Surfette

Newsletter #9: White Belt For Life

Watch me bow in Korean martial arts class?

Okay, stop laughing and listen up: My awkward bow and these hottie-mc-hot-hot black pajamas are part of a tiny triumph for me this year. I'd like to share it. I'm talking about my addiction to work. And no, I don't take that phrase lightly.

Tag, I'm it: Five things you don't know about me

Tag: blogtag

Amazing! Charlene Li and Denise Howell, two bloggers I point to as leaders in their fields, analysis and law, have tagged me as part of this virtual holiday cocktail party. Thank you for the compliment.

My job is to tell you five things you may not know about me and then, most importantly, tag five other people in the chain. Here goes:

Newsletter #7: How You Can Help Women Bloggers Save Lives

BlogHer, TheFind.com and Doctors Without Borders kicked off an initiative yesterday that I blogged about in the weekly BlogHer Mommy & Family newsletter. It's a story of how the generosity of a community bloggers created a philanthropic effort to generate $10,000 in vaccinations by people around the world. I'm extremely proud of the solution this advertising community developed for sponsors to support a favorite cause. The story follows...and our official press release is here ~ Lisa

Ever notice that this is the time of year when some people lose their ever-lovin' minds -- over nothing? Check. Out. The "Wii"diculous-ness.

This year, I have the antidote: A beautiful story of seasonal love and generosity. One that turns my sarcastic self into a weepy mamacita prone to bursting into tears and hugging the strangers watching me type in this cafe.

Here goes:

BlogHer's community is a finalist for The Weblog Awards

Cross-posted from BlogHer

BlogHer has been selected as a finalist for Best Online Community by The Weblog Awards!

Congratulations to every one of ten-month-old BlogHer.org's 7,100+ members, 60+ contributing editors and thousands upon thousands of lurkers (yessss, we see you) who read the site or feeds every day.

I like this contest because it's open and public from beginning to end, much like the user prize given by <a href="http://surfette.typepad.com/surfette/2006/11/winners_of_the_.html">The Bobs</a>. Here's how the judges describe this public nomination process and competition:

"The Weblog Awards is about honoring hundreds of blogs (nearly 500 this year) versus the same couple blogs over and over. Blogs are generally limited to appearing as finalists in one category (that's a guideline not an absolute rule), ensuring that the same blog doesn't sweep the awards from top to bottom. The Weblog Awards is about expanding your blog reading horizons by exploring the hundreds of finalists you may not be familiar with..." more

BlogHer is in excellent company -- of the 10-15 blog-finalists in these 45 categories, there are many bloggers whose names will be familiar if you spend time on BlogHer. While I haven't yet audited all 500 finalists for gender parity, I can report my happy surprise that women's blogs appear represented across the board, showcased in categories ranging from medicine, science, law and politics to video blogging, music, world regions and gossip.

Do you agree? Is there a blog here that you think shouldn't be or a blog missing that you'd like to see next year? Congratulations to all the nominees -- I can't resist pointing out that BlogHer Contributing Editor Karen Rani's personal blog http://troll-baby.com is a finalist in the Best Parenting Blog category, alongside this list of rock stars:

Best Parenting Blog

• Rockstar Mommy http://www.rockstarmommy.com/index.php
• Breed 'Em And Weep http://www.breedemandweep.com/
• Lil Duck Duck http://lilduckduck.com/
• Mother Talkers http://www.mothertalkers.com/
• Rocks in my Dryer http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/
• Testosterhome http://testosterhome.blogspot.com/
• Phantom Scribbler http://phantomscribbler.blogspot.com/
• The Delaney Diaries http://delaneydiaries.typepad.com/
• Troll Baby http://troll-baby.com
• Notes from the Trenches http://www.notesfromthetrenches.com/

Wonder what happens next? I did. According to The Weblogs Award site, daily voting for each of these awards begins Thursday. So tune back in then and, believe me, I'll blog it! BlogHer has some very interesting competition:

Best Online Community

• Townhall
• Blogatorium
• BlogHer
• Blogcritics
• Oh No They Didn't!
• Fark
• The Daily Kos
• Street Prophets
• MetaFilter
• Free Republic
• Book Crossing

What do I think?

I think...

(a) this guy already has one of my daily votes, and

(b) this is going to be fun.

How about you -- what do you think?

Tags: weblog awards, Blog Awards