Are the Irish blog awards fixed?
// February 22nd, 2009 // #iba09, damien mulley, irish blog awards
There is something rotten in the state of DamienMark and the Irish blog awards. I had simply thought it was a harmless bit of nonsense which had some weird quirks and oddities. But that someone could not post during almost the entirely of the period that was stated as a minimum requirement for nomination and yet still win an award is more than odd. That two would do so goes beyond passing strange.
The fact is that no one can independently vouch for the judges because no one outside the inner circle knows who the judges are. The rules or even mere guidelines are lacking to the point of being vapour but even the most lax of rules wouldn’t have had two nominees making the short-list for what is meant to be a year’s work when they didn’t post for most of the year in question. The bald fact is that one of those winners only started to post less than 2 weeks before the deadline, while another took a sabbatical for 8 months only returning to resume posting less than 2 weeks before the deadline.
With this kind of arbitrary inclusion and exclusion it is hard not to see the awards as being more about currying favour and jumping on bandwagons than any sort of real assessment of quality over the course of a year. It’s pretty like crowning the league champions on the basis of a few good matches at the end of the season. Having the accolade of being the best for a particular year should mean that you were the best over the course of that period not that you had flashes of excellence here and there. It must be galling for those who lost out that their entire years work wasn’t judged to be as good as a few weeks or a couple of months output by someone else.
Then going beyond that we have the peculiar notion that the winner for best newcomer (a nice young lad by all accounts) was heavily promoted by the organiser and his friends.
Then the winner for best blog from a journalist appears to have provided the goodie bags.
That the winner for best current affairs and ultimately the Grand Prix prize for best blog is also a close friend of the organiser shouldn’t in the normal run of events be a matter of any concern but with everything else that is going on one can’t not mention it. I don’t doubt that it is amongst the best in its category but the absolute best?
In the normal run of events, one or or two of the above you could gloss over but all of them? Then you have the all organisational strangeness. Why have no confirmation for registration that people made in December until just 48 hours beforehand? Especially, when you consider that many people had to travel to attend and stay overnight? Why is no confirmation mail sent to those who nominate of their nomination choices so that they have some proof that they did nominate and who they nominated? Why was it that registration for attendance opened weeks in advance of opening the nominations, meaning people who were nominated couldn’t register to sit at a event that they should have been the focus of? Why is it that we have no publicly available criteria of what is used for the judging? Why is there no confirmation for people that they applied to be judges? Why is it no one can know who the judges are? I applied to be a judge in 2007 but heard nothing back then, other people I know applied last year but heard nothing back. Yet we’re repeatedly told that judging is open to all but that is not true, you can offer to be a judge but the selection of judges is not open. I noticed in my own case some touching on my blog from the judging area of the awards.ie site -I was longlisted for political blog – a few hours before the short-list was posted. Only one of which actually looked at the archive for the previous year. I wouldn’t have had me remotely near the short list but it would be good to know you didn’t make it having actually been really reviewed not just glanced at at the last minute. I wonder how much assessment was really made of other the categories, was it as superficial as that?
Again, none of these things on their own is proof of misdeeds, indeed taken together they might still be a matter of mere coincidence but the absence of any transparency about proceedings must naturally lead to questions. The notion of Ceasar’s wife being above reproach comes to mind. When the process is secret all efforts should be made to ensure that there can be no inference of wrong doing. It might sound dull but the process matters, it takes from the winners that such a cloud should exist over the process and for no good reason either I can understand.
When it comes to our electoral process we don’t have people vote then take the votes into a locked room to be countred by only a few people who appointed by the government and who we never get to see and then at the end a government representative would come out and tell us the result. Everyone would look at that and shout fix. Yet the process for the blog awards is little different. Judges are appointed in secret, they judge in secret, their votes are weighed up in secret.
Sure it’s a fun night out for those concerned but so too apparently are 12th July parades and lynchings in the deep south on the 1930s were very good at bringing the community (some of it at least) together. Of course, this is nowhere on that scale but the mentality that will be used to defend it is much the same. A group who enjoy one another company refusing to answer any questions about the process involved because it is just a bit of craic. A bit of craic which leads to business being generated for some of those concerned? That sound like a straightforward business promotion to me.
Needless to say none of the actual nominees are in a position can say anything because the temperamental nature of the host is well established at this stage and the potential consequences of making any kind of critique is there for all to see. Since my card is marked anyway I’m saying it, I’ve nothing to lose by asking merely questions. The wonder is will we see any answers, or will it be a case of simply attack the man and not deal with the questions.
