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Wednesday
Jan252012
Proposed Changes to the Ninjamatics' Canadian Weblog Awards Category List
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
For this coming 2012 Ninjamatics' Canadian Weblog Awards season, I am planning on making a few changes to the the categories.
As these Awards grow up and the world of weblogs goes through its own shifts and changes, the categories need a little fine tuning. Some categories in the the 2011 season's categories have proven to be a poor fit for some weblogs, some categories will do better being incorporated into others, and some may or may not need to be in the list at all.
I have come up with a proposed 2012 category list that removes the Microblog category, as microblogging platforms such as Twitter are quite a different animal from weblogs, and they aren't a good fit here. I have combined Business & Career with Military, Arts & Culture with Music, and Gardening with Nature. A new category I am proposing as part of an answer to this question is Disability, although that specific title is tentative.
Here is the proposed Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards category list:
As these Awards grow up and the world of weblogs goes through its own shifts and changes, the categories need a little fine tuning. Some categories in the the 2011 season's categories have proven to be a poor fit for some weblogs, some categories will do better being incorporated into others, and some may or may not need to be in the list at all.
I have come up with a proposed 2012 category list that removes the Microblog category, as microblogging platforms such as Twitter are quite a different animal from weblogs, and they aren't a good fit here. I have combined Business & Career with Military, Arts & Culture with Music, and Gardening with Nature. A new category I am proposing as part of an answer to this question is Disability, although that specific title is tentative.
Here is the proposed Ninjamatics' 2012 Canadian Weblog Awards category list:
Art & Photography / Art et photographieWhat are your thoughts on this list? Are there categories that you think can be added, subtracted, or combined? Do you have any thoughts about the category titles? What should the title be for the Disability category?
Arts & Culture / Arts et culture
Best Designed / Meilleur design
Best New Weblog / Meilleur nouveau blogue
Best Written / Meilleurs textes
Business & Career / Affaires et carrières
Comics / Bande dessinée
Crafting / Artisanat
Disability (or Special Needs, maybe?)
Ecology & Social Justice / Écologie et justice sociale
Education / Education
Ex-Pat / Expatriés
Family & Parenting / Famille et enfants
Fashion, Style & Design / Mode, style et design
Feminist / Féminisme
Food & Drink / Cuisine et breuvages
French Language / En français
Group Weblog / Blogue collectif
Health & Wellness / Santé et bien-être
Humour / Humour
LGBTQ / GLBTQ
Life / Mode de vie
Lifetime Achievement / Prix d'excellence pour l'ensemble de son œuvre
Media & Journalism / Médias et journalisme
Nature and Gardening / Nature et Jardinage
Placeblog / Placeblogue
Podcast & Vlog / Podcast et vlog
Political / Politique
Pop Culture & Entertainment / Pop culture et spectacles
Religion, Spirituality & Philosophy / Religion, spiritualité et philosophie
Science, Technology & the Internet / Science, technologie et Internet
Sports, Fitness & Recreation / Sports, condition physique et loisirs
Travel / Voyage
Writing & Literature / Écriture et littérature
Reader Comments (16)
Probably a good idea. While it was nice to be short-listed in the "Music" category, it would have meant more if there were more than five nominees.
Some of the blogs currently categorized under "Music" might be a better fit in "Pop Culture & Entertainment" than "Arts & Culture" though.
I would like to see the Ecology and Social Justice one changed to Activism and Social Change. I think it would broaden the topic up a bit.
Fabulous that you're growing and changing as the awards grow as well!!!! Thanks for all the time you put into this... I've found some fabulous blogs and "met" some wonderful people through the the Ninjamatics Weblog Awards!
I left a very long comment in another thread so I won't repeat myself too much here. But, I like having a separate category for Disability (maybe "People with Disabilities"? ... It's hard to think of a category name appropriately inclusive of both people who themselves have disabilities and also their parents/families etc.)
In the other thread I questioned why "ecology" was lumped in with "social justice" ... but I do think annie above is on the right track in suggesting "activism and social change" ... I could more easily see ecology and social justice both fitting under this umbrella, or something with a similar name. Funny how a name change helps broaden up your conception of what "fits."
Wondering if there was a category that would best fit a blog like mine - something possibly called the "Random Crap" or "Writing for the sake of writing" category since I cover so many topics I cannot be thrown into one specific category (except the lifetime achievement) since I've been doing this so damn long :)
I still get props for being a "Daddy blogger" which is very cool, but I'm not all about parenting, you know. I'm all about coffee, politics, kids, live-in caregivers (don't ask) and all things Toronto and Canada. I'm all over the place, like my grade 5 teacher told me.
What say you, the experts?
Cheers.
If you lump in gardening with nature, and lose ecology to a more general category of activism/social change, the risk is that any focus on the environment will be diluted or lost. Great discussion. Keep up the good work, CanWeblogAwards!
I appreciate the effort to focus the categories...I have one suggestion to add - With so many great food blogs out there, it would be nice to see the Food and Drink category expanded/divided to include more of them! One idea could be to create a separate category for Special Diets - the number of blogs focusing on special dietary needs (like gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, low sodium, paleo) are growing and they are good resources for people who follow these diets!
I think those changes make sense and although I only follow one or two disability blogs it's an area I think deserves more recognition, so I'd be glad to see it have its own category. Not sure what the name would be. You could call it (Dis)Ability or something similar.
General Purpose would fit my blog's focus. That is not quite the same as a Best Overall category - which implies that a blog is of the very best quality, regardless of category.
At my own blog, I may write about any of a dozen distinct category topics as at any time: Political, (life) Personal, Music /Writing, Business, Sports, Tech., Media, local matters...
I think disability should simply be special needs. I prefer that term.
I think Design should have its own category - Decor and Design, leaving Fashion / Style on its own as well.
Also, there should be limitation with regards to same themed blogs, like mommy blogs and cooking blogs, especially if content is the same among the selected blogs.
Like the movie awards, perhaps a category just for pretty photos, this could work for some of the cooking blogs because once visiting these blogs they have really nice photos but the recipes are not original.
As for the mommy blogs, are they selected for their parenting insight or because it is a "welcome to my life" type of blog. Perhaps some of these these blogs should be under a new category - personal journey?
Thanks
Why nominate 14 mommy blogs when all of them offer the same content? It is the same content, over and over and over again......
Mary Ellen, that's how categories work: they put similar blogs together to find the best of the ones that are similar. Also, you have to take into account that we only have 35 nominees processed at this point. By the end of November, we will likely have over 500.
That said, the diversity in these awards depends on people like you who nominate the blogs, so if you want to see more diversity, nominate the blogs that will increase it. You're the one with the power here.
Please, please, please, do not call the disability category 'special needs'. There is a general consensus in the disability community that 'disability' is just fine as a term. Things like 'special needs' or 'differently abled' are the kinds of euphemistic terminology that we are trying to eliminate. The growing movement towards 'disability pride' is developing a real momentum ... we are who we are ... disabled and proud.
Thank you for the feedback! This helps me a lot, because I am well aware that I have a lot to learn, which is why I reached out.
I have already settled on the category tile of Disability, and now I just need to find the correct French translation. I have been told that the direct translation might be inappropriate, but my language skills aren't enough to translate it properly. If you know the translation or know someone who might, let me know!
There appear to be two approaches taken to the translation of the term disability. The federal government always seems to rephrase things in French so that they can refer to a person with a disability, rather than just disability. So a page that in English is called "Disability" would, in French, be called "Personnes handicapées" (people with disabilities). In Quebec, they frequently use the term "L’invalidité" for disability, but also sometimes go with the rephrasing to "Personnes handicapées".