Blog awards – my win list

t’s that time of the year again. Tis the season of the blog awards in Pakistan, a tradition that began in 2010 with CIO & Google partnering to host the first blog awards of this nation. No they aren’t some hokey pokey geeky awards given in the shape of graphics in an email to people no one knows about.This is the Pakbloggers version of the Oscars, we love it, we hate it, we want it, we fight over it and we complain like anything when it’s over in the only way we know how  “all over the internet”. So I guess as far as the hype is concerned, we take care of that all on our own.

This year’s blog awards are being hosted by PCWorld which is an organization made up of some of the same forces that brought you the first awards. Jokes aside, the lineup of sponsors is impressive with presenter/Lead Partners YouTube/Google, Nokia, and Djuice alongside Dell and Intel, voting has just finished yesterday and the entire new media of this nation is now on tenterhooks.

Who are the judges, how will they vote, never mind the page long guidelines they have given us on the website! We want to know the inner mechanisms of the beast, how and what will decide who gets the legendry plastic/fibre globe on a wood base! Who will be the victors and who will exit this digital arena vanquished? There are a multitude of theories abound on Twitter and Facebook and this will continue till the day of the awards…some say it is all part of a greater plan, some say it’s to give credit where credit is due. I say why wait? So I am going to pick my winners list from some of the categories and give reasons as to why I think they should win in their respective slots. If it works, you can accuse me of being the punter of social media. If it doesn’t, well then it doesn’t!

Incidentally, some of us bloggers who form the dark underbelly of the shining social media landscape of this nation are also taking spot bets on how late jehanara will be, how much rabia will giggle, will awab carry a PTI flag on stage and so on….spot bets I said NOT FIXING OK.

Before I put my foot further into my mouth, here are my winners:

Agents for change
The Pardigm House, Shazia yousuf
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?KC_Y3_SB

Well written articles exploring different philosophies ideas and issues pertaining to the youth of today, has nuance and ability to bring about change in a subtle manner. May not be as polished as some of the other entries but way ahead in content.

Best aggregator
Tea break, Asim, Ammar, Hamza
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?e2bWpYO6

Some of the other entries are up and coming as well but with 3000 registered blogs and a network comprising of 72% of our blogsphere in it..there is no beating this behemoth.

Best blog from a journalist
Journeys to democracy, Beena sarwar
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?UysaXJBu

Errr wow I could’ve nominated myself for this one no?…well I am glad I did not because this blog would have left me in the dust like it leaves the competition. No offence this one is just too clear a winner

Best business blog
Life etc, Momekh
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?uThh7mBG

A subject I happen to know a little bit about other than star wars, a business blog has to discuss stratagems on varied subjects and momekh does that like a yoda,enough said.

Best celebrity profiling blog
Pakspice, Sameer nasir
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?pd79MWT3

Although I felt pakprofiles by FQ is the standout blog nominated in this category but it’s the wrong category for it, this is about masala people, real celebs not inspirational leaders, models,actressesvavavoom and that’s what pak spice gives you, so it wins the race!

Best corporate brand blog
Progmic, Sheeraz alam
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?mgK5Cn8P

Just two nominees in this category? Sheesh which cocoon are all our grand MNCs with their billions wasted on ad departments sleeping in? In any case progmic wins this hands down because the other blog nominated is about development, that has nothing to do with corporate brand blogging, progmic is all about HP, a brand…hello.

Best current affairs blog
I will leave this one be as I am the co-editor on one of the blogs nominated, let’s see if you can guess which one.

Best diarist
Crimson sky, Tazeen razi
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?KkRYcyrW

A very very tough category to pick from as I thought there were at least three very close blogs in here, I gave it to crimson sky based on the fact that it’s been around for a while since 2007 (stamina) and felt the most eloquent and personal, however AwaisAftab was a close second also.

Best Fashion Blog
Pnk 255, Amara javed
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?I4geFkAQ

My very fashionable 8 year old daughter picked this to be the winner and that’s about it.

Best Food blog
Crazy chef, Tehniat aftab
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?M0wKC7zb

Full of flavor and some startling recipes, great blog! Name has crazy in it but the blog has serious substance!

Best humor
Bring the funny version 2,  Sami shah
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?Y4vNdmcg

It’s hilarious, it has comments that have not been approved yet and it is the only blog out there belonging to a genuinely funny real stand up comic.

Best literature
Desi writers lounge
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?Y4vNdmcg

Do I need to even explain this one? Well desi writers is a community portal for writers producing some of the best unheard of fiction and serious writing online.

Best online community
Voice of youth, Mohmal mushtaq
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?EyfZCrRT

300 writers from all over the world, award winning platform, very good interface what else do you want?

Best photo blog
Basils photography, Basil andrews
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?D4ebAx1T

Another category with truly mesmerizing content, basil stands out for his diversity, color capture and his eye for angles which only a true genius with a lens could manipulate

Best social activist blog
Shouldn’t even be a category in my opinion because whoever does any kind of social activism or uplift work in this country deserves an award from all of us. It’s between sabahat and sanasaleem on this one, because I feel that as a downtrodden part of our society ie the female one.These two do a lot to raise voices about issues pertaining to this gender’s problems. I can’t pick, you tell me!

Best sports blog
Sports pulse, Abdul muqeet
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?6VwhdZ06

Its comprehensive it came from an idea that two guys in Karachi had and it is really worth reading and following for up to the minute coverage and articles on a variety of sports.

Best travel blog
Iexplorepakistan, Danial shah
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?Pdp6XzPx

A travel phtographer’s blog showing you Pakistan through his eyes as he travels all across it, really inspiring work.

Best Urdu blog
Abu shami,  Fahad kethar
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?8Zlr2Gmk

Lots of interesting entries in this section also but Fahad’s blog still does it for me so will go for it. This won last year to but until there is something out there that’s better I can’t pick anyone else.

Best video blog
247online.tv, Faisal qureshi
http://pakistanblogawards.com/?pNqgZQk7

It’s not just a video blog, it’s an on-demand channel for shows on news, current affairs, youth etc, nothing else even comes close in this category!

So that’s my list. The categories I have skipped over have clear winners in them hence I do not think they need bear more deliberation. I have to say though that after having gone over all of these sections and the blogs nominated in them, the judges have a tough ask this year as many of the blogs are very very high in quality and thus the field is very level. So seriously no pressure here at all!

Just a footnote though, the blog awards make a lot of very poignant sense to me as a blogger, the website hosting them however is another story altogether. May the best blog win!
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As published in TFT on 2/12/2011