In answering my own question I would say that “no the awards aren’t fixed” but they sure as hell seem broken.
78 Responses to “Are the Irish blog awards fixed?”
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Twenty, if we’re getting all artistic about stuff and having read book two all I can say in response is that’s €8.99 and a few hours reading time I’d really like to have back again.
Yep, that’s about all you can say.
Tbh, I hadn’t consider the addition of “Irish” in the title to confer anything other than there being nothing else they could be called. i.e. the “Sponsor name” awards? It’s Irish blogs, so the title of Irish would naturally go in there. Who’s to say someone won’t set up a “Irish Spirit Blog Awards” or an “O2 Irish Blog Awards” or something..
Well, f*ck me. I think I’ll go set up something I’m going to call the “Irish Army” then, just for a laugh.
*click, click. clickclickclick*
What’s that then, Skippy? Someone might confuse it with the Defence Forces? Cor, blimey!
And yes, you’ve pissed a hell of a lot of people off with your comments about sponsors and friends of the organisers/judges.
I think you mean ‘organiser’ (singular), dear. The “Irish Blog Awards” are a production brought to you by Mulley Plc.
I’m just wondering…does this qualify as a “gate”?
If so what do we call it…MulleyGate?
The blog awards have reached a level of profile where they have grown beyond the ability of Dan and his friends to organise. There is a clear bias towards a certain small clique of blogs and bloggers. Yes anyone can get nominated onto the long-long list but the same old names appear on the long list and the short list. It isn’t even clear how you get onto the long list.
Either Damien should bring in independent judges or it is time for an alternative independent set of awards.
Dan,
Please read this (http://expad.ie/2009/01/21/blog-idol-vote-for-somebody-else/) then come back to me and say I was courting votes. I never thought I’d make the shortlists, and openly expressed that I should not be put forward.
Sponsoring the blog awards with goodie bags was a commercially-minded decision, taken very late in the day, but before the shortlists were announced. If I honestly believed it would influence the judging, I would have removed myself from the running. Having judged previous awards myself, I know that the criteria are set.
Best of luck with your Senate run. We need discerning, deliberate minds like yours in times like these.
I really like cake, especially chocolate cake.
Right, I’ve gone and published my two cents, and it’s called, like I said, “blogging a dead horse".
@ Dan & Omani…something in my waters tells me we won't up for Fluffy Links for a while…
@EWI:
I think you mean ‘organiser’ (singular), dear. The “Irish Blog Awards” are a production brought to you by Mulley Plc.
No, I was referring to all the people that help organise. Mulley may be the lead man, but there’s a whole team behind him that help out – for example the volunteers that sat on the registration desk, or Brian Green that DJ’s every year, or Rick O’Shea that gives him presenting time for free. If you attended and listed to the speeches or even read the awards blog then you’d know that Mulley doesn’t do everything by himself.
Read your blog JL, but cant seem to post on it.
While the answer given by damien RE the meaning of the blog period in the rules is of course important, just as important is the fact that numerous judges have come forward since this began saying they took the opposite meaning to damiens and marked down blogs heavily for not posting actively through the whole period in question.
So there was without a doubt an ambiguity in the terms which lead to people being treated unfairly by some judges. It’s not a huge deal, as you say the awards have come and gone, at the very least we know it wont happen again.
Wow, amazing to see so many people commenting here – and more importantly, so many people playing the ball and not the man.
For what it’s worth, as someone who watches all this with great interest, the Irish Blog Awards are flawed becaue of the lack of transparency, a lack of transparency which many bloggers would rightly decry if they saw it in operation elsewhere
Question for the organisers – why do you not reveal who the list of judges are? Why is this kept secret? Why do you not release the judges comments on each blog? Surely, in the name of true openness and transparency, you could do this. I think until this “anonymous” judging flaw is sorted that the Irish Blog Awards will always suffer
I can’t believe that there’s so much of an argument over a preposition. It’s surreal.
However, I tend to go along with Mick’s view that, at its worst, this is a case of ambiguous phrasing which allows two or more possible interpretations of a qualifying rule.
Omani and Dan and co adhere to one meaning, that you must have been actively blogging from the earlier date to the later one, others hold to the view that the rule means you have to have been actively blogging between those dates but it doesn’t necessarily mean you had to start blogging at the first date and continue blogging until the second one.
Anyhow, an alternative scenario: If Dan and Omani’s interpretation were used and therefore The Irish Economy Blog didn’t get an award, it could mean that Damien would be open to the same level of comment that he has been subjected to up to now.
