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First annual SA Blogawards

By: Richard Mulholland
5 Apr 2005 12:4817 commentsBizLike
With blogging growing in participation and credibility both internationally, and locally. It was time for the SA Blogging community to start celebrating some of its success - This celebration took the form of the SA Blogawards.
Organised, and hosted in Cape Town by Cherryflava, and hosted in Johannesburg by Jo'blog, the events were well attended yet informal.

Not without some controversy, the awards were as a whole, a huge success, with a spread of winners across the categories. It's testament to the growing support of blogging in South Africa that more than 10 000 votes were cast for the "blog of the year". A full list of the nominees and winners can be viewed at the official awards site.

Participatory journalism is changing the rules of communication for businesses; blogging is at the forefront of this change. While still relatively un-chartered territory in South Africa, it leaves the PR account managers with an interesting challenge. Do they want to be first to market, or simply join the foray when blogging reaches its local tipping point?

We look forward to many new entrants in the "business" and "communications" categories next year...!
 
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About Richard Mulholland

Richard Mulholland co-owns and runs Missing Link, a presentation strategy firm in Johannesburg. He currently participates on two weblogs: Jo'blog & "Hello_World"View profile and articles...
I hope not!-
"While still relatively un-chartered territory in South Africa, it leaves the PR account managers with an interesting challenge. Do they want to be first to market, or simply join the foray when blogging reaches its local tipping point?"

Spare us, PLEASE! We're already over run with PR twaddle - and the standard is often depressingly-low. The last thing people on the receiving end of copious quantities of PR material need is the inevitable phone call asking if we've now read their blog. Work on improving the releases, that's way more important than adding to a situation that's already akin to being carpet-bombed.

Contrary to what seems to be the belief of many of those working in the industry, people have no desire to be marketed at wherever they turn! Posted on 6 Apr 2005 16:49
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Rich...!
Wake up-
Actually, you're comments aren't quite valid, although I can appreciate the worry. The medium's intention is to make it easier for you - and it will, I agree that you probably have to sift through a lot of junk daily, blogging should not add to the clutter, by its nature it should only deliver content to your news reader that you want. If the PR companies "pitch you" they're breaking the golden rule. They, or more specifically, the clients, must create relevant content that you would want to read, if you don't then they must fix the content. They must NEVER pitch you.

Do me a favour, open your mind a wee bit, give it time, and gave it a chance.

The change is happening internationally, and will happen here, that is not for debate. The decision to make is how you deal with it.

Incremental changes such as "a better release" simply isn't enough...! Posted on 6 Apr 2005 18:25
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Martin
It's not even about change-
As Rich...! pointed out, incremental change isn't good enough. I'd even go as far as stating that the tipping point that's being reached *supersedes* PR - PR is pushing out the image *you* desire out to the market. Blogging's about discussing your company or product frankly with the market (and having the market discuss your product), and finding improvement on both sides through this.

Most forms of marketing are one-sided tools at best. Blogging is about connecting ideas and opinions through discussions - this in itself puts it in the realm of people smart enough to have thought about the purpose of marketing in the first place, without making it elitist in any way. Anyone can comment on a blog, and anyone's idea can reach the top, whether they care about marketing or not.

Free your mind, read a few blogs - I solemnly promise (if you're smart enough) that you'll quickly realise the potential! :-) Posted on 6 Apr 2005 21:54
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I'm not against blogs-
I'm just saying that, given the quality of what we're currently being subjected to, I'm not overly keen on the prospect of the same bunch of seemingly-semi-literate marketing-types now thinking they're SA's answer to Tolstoy. I know blogs are good, I blog myself. I know blogs encourage a lot of intelligent, thoughtful people to get their ideas out there and discuss them with other people but...anyone and everyone can blog, so suggesting that the quality will always be good is daft.
Blogging is already here, I know that. I'm just voicing reservations about yet more junk cluttering up every available bit of personal space left to us! Hey, nothing personal, I'm just marketed out of it. Posted on 7 Apr 2005 07:18
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Rich...!
money-meet-mouth-
Cool, so where is you're blog then, anonymity sucks...! Posted on 7 Apr 2005 10:14
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nope ; )-
lol that would be telling. it's a personal blog, so not something i'd be too bothered to advertise, it's recreational. Posted on 7 Apr 2005 10:35
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Buzz
Puh-Leez don't bring "PR" into blogging, okay?-
Maybe I'm, like, totally missing the point here, but the reason I read blogs (as well as many other more mainstream sources of info) is to get as FAR AWAY as possible from the onslaught of PR and marketing horseshit that clogs up our modern lives.
I mean, you can't even drive down the freeway without being bombarded by advertising on every pillar, post, and roadside trailer.
Blogs (or at least the good ones)work as a medium precisely because they offer a refreshing alternative to the info-glut...they are by nature intensely personal, opinionated, anarchic, and anti-corporate.
Any self-respecting general-interest blog that tried to tie itself to a specific brand or product would very soon be rejected by its readers, because the Internet is one of the few media around where the user still has some control over content.
You can choose, for example, not to have pop-ups or banner ads spoiling your view, and you can certainly choose to stay far away from any "blog" that has a hidden or not-so-hidden marketing agenda. So stay away, PR people. We are the Inetrnet, and we can see right through your sneaky strategies and insiduous methodologies. Posted on 7 Apr 2005 11:09
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Rich...!
It's not for me to bring...-
Buzz, the beauty is that you subscribe to and read ONLY what you want, so if you're interrested enough in General Motors, you may decide to read their vice chairman's blog:

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/

If you're not, then you wont. That's not to say he shouldn't write it. Open communication, not PR jiz, is the future here, and that's a good thing. Blogs can't force you to read them either, that's even better.

