Meet the 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards Jurors

Are you wondering what makes the Ninjamatics' Canadian Weblog Awards tick? As awards that are ruled by jury rather than popular vote, it's our jurors that make these awards possible.

Every year, our jury is made up entirely of volunteers from all over the world, and this year was no exception. This year, we had 51 jurors from not only Canada but also places like the United States, England, and Australia, and they each put in hours of work over the month of January through two rounds of adjudication, narrowing down 461 blogs to find our 2012 winners. I am so proud of the work they do, and I am thrilled to introduce you to some of them (we're still adding bios). Click through to meet some of our esteemed Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards jury:



To all of our jury members, you have our deep gratitude. Thank you so much for all you do, and thank you for making these awards what they are!

Nominations for the Ninjamatics' 2013 Canadian Weblog Awards Are Open!

The Ninjamatics' 2013 Canadian Weblog Awards nomination form is now live!

We will gather nominations throughout the year from now until October 31, 2013, and each nominated blog will be added to our growing 2013 Canadian Weblog Awards nominees blogroll as they are nominated. The weblogs will be adjudicated by a volunteer jury through two rounds during the month of November, and the winners of the Ninjamatics' 2013 Canadian Weblog Awards will be announced on December 1, 2013.

As we do every year to better accommodate our nominees, we have made a number of changes to the categories for this year's awards. New categories and those with changed names are in bold.

• Art & Photography and Crafting have been combined to create Art, Crafting & Photography.
• The Best Designed and Best Written categories have been removed. These categories will be nominated by our volunteer jurors during adjudication of the nominated blogs.
• Best New Weblog has been removed, because, by the time the awards are announced, some of the nominated weblogs are already well over a year old.
• We have added a brand new category called Finance for all things both home and business finance, including couponing.
• We have added another brand new category called Green Living for those blogs about living ecologically mindful lives.
• Nature & Gardening has become Gardening, and Science, Technology & the Internet has become Technology & the Internet, and the leftover Nature and Science have been combined to create Science & Nature.
• Pop Culture & Entertainment has been absorbed by Arts & Culture.

So, check out our full list of categories and head on over to our Ninjamatics' 2013 Canadian Weblog Awards nomination form to nominate great Canadian blogs for our new 2013 awards season!

The Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards Winners!

The Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards winners are here!

Over the past year, the Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards saw 467 weblogs nominated across 36 categories. Our 51 volunteer jurors worked hard over the course of this January using our ten criteria to judge each of the 467 weblogs in the first round and each of the approximately 180 weblogs in the second round to arrive at our winners. Our jurors have been an incredible group to work with, and I wish I could adequately express the level of my gratitude, because they are what really make these Awards possible as a tool to promote weblogs of quality across Canada.

And now, without further ado, we are thrilled to announce the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in the Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards!

Best Weblog About Activism & Social Justice
Activisme et la justice sociale

First: Weighty Matters
Second: Mind of Change
Third: PhD in Parenting

Best Weblog About Art & Photography
Art et photographie

First: Just a Smidgen
Second: Kelly Neil
Third: Postcards from the Mothership

Best Weblog About Arts & Culture
Arts et culture

First: Production Ottawa
Second: Vancity Bride
Third: CVV Magazine

Best Designed Weblog
Meilleur design

First: Everybody Likes Sandwiches
Second: Suzy Krause + the Skyscrapers
Third: Pepper + Paint

Best New Weblog (for weblogs created after July 31, 2011)
Meilleur nouveau blogue (blogues créés après le 31 juillet 2011)

First: Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies
Second: Mondays with Mac
Third: A Swell Place to Dwell

Best Written Weblog
Meilleurs textes

First: Finding Me In France
Second: Simple Bites
Third: Farewell Stranger

Best Weblog About Business & Career
Affaires et carrières

First: Kyla Roma
Second: Women On The Fence
Third: Productivityist.com

Best Comics Weblog
Bande dessinée

First: Comics! The Blog
Second: Hark! A Vagrant
Third: Mui-Ko

Best Weblog About Crafting
Artisanat

First: A Swell Place to Dwell
Second: Dragonfly Designs
Third: All About Ami

Best Weblog About Disability
Disability

First: Rolling Around In My Head
Second: wildheart
Third: Painfully Optomistic

Best Weblog About Education
Education

First: Figure/Ground Communication
Second: IP Osgoode IPilogue
Third: The Canadian Homeschooler

