Irish Blog Awards 2007

Should we blog less and try to get out more?  Well if it means meeting more bloggers, I’m all for it!

I’ll post more about Saturday’s Blog Awards when I get a little time.  It was a great night!  Some I met last year are old friends now, but there are 4 times more Irish blogs now than then.  It was great to meet the new faces of blogs I’ve started to read in the past year.

Well done to Damien – and WELL DONE to Bernie, who handed his “Best Contribution” Bloscar over to Damien!  I agree with James about the huge value of Bernie’s contribution.  He is the person most responsible for inspiring me to blog and to podcast.  But Bernie saw the problem in Damien’s refusal to accept any recognition for his own work – and took matters into his own hands on the stage!  Well done!

Comhgháirdeachas le Hilary NY!  As sponsor of the Irish language award, I was delighted with the standard of nominations in this category.  Hilary’s win is a tribute to her own achievement and also recognises the wonderful work of Irish language organisations in America.

And I have some nice things for my own mantlepiece too after the weekend: Best Podcaster and Best Podcast!  Thanks to Microsoft and Newsletter.ie for sponsoring these awards.  It was nice to meet Microsoft’s Clare Dillon for the first time, and of course Newsletter.ie supported An Líonra Sóisialta last year (Hi Dave, Therese and Chris!).  Thanks to everyone who supported An Líonra Sóisialta, An tImeall and Edgecast Media over the past year.  Stay subscribed – we’re only getting started!  🙂

Irish Blog Awards Podcast Sponsorship Opportunity

The Irish Blog Awards take place this Saturday in Dublin.  I’m sponsoring one of the award categories, and I’ll also be producing the official podcast – if we can find a sponsor.

This will be a 45 – 60 minute audio programme and it will include all of the presentations and speeches as well as interviews with a variety of participants.  The intention is to capture the spirit and flavour of Irish blogging’s big social occasion – the Bloscars!

The show will be published on the Irish Blog Awards site at awards.ie (and feature as an RSS enclosure in that feed and in others as well).  Given that Irish bloggers are the stars of this show, it’s not unreasonable to assume that viral propagation will ensue!

If you’re interested in sponsoring the Irish Blog Awards Podcast 2007, get in touch with me, or with the Awards organiser, Damien Mulley.

Old School

Jett Loe’s last two podcasts are well worth a listen.  Letter to America – Chapter 56 – The Airport is Jett at his surreal best!  In Chapter 57, Jett and Erin Parrish turn their attention to their fellow nominees in the Irish Blog Awards, Best Podcast category.

And what a discovery they made in “Old Bones“!  This is gorgeous blogging and podcasting: lovely essays read aloud.  The author is a lady of senior years, and the material is all the better for her experience.  I can hear echoes of activities some say are becoming a lost art in our electronic age, like letter-writing, and reading aloud.

Sometimes, when I flick through the radio channels on a Sunday evening, I come across a radio play on RTE Radio 1.  Monologues are a frequent feature of this kind of disembodied, stageless theatre.  It doesn’t matter what it’s about (and the quality isn’t even always that important) – the change of pace and style from the usual soundbites is what draws me in each and every time.

I wouldn’t be surprised if “Old Bones” has experience of radio drama.  I’d guess she’s a mainstay of her local amateur theatre group, or reads in church, or recites poetry?  Like the Sunday evening radio players, she’s got me hanging on every word.

Browsing “Old Bones” blog, I found references to “Grandad“.  He’s another senior blogger, and a nominee in 4 categories at the Irish Blog Awards.  Irish blogs are looking better and better!

Voting on the Irish Blog Awards closes today at 5pm.  I’m nominated in 4 categories and you’ll find my entry at the top of the Best Podcast list, titled An Lionra – 06 12 06.

Irish Blogs Awards Voting Commences

Over at Awards.ie, Damien and Jason have opened the voting on the nominees for this years Irish Blog Awards.

I’m sponsoring the award for the Best Use Of The Irish Language In A Blog.  This is the award I won last year, and I couldn’t be happier with quality and variety of entries for the category.

I’m also delighted to see that Irish language blogs have been nominated in other categories also, as I had hoped they would be in my acceptance speech last year.  This year sees Irish language (and bilingual) blogs nominated in 14 other categories besides.

