity of user generated content across the News24 network and have watched the number of blogs grow year on year as more South Africans embrace this platform to voice their opinions.”

The nomination process
Bloggers in the country will be given recognition for their contribution to the ever growing blogging community. During the nomination process for the awards, the public is requested to nominate their favourite blogs before being judged by a panel of industry experts in 24 different categories.

This year the award categories include the newly introduced SA Tweeter of the Year – acknowledging the best Twitter account, Best Company Blog, and Best Fashion Blog. The entry criteria state that only blogs written within South Africa and/or blogs written by South African citizens are considered eligible for the awards.

Nominations will take place between 2-27 August 2010. Thereafter, the top ten nominees in each category will go into the public vote phase from 1-17 September. The results of this vote will then be passed onto the judges who will cast their votes thereby deciding the category winner. The overall winner of the SA Blog Awards will be chosen by the judges from the selection of category winners.

The following Blog Award categories are available this year:

• Havana Club Rum Best Blog Design: Best designed blog.
• Jameson Best Fashion Blog: Best blog about fashion/style.
• Best Personal Blog: Diary type blogs of a personal life story.
• The Kulula Best Travel Blog: Blog featuring travel related content.
• Best Blog about Politics: Blogs featuring mainly a political theme.
• Best Food and Wine Blog: Blogs written primarily about food or drink.
• Best New Blog: Blogs which were started during the year of 2009/2010.
• The Ogilvy Twitter Micro Blogger of the Year: Best SA Twitter account.
• Best Photographic Blog: Blogs featuring original photographic content.
• The News24 South African Blog of the Year: The Best of the Best from SA.
• Olmeca Tequila Best Music Blog: Blogs about news of the musical nature.
• Best TV/Radio Blog: Best blog by a South African TV or Radio personality.
• Best South African Podcast/Video Blog: Best online audio/video shows.
• Best Parenting Blog: Blogs about the trials and tribulations of living with little people.
• Best Group Blog: Blogs with more than one author. This includes mainstream media.
• Most Controversial Blog: The blog which caused the most amount of discomfort in 2009.
• The Ogilvy Best Media and Marketing Blog: A blog which comments on design, branding and marketing would also fit into this category.
• The Old Mutual Best Green Blog: Blogs covering mainly environmental organic or environmental friendly related content.
• The Evox Advanced Nutrition Best Sports Blog: Blogs written exclusively about any recognised sport.
• The UCT Graduate School of Business Best Business Blog: Blogs about businesses or business education - individually written.
• The Best Company Blog: Best blog by a corporate, small business or non-profit organisation.
• Best Indigenous Language Blog: Blogs written in an indigenous language with a slight bias toward the culture of that language.
• Best Science and Technology Blog: Blogs primarily focused on science, technology, computers or the internet.
• Best Overseas South African Blog: Blogs written by a South African in any foreign country.
• Best Entertainment Blog: Blogs about art, movies, celebrities, theatre and topical issues with entertainment value.

In addition to News24, category sponsors this year include advertising giants Ogilvy Cape Town, kulula.com, Old Mutual, The UCT Graduate School of Business, Evox. Olmeca Tequila, Jameson, Havana Club Rum and Atmosphere Communications - a PR agency that has successfully used social media campaigns for its clients.

• For more information on the awards and the nomination process, visit www.sablogawards.com

About the South African Blog Awards:
The South African Blog Awards were started in 2005 and are a showcase of the best blogs in South Africa voted for by the public and their peers. Since its inception more than six thousand blogs have been nominated with over one hundred thousand individual votes. The SA blog awards is the only event in Africa that reaches all the best South African blogs and online digital influencers in one go.

- Issued on behalf of Atmosphere Communications

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