Best Weblog by an Ex-Pat (a Canadian living abroad)
Expatriés

First: Finding Me In France
Second: Planting Dandelions
Third: Journey Mama

Best Weblog About Family & Parenting
Famille et enfants

First: Mondays with Mac
Second: PhD in Parenting
Third: Farewell Stranger

Best Weblog About Fashion, Style & Design
Mode, style et design

First: Vancity Bride
Second: Lili Brunette
Third: Style Blog

Best Feminist Weblog
Féminisme

First: Gender Focus
Second: Brilliant Woman
Third: the spirit that moves me

Best Weblog About Food & Drink
Cuisine et breuvages

First: Everybody Likes Sandwiches
Second: Les Tuyaux bouffe de Katerine-Lune Rollet
Third: Simple Bites

Best French Language Weblog
En français

First: Lili Brunette
Second: Les Tuyaux bouffe de Katerine-Lune Rollet
Third: Quelquepart

Best General Interest Weblog (for weblogs that cover a range of topics)
Intérêt général

First: Calgary is Awesome
Second: The Best of This Life
Third: Beams and Struts

Best Group Weblog
Blogue collectif

First: I Dig Your Girlfriend
Second: Calgary is Awesome
Third: Simply Stacie

Best Weblog About Health & Wellness
Santé et bien-être

First: Weighty Matters
Second: PlayGroundology
Third: Sober Julie Doing Life

Best Humour Weblog
Humour

First: The Art of Doing Stuff
Second: Dirty Rotten Parenting
Third: Welcome to Kafkaville (Pop.1)

Best LGBTQ Weblog
GLBTQ

First: I Dig Your Girlfriend
Second: Mondays with Mac
Third: Crazy Lesbian Mom

Best Life Weblog
Mode de vie

First: Oh Clementine
Second: Planting Dandelions
Third: Farewell Stranger

Lifetime Achievement Award (for weblogs created before January 1, 2007)
Prix d'excellence pour l'ensemble de son œuvre (blogues créés avant le 1er janvier 2007)

Miss Tracey Nolan's Blog

Best Media & Journalism Weblog
édias et journalisme

First: Concert Addicts
Second: Production Ottawa
Third: CMS Critic

Best Weblog About Nature & Gardening
Nature et jardinage

First: You Grow Girl
Second: Empress of Dirt
Third: Strattons Farm

Best Placeblog (contains local political/social/arts/community articles about a place)
Placeblogue (contenant des articles sur la politique/vie sociale/arts/communauté dans une localité)

First: Vancity Bride
Second: CVV Magazine
Third: CornerBrooker.com

Best Podcast & Vlog
Podcast et vlog

First: The Glory, The Glory
Second: Erin's Tea
Third: Chonilla.com

Best Political Weblog
Politique

First: On Procedure & Politics
Second: CalgaryLiberal.com
Third: Russ Campbell's Blog

Best Weblog About Pop Culture & Entertainment
Pop culture et spectacles

First: Sidewalk Hustle
Second: Style Blog
Third: Scene Creek

Best Weblog About Religion, Spirituality & Philosophy
Religion, spiritualité et philosophie

First: Sarah Bessey
Second: The Conscious Perspective
Third: Pineapple Pieces

Best Weblog About Science, Technology & the Internet
Science, technologie et Internet

First: Michael Geist
Second: CMS Critic
Third: Productivityist.com

Best Weblog About Sports, Fitness & Recreation
Sports, condition physique et loisirs

First: PlayGroundology
Second: Calgary Playground Review
Third: Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies

Best Weblog About Topical
Topique

First: One Smiley Monkey
Second: BuyCanadianFirst.ca: The Good Shopper Blog
Third: An Italian-Canadian Life

Best Weblog About Travel
Voyage

First: Candice Does The World
Second: I Backpack Canada
Third: SpunkyGirl Monologues

Best Weblog About Writing & Literature
Écriture et littérature

First: Bella's Bookshelves
Second: Intralingo
Third: Mike's Bloggity Blog


Congratulations to all the winners! If you are a winner, grab a button for your blog and sing it from the rooftops.

Nominations for the Ninjamatics' 2013 Canadian Weblog Awards open tomorrow, so nominate your favourites for the coming year once the form goes live again at midnight!

The 2012 Ninjamatics Canadian Weblog Awards Nominees Shortlist!

In this first of two jury rounds, 51 jurors have adjudicated 465 weblogs using our 10 criteria to narrow down our search to the top five blogs shortlisted in each of 36 categories.

