Our longtime blogfriend Kevin Aylward (of Wizbang fame) is enjoying record success with his annual Weblog Awards.
After a few years of being shut out of the process, OTB has been nominated for Best Major Blog. It would appear that we have more “Authority” than readers, as we’re currently next-to-last, narrowly holding off Joe Gandleman’s Moderate Voice for last place. OTB can’t possibly win, so if you’ve got a dog in the fight between AutoBlog, InstaPundit, and the mommy blog, feel free to vote your conscience. If not, please vote for us to spare us the indignity of losing.
Dave Schuler‘s other blog, The Glittering Eye, is making a respectable showing in the Best Small Blog category, which appears to be going to something called Rumproast (I shudder to think what it might be).
Kate McMillan, who went from OTB commenter to part of the first crew of guest authors to co-blogger here to become easily Canada’s most influential blogger is currently in a tight race with Ace for Best Conservative Blog. Her site, small dead animals, has won Best Canadian Blog every year the award has existed (2004-2007) until apparently being barred from the competition this year to give someone else a chance.
No bloggers with such close OTB ties are nominated in other categories.
Michelle Malkin’s Hot Air and Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish are duking it out for Best Blog. They’re both regular reads and outstanding blogs, so you can’t go wrong either way. Sully is one of the pioneers of the blogosphere and the only blog that I’ve read consistently since before I took up blogging myself six years ago. Hot Air is one of the more innovative sites out there and has gotten better with the addition of Ed Morrissey, who had a standout blog before joining forces with Allah. I’d give it to Sully, though. He’s on a list of maybe five bloggers who I consider truly indispensible.
Michael J. Totten is currently edging out Juan Cole, who’s running a rather nasty “beat the neocons” campaign, for Best Middle East or Africa Blog. Vote Totten, vote often.
Michael Yon is currently edging Blackfive for Best Military Blog. If this were 2005 and it was Mike against Matt, it would be a toss-up that I’d probably give to Matt. The addition of other bloggers to the mix at the latter, however, has shifted the signal-to-noise ratio decidedly in Yon’s favor.
Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight is running away with Best Political Coverage and rightly so.
None of my favorite liberal blogs is nominated in that category, so no endorsement from me.
I recommend boycotting Best Blog Design. I have no idea how any of the blogs got nominated for the category. Only two of them are even remotely attractive and none of them are at all innovative. There are quite literally hundreds of free WordPress themes that are nicer.