I measca na blaganna Gaeilge (agus breac-Ghaeilge) atá ainmnithe tá: An Spailpín Fánach, An tImeall, Ach go hÁirithe, An Cainteoir Dóchais, Chetwynde Downs, Léigh Ar Mo T-Léine É, An Caomhach, An Saol, Cumann Carad na Gaeilge, Faoi Dhéin An Dorais, Spudshow, Arm Runda na Gaeilge, Blag Shomhairle, Hilary NY, MH Wombat, nobyegarawn, Roinnt Smaointe, Seo Panu ag labhairt agus Smaointe Fanacha Aonghusa.  Má tá éinne in easnamh anseo, abair liom é!

I hope to see as many of these as possible make it through the voting stages to the final shortlist, and I look forward to meeting them at the awards event.  Go n-éirí libh!

It’s all down to the voting then!  It’s been open since Friday, and it will close next Friday.  Go here to vote!

I’ve been nominated in a number of categories.  If you would like to support me, they are as follows: Best Blog (An tImeall), Best Contribution to the Irish Bloggersphere, Best Podcaster (Edgecast Media – Conn O Muineachain), Best Podcast (An Líonra 06 12 06 – Episode 11.3 – MP3)

BarCamping

Imeall #173 suffers from a little overmodulation.  I was trying out a new setup.  If you’re here for the podcasting tips, it’s an example of what not to do.  (See here for my Barcamp talk on audio quality.)

It’s listenable though and, as usual, it includes this week’s Lá Nua column.  This week I’m talking about blogger meetups, Barcamps, Geek Dinners and the Irish Blog Awards.  It seems as if these have gathered pace in the past few months.  Right now we are spoiled for choice.

Since the column went to press, there’s been a BarCamp explosion, with plans being discussed for meetings in Cork, Dublin and Galway.  Bring it on, I say!   My only problem with Barcamp Waterford was that there were too many things and I couldn’t get to attend everything I wanted.  There is more than enough BarCamp fodder to sustain Dublin, Cork and Galway gatherings – and Limerick, Sligo and Athlone as well!

I like Damien’s idea of themed BarCamps.  That said, I have a new BarCamping strategy.  I’m going to concentrate more on meeting people rather than rushing off to attend the next session.  The only way this works for me is if I know that all the sessions are being podcast – so I can get them later.  All the sessions in Waterford were videoed, but I haven’t seen those published anywhere yet.  The only podcasts I’ve heard so far were the two that Bernie and I did, plus Donncha Ó Caoimh’s (which was fascinating!)  Does anybody know if the video is going to be published from BarCamp Waterford?

Edgecast Media sponsor The Irish Blog Awards

Last year’s inaugural Irish Blog Awards was a warm and wonderful occasion.  Not only were past achievements acknowledged and recognised, but I firmly believe the occasion provided an important impetus and contributed to the growth and development of Irish blogs in the 12 months that have followed.

My wife Margaret and I had a very enjoyable time, and it was great to be among the winners on the day.  An tImeall won the award for the Best Use of The Irish Language in a Blog.

This year I’m delighted to announce that Edgecast Media is sponsoring that same category.  I’m happy to support the award which recognised my efforts in 2006.  In fact it was one of the things which encouraged me and set me on the path to the success which followed later in the year.

Blogging is a social activity which has the power to draw hundreds of people together on a Saturday in Dublin.  But each and every blog starts with a personal passion.  In my case it was the Irish language, and the desire for more opportunities to use it on a daily basis.

The Irish language is gaining in strength and status in recent years and, in the online world, a growing gaelic community is gaining in the confidence to contribute to the production of their own media.

Nominations close tomorrow.  Later, public balloting will decide shortlists for each category.

In my acceptance speech last year, I expressed the hope that Irish language blogs would feature in the other categories as well.  So, do keep that in mind as you nominate this year.  For example, HilaryNY could be nominated for Best Personal Blog or An Spailpín Fánach for Best Sports Blog.  And while, as sponsor, I am ineligible for the Irish category this year, I’d be delighted to be nominated as Best Podcaster – although I expect stiff competition for this category!

If you need help finding Irish language blogs, visit kinja.com/user/gaeilge.  I plan to get an OPML list up shortly as well.

Nascanna breise:

• Annette‘s another former winner who’s giving it back this year!

From An tImeall:

• Irish Blog Awards are front page news on Lá Nua.
• My column this week from Lá Nua.