Our jurors have done an incredible job over the last two weeks reading through hundreds of nominations, weathering my many exclamation marks in emails, and taking a critical eye to some of Canada's best. We are thrilled to finally bring you the 2012 Ninjamatics Canadian Weblog Awards nominees shortlist!

The following list shows the top five blogs in each of 36 categories in no particular ranking order:

Activism & Social Justice / Activisme et la justice sociale

Beams and Struts
PhD in Parenting
Weighty Matters
Working Mother Chronicles
Mind of Change

Art & Photography / Art et photographie

Suzy Krause + the Skyscrapers
All About Ami
Kelly Neil
Just a Smidgen
Postcards from the Mothership

Arts & Culture / Arts et culture

Production Ottawa
Vancity Bride
Pepper + Paint
Calgary is Awesome
CVV Magazine

Best Designed / Meilleur design

Everybody Likes Sandwiches
I'm an Organizing Junkie
Suzy Krause + the Skyscrapers
Pepper + Paint
Style Blog

Best New Weblog / Meilleur nouveau blogue

Mondays with Mac
Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies
Dirty Rotten Parenting
Voodies
A Swell Place to Dwell

Best Written / Meilleurs textes

Simple Bites
Seven Spoons
Clockwork Lemon
Farewell Stranger
Finding Me In France

Business & Career / Affaires et carrières

Women On The Fence
Kyla Roma
Strattons Farm
On Product Management
Productivityist.com

Comics / Bande dessinée

Comics! The Blog
Mui-Ko
Hark! A Vagrant

Crafting / Artisanat

All About Ami
A Swell Place to Dwell
Le Système D
Dragonfly Designs
Holly Knitlightly

Disability

Rants n' Rascals
Painfully Optomistic
wildheart
Rolling Around In My Head
writesfromtheheart

Education / Education

Figure/Ground Communication
Canadian Unschooler
The Canadian Homeschooler
Nour-ish
IP Osgoode IPilogue

Ex-Pat / Expatriés

Finding Me In France
Planting Dandelions
Munchin With Munchkin
Journey Mama
Suma Lifestyle

Family & Parenting / Famille et enfants

Mondays with Mac
Women On The Fence
Farewell Stranger
PhD in Parenting
Planting Dandelions

Fashion, Style & Design / Mode, style et design

I'm an Organizing Junkie
Sidewalk Hustle
Vancity Bride
Lili Brunette
Style Blog

Feminist / Féminisme

Dammit Janet
Brilliant Woman
Gender Focus
The Spirit That Moves Me
Caraz Comment

Food & Drink / Cuisine et breuvages

Simple Bites
Seven Spoons
Everybody Likes Sandwiches
I'm an Organizing Junkie
Les Tuyaux bouffe de Katerine-Lune Rollet

French Language / En français

Les Tuyaux bouffe de Katerine-Lune Rollet
Lili Brunette
Quelquepart
Le Système D
Les imaginaires de la table

General Interest / Intérêt général

Beams and Struts
Calgary is Awesome
Simply Stacie
CVV Magazine
The Best of This Life

Group Weblog / Blogue collectif

I Dig Your Girlfriend
Calgary is Awesome
Simply Stacie
365 Attempts (At Life)
Tales from a Bar Stool

Health & Wellness / Santé et bien-être

PlayGroundology
Weighty Matters
Crazy Lesbian Mom
Voodies
Sober Julie Doing Life

Humour / Humour

TVDoneWright.com
The Art of Doing Stuff
Just Making Convo
Dirty Rotten Parenting
Welcome to Kafkaville (Pop.1)

LGBTQ / GLBTQ

Mondays with Mac
I Dig Your Girlfriend
Crazy Lesbian Mom
Pineapple Pieces
Milk Junkies

Life / Mode de vie

Suzy Krause + the Skyscrapers
Hopscotch the Globe
Farewell Stranger
Planting Dandelions
Oh Clementine

Lifetime Achievement / Prix d'excellence pour l'ensemble de son œuvre

Seven Spoons
Cheaper Than Therapy
Miss Tracey Nolan's Blog
HelloMelissa.net
Rolling Around In My Head

Media & Journalism / Médias et journalisme

Production Ottawa
CMS Critic
Figure/Ground Communication
Concert Addicts
iPhone In Canada

Nature & Gardening / Nature et jardinage

Strattons Farm
You Grow Girl
Empress of Dirt
A Canadian Foodie
Cooper Road CSA

Placeblog / Placeblogue

Vancity Bride
CVV Magazine
CornerBrooker.com
Calgary Playground Review
Save Money In Winnipeg