It doesn't stop me reccomending CEO's to start blogging though...! Posted on 7 Apr 2005 11:33
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Buzz
Okay, but then they're not blogs...-
...they're Press Releases pretending to be blogs. That GM thing has got to be the dullest load of in-house drivel I've ever come across on the Net.
To call it a "blog" is to cheapen and insult REAL blogs...and I have no doubt that someone else at GM (say, a machinist on the production line) could give us a juicy and insightful blog that would really be worthy of the name.
It just drives me to distraction when marketing types with no imagination of their own set out to hijack concepts that have grown organically on a medium that is, thankfully, beyond their control.
Fine, set up "blogs" for brands and CEOs by all means, but then at least be honest about it and call them Plogs, with the P standing for "Propaganda" or "Public Relations", depending on who you're trying to fool. Posted on 7 Apr 2005 12:17
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Well said, Buzz-
You hit the nail smack-bang on the head.

The way that PR-marketers are jumping all over blogging as such a great opportunity, refusing to appreciate the concerns that people outside the industry have about it, just sums up their detachment from reality. They think the world and its dog should be as interested as they are in themselves and whatever message it is that they're paid to push on us. The industry has become so self-serving it's frightening. I suppose, sooner or later, it's going to have to eat itself.

But you're right- people read blogs for good, reliable information and insight. PR-Marketing offers neither. Posted on 7 Apr 2005 12:18
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We missed it!-
http://peronii.blogspot.com - mwhooaa-ha-ha-ha Posted on 7 Apr 2005 13:31
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Jennifer
I can see why we're scared to blog...-
In decades of accelerating information technology, blogging is the first medium to offer honest, subjective, interpersonal contact, instantly, worldwide. I think blogging influences participants to be more accountable for their views, to think out of the proverbial square, & engage in a provocative exchange, for no other reason than it's interesting. There is no need to attempt to regulate people's thoughts, unless one is scared of...gasp!...broadening one's mind & contents... Posted on 7 Apr 2005 13:35
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Sue Dunham
Participatory it may be, but "journalism" it sure ain't-
Just been taking a look at some of the winning sites in the First Annual SA Blogawards. Some interesting stuff, sure, but to call any of it "journalism" is REALLY stretching things a bit too far.
The vast majority of it is stream-of-consciousness rambling of the most parochial and egomaniacal variety. Journalism, whether practised in print or broadcast or online, is a craft where one of the most vital elements is editing - for length, for comprehension, for accuracy.
Blogging, whatever it may be, and just in case anyone has any doubts, is NOT journalism. Thanks, I feel better for having cleared that up. Posted on 7 Apr 2005 17:00
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Rich...!
But Sue, you've cleared nothing up-
These rules aren't mine. The blogs you've looked at may not be journalism to you, but you are fundamentally wrong if you think no bloggers are journalists:

www.gizmodo.com
www.slashdot.com

These sites, and 100s more are true journalism in all senses, the criteria you mention are the old school rules, so sorry the world is leaving you behind...! Posted on 7 Apr 2005 22:29
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Sue
The exceptions prove the rule-
Yes, there are blogs that obey the fundamental rules of journalism, and that's why they stand out from the pack of ego-driven rambles.
Gizmodo, and pretty much any of its companion blogs (Gawker, Wonkette, and the great new sploid.com)is well-written, concise, precise, and professionally edited.
Slashdot, once again, is a topical, accurate, and well-moderated platform and forum for a community of obsessive geeks.
By choosing these two blogs to make your point, you only reinforce my feeling that the vast majority of blogs are anything but journalistic in nature.
Simply because you "journal" your daily life, does not make you a journalist, in the same way that switching on the engine of your car does not make you an engineer.
And far contrary to what you may believe, I have not been "left behind" by blogs - I've been reading them avidly since the ancient days of robotwisdom and plastic.com, long before anyone chose to call them "blogs".
They're nothing new to me, and I regard them simply as an element of my daily media diet, rather than the overhyped revolution they're suddenly supposed to be.
As for journalism being "old school", well, if it wasn't for printed media such as newspapers and magazines, many, many blogs would have very little to blog about, since so much of their content is stolen directly from these sources.
The notion that underpins so much of the current hysteria around blogs - that they somehow represent a "threat" to mainstream media - is patently ludicrous and unproven. As is the blanket assertion that blogging is journalism. I repeat my point: with very few exceptions, it ain't. Posted on 8 Apr 2005 07:23
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StrawDog
Blogging is not journalism, but it is still an important trend-
Sue is completely correct that most blogs are not journalism. They depend on mainstream media for their information for the most part.
Blogs serve several important purposes in the media ecosystem:
*They help to keep mainstream media honest - the RatherGate deabcle being one case in point. If bloggers can topple a major media personality like Dan Rather, they are important.
*They bring perspectives on the news that the mainstream media ignores and marginalises. Commentary.co.za offers a nakedly pro-American, free-market take on South African news (compared to the rampant anti-Americanism and lefty economics of most SA media outlets) while http://supernatural.blogs.com does an excellent job of deconstructing the anti-Israel and pro-Palestine bias of SA TV and newspapers.
*They highlight obscure news sources that many readers may not be familar with.
*Occassionally, they report on matters that the mainstream media ignores. Posted on 8 Apr 2005 09:32
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Rich...!
Don't look for absolute statements where there are none.-
I never made any assertion about all blogging being journalism,I'm in total agreement that that would be ludicrous. What I said was that citizen journalism is changing the way things are and that blogging is part of that change.

Have a look at this:
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/04/reuters_panel_o.html Posted on 9 Apr 2005 18:11
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