Irish Blog Awards

Rick O’Shea is first to be thanked. 6 years of being MC, not charging a penny and making his own way to the awards each time. Rick nominates a charity if we do better than break even. Thank you Rick.

Brian Green has been our sound man and DJ for the past 6 years and makes it all work well.

Ryan Whalley is the photo guru. Makes everyone look pretty.

Fran Hollywood is the blow-in to the group but has been supplying props for the past few years to the Blogs and the Web Awards. Customised props make the Awards go to Eleven.

Here are the rogues on stage:

The above four people are so easy to work with. You give them a date, a theme and they turn up on the day and just work without having to be told what needs doing.

John Blackbourn is the web guru that does all the Blog Awards machinations and judging systems. Without him we’d still be on excel sheets.

I’ll probably forget someone else too, sorry in advance. Remind me and I’ll add your name. I do have a dodgy brain!

Thanks to Alexia, Elana, Suzy, Steven D, Stephen B, Charles, John Williams, Andrew, Klara, Tommy, Eolai and more who have helped out over the past 6 years too.

Thanks to the sponsors who have continually supported the Awards for the past few years, to those that volunteer to judge and to those that nominate blogs they like and love.

This year a special thanks to Jacqui from WhatsOnNI, to the staff in the Europa (Esp Tina) showing how hotels can easily look after a Blog Awards, to Davy MacDonald for the graphics work, Grannymar for scouting hotels, to Curious Cupcakes for making the cupcakes this year and to Island Clothing for the t-shirts to give away to the audience. If you want your own Blog Awards t-shirt, see their store. Thanks too to BT for the WiFi vouchers. Don’t forget too to buy some of the Eolai paintings that were on display.

To the bloggers who blog to express, to share and to bridge divides, if you didn’t exist, the awards would not. Thank you and keep going.

Rick O’Shea is also the last to be thanked. Through the slings and arrows Rick makes sure that an event runs smoothly even if fate or gobshites do their best to make it do differently. Rick is one of the most professional people I’ve dealt with and I would love to work with him again and look forward to another year or two of the Web Awards and to start Project X later this year. (Which turned out to be the Social Media Awards)

The final lap – Blog Awards 2011

Damien — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:51:46 +0000

So here’s the lowdown for March 19th in the Europa Hotel.

Tickets on sale here until Friday evening.

Doors are at 7pm, event kicks off at 8pm. Attire is informal. The awards ceremony ends at 10:30 and then a DJ takes over. We keep partying until we get kicked out. @Rickoshea is your host and has been doing this without a fee for the past 6 years, give him a follow and clap at his antics.

Finalists:
Each category is called out, winner announced. Comes to the stage and can give a thank you speech. Tears, tantrums and dancing is allowed in a thank you speech. We’ve also had song. All are welcome.

After winning you come off the stage and get your official photo taken with the category sponsor.

Other bits:
WiFi is provided by BT. We can give you vouchers at the door.
The official account for the Blog Awards is @IrishBlogAwards
Hashtag is #iba11
The Shhmooze networking app will be at the event. Download for iPhone if you want to use it.

2011 Tickets on Sale

Damien — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:49:26 +0000

The tickets for the 2011 Blog Awards are now on sale at €16.99 each from Tickets.ie. Tickets not on sale at the door and last online orders will be Saturday morning.

Europa Hotel new deal

Damien — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:42:16 +0000

The Europa has sent this on to us and we’re letting you know about this deal:

The Awards Weekend special includes:

One night’s bed and breakfast on Friday March 18 for only £40 pps & a complimentary cocktail.

Two night’s bed and breakfast on Friday March 18 and Saturday March 19 for only £80 pps & a complimentary cocktail.

If you’ve already booked your room at our regular rate on Saturday you can still take advantage of the 2-night deal should you decide to stay on Friday night as well. Just let us know by calling 028 9027 1066.

2011 Irish Blog Awards Finalists

Damien — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:49:48 +0000

Irish Blog Awards are on Twitter if you want to be updated on the competition. Please note you will need to buy your ticket online for the Blog Awards this year. Tickets on sale very soon.

Good luck and we hope to see you on March 19th in Belfast. We may have made some errors below by leaving in a multiple nominee or two. If we did, we’ll correct it.

Best Popculture blog

– Sponsored by Movies.ie

Best Food/Drink Blog

– Sponsored by Bord Bia

Best Lifestyle

– Sponsored by Beaut.ie

Best Music Blog

– Sponsored by

Best Photo Blog

– Sponsored by Pix.ie

Best Technology Blog/Blogger

– Sponsored by Bitbuzz

Best Sport and Recreation Blog

– Sponsored by WHPR Sports Marketing

Best Blog of a Business

– Sponsored by Newsletter.ie

Best Arts and Culture Blog

– Sponsored by Culture.ie

Best Blog from a Journalist

– Sponsored by BVisible

Best News/Current Affairs Blog

– Sponsored by dediserve

Best Group Blog

– Sponsored by Spiral Hosting

Best Political Blog

– Sponsored by Politics.ie

Best Blog of a Politician

– Sponsored by Leviathan.ie

Use of the Irish Language in a Blog

– Sponsored by Edgecast Media

~~http://spanishexposition.blogspot.com~~

http://igaeilge.wordpress.com

Best Specialist Blog

– Sponsored by iQ Content

Best Newcomer

– Sponsored by

Best Youth Blog

– Sponsored by Spunout.ie

~~loladee.com~~

Best Personal Blog

– Sponsored by Insure.ie

Best Science/Education Blog

– Sponsored by Microsoft Ireland’s Developer and Platform Group

Best Humour Blog

– Sponsored by YoreMa

Best Blog Post

– Sponsored by KRO IT Solutions

Best Blog

– Grand Prix – Sponsored by LG
Announced on the night

Science/Education 2011 – Shortlists

Damien — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:51:02 +0000

Best Science/Education Blog

– Sponsored by Microsoft Ireland’s Developer and Platform Group

Humour 2011 – Shortlists

Damien — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:49:17 +0000

Best Humour Blog

– Available to sponsor

Personal 2011 – Shortlists

Damien — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:47:37 +0000

Best Personal Blog

– Sponsored by Insure.ie

Error fixed, this is the shortlists, not finalists

Youth 2011 – Finalists

Damien — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:43:12 +0000

Best Youth Blog

– Available to sponsor