Podcast & Vlog / Podcast et vlog

Erin's Tea
Chonilla.com
Foloos.org: Live. Work. Play. Dubai.
The Glory, The Glory

Political / Politique

Dammit Janet
On Procedure & Politics
Russ Campbell's Blog
CalgaryLiberal.com
Real Deal Economics

Pop Culture & Entertainment / Pop culture et spectacles

Pete Hates Music
Sidewalk Hustle
Style Blog
Scene Creek
TVDoneWright.com

Religion, Spirituality & Philosophy / Religion, spiritualité et philosophie

Sarah Bessey
Figure/Ground Communication
Whatever He Says
Pineapple Pieces
The Conscious Perspective

Science, Technology & the Internet / Science, technologie et Internet

CMS Critic
iPhone In Canada
Productivityist.com
The Barefoot Nomad
Michael Geist

Sports, Fitness & Recreation / Sports, condition physique et loisirs

PlayGroundology
Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies
I'm a Hockey Dad
Calgary Playground Review
Down Goes Brown

Topical / Topique

An Italian-Canadian Life
Canadian Free Stuff
Save Money In Winnipeg
BuyCanadianFirst.ca: The Good Shopper Blog
One Smiley Monkey

Travel / Voyage

Les Tuyaux bouffe de Katerine-Lune Rollet
SpunkyGirl Monologues
Candice Does The World
Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies
I Backpack Canada

Writing & Literature / Écriture et littérature

Pickle Me This
Quelquepart
Intralingo
Mike's Bloggity Blog
Bella's Bookshelves


We have one more jury round in which our volunteer jury will again use the ten criteria to find the top three finalists in each category, so stay tuned for our announcement of the 2012 Ninjamatics Canadian Weblog Awards 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners on January 31st!

Let the Adjudicating for the 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards Begin!

Now that the Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards full nominees list has been announced, what are we up to?

Last night, I disbursed 467 blog nominations in 2 languages among our 51 jurors (51!), taking care to spread out the work load as evenly as possible, and so far so good! No jurors have run screaming for the hills (yet), so the jury process is humming along as planned.

We have an amazing jury this year, and I wish I could tell you who they all were before the judging process is over, because all you nominees would be thrilled to know the incredible talent that is adjudicating these awards. I feel so honoured to have such a talented and dedicated group of jurors, and this really speaks to the great community we've been growing in Canadian blogging.

We will announce a shortlist of five blogs for each category on January 15th, and then we will whittle those five down to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in each category, which will be announced on January 31st. I can't wait!

The Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards Nominees Are Here

We (the Palinode and Schmutzie) have worked our way through the 885 nominations that were submitted over 2012 for the Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards, and we finished just in time to greet the new year and begin the jury process. That's right, there were 885 nominations. Not too shabby, Canada.



After thinning the list — during which we removed duplicate nominations, foreign dating sites, and non-Canuck submissions — we came up with our list of 468 impressive nominees. FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY-EIGHT. That's nothing to sneeze at.

Allow us to introduce all 468 Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards nominees!

Blogging Canada, we officially love you.

What happens next? We will organize our volunteer jury members, and each nominated blog will be judged by at least three jury members using our ten criteria. There will be two jury rounds; the first round will decide the top five blogs in each category, which will be announced on January 15th, and the second round will decide the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in each category, which will be announced on January 31st.

So, all of our nominees can sit back and relax. There is no shilling for votes here.

Let the adjudicating begin!

----------------------------

PS. If you were notified of your nomination but don't see your name on our list of nominees, please let us know! Rest assured you are still on our master list for the jurors, but a couple of technical glitches yesterday means that there may be a couple of corrections necessary on our public blogroll.

A Call for Jurors for the 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards

The 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards needs you!

There are more than 850 nominations across 37 categories, and it is now time to organize a jury to judge each weblog against our set of 10 criteria to celebrate the best quality blogs in Canada.

Are you a blogger, or are you a blog reader? Are you Canadian, or are you from another country? Whether you blog or just love reading blogs, whether you are Canadian or not, the 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards might have a spot saved just for you. We need people of all ages, genders, education levels, and professions, so if you are wondering if you have what we are looking for in a jury member, don't worry. You do.

Please fill out the juror application form below and pass it along to anyone you know who might be interested by December 29th!