Because of the two possible interpretations, I think the benefit of the doubt had to be extended to The Irish Economy blog. Therefore think this entire argument is farcical and if I were Damien, I would be asking myself whether it would be worth my while to draw this trouble upon myself next year by organising these awards.
I’m grateful to have been the recipient of an award but I’m even more glad that the awards were there in the first place. Thanks to all concerned, Damien, the sponsors, etc.
The interpretation given by Dan and Omani and several of the judges seems to me to be by far the more sensible. If you tell me that Queen Victoria ruled between 1837 and 1901, I don’t assume you meant that she ruled “at some point” between those dates, but that she ruled from 1840 to 1901. Moreover, the use of the term “ACTIVELY blogging” seems to seal that interpretation. It’s different from saying “needs to have blogged at some point” between July and December.
It’s more than just an argument over terminology, however, because it casts suspicion over winners who only blogged briefly during that period, and indeed, for less than half the year, yet still were considered better than their rivals on the short list. What does that say about the quality of the other entrants?
Twenty Major, you don’t have a circle? Clearly I was referring to all those people who told you your victory last year was thoroughly deserved. Did nobody tell you that it wasn’t?
Twenty Major, you don’t have a circle? Clearly I was referring to all those people who told you your victory last year was thoroughly deserved. Did nobody tell you that it wasn’t?
Your version of clearly and mine are very different.
And to answer your question, no, nobody did. But perhaps you, a year on, might have the balls to do it. Either way it makes no difference to me.
Here’s my thinking – those people who have a problem with the way the current blog awards are run could just as easily go and set up their own awards show.
The Blogging Awards of Ireland or The Real Irish Blog Awards.
So like darts or boxing there could be different champions for the same shit. Cranks like Omani and Dan can ensure that their ceremony is flawless, open, transparent and any other buzz words they’d like to use.
Those who agree with them will no doubt give them as much as help as they can in terms of organising the event, the trophies, the venue, the publicity and everything else.
I’m quite sure they’re not the sort of people who would just bitch on a website and not give a hand with the nitty gritty of it all.
And the current Irish Blog Awards can continue as they have done for the past four years to the enjoyment of nearly everybody who has taken part.
Sounds reasonable to me.
Twenty, I’ve previously offered to judge, an offer that wasn’t taken up. I’m aware that others have too over the last few years and not heard anything back. You getting the under the impression from somewhere that all offers of help with the nitty gritty are taken up. They’re not.
Interesting that you focus on “the event, the trophies, the venue, the publicity” when the rest of us are talking about the process to decide who gets an award and not the PR fun side of the IBAs. If the night out is the most important thing then just bin the awards and have a straight-forward shindig. If they’re just meant to be a PR event then good luck to them let them be that so long as everyone knows that.
I’m not aware that open and transparent are buzz words.
Twenty,
The BAI or the RIBA? Splitters!! http://url.ie/18c6
Interesting that you focus on “the event, the trophies, the venue, the publicity” when the rest of us are talking about the process to decide who gets an award and not the PR fun side of the IBAs.
You can have processes coming out of your arse, you still have to organise the thing, Dan.
I’m not aware that open and transparent are buzz words.
In this discussion that’s exactly what they appear to be.
I have refrained from posting on this becuase the discussion seems to be going around in circles, But I think it hilariously funny to see Twenty Major calling other people cranks….. I assume he would know all about that kind of thing after all.
Write what you know. Isn’t that what they say?
Meh. The fact that nobody told you, Twenty, should have made you wonder whenther or not you were living in a bubble. Bubbles are circular. Alright then, spherical. This conversation is circular.
Mind reading is beyond me, Ben. Apologies.
You’re right about this conversation though. Cheers.
My view of it.
My view
So according to Elly and
Major, someone who posted just one word in one post before Dec 15 would qualify as “actively posting” and some of the people asking questions about are cranks.
The winner of the best newcomer category had done a lot more posting than the blog that won the food and drink section. Shouldnt these new blogs that have only been around a couple of months have to go through the newcomer stage in the first year and only qualify for the other categories when they establish themselves?
I think these blogs should have been in the best newcomer category until they prove they can last and that would stop all the complaints.
Major should keep his comments to the issues instead of attacking people like he wants to shut them up. Even if Daniel K is a crank (whatever that is) he is still entitled to ask questions.
I can see what Daniel K was asking about but it is a pity he mentioned other things as well because that gave Major and the rest of them an excuse to change the subject.
Some of the judges have also said that they did not give points to blogs because they thought they did not qualify. Other people have said that they did not allow themselves to be nominated because they were not actively posting between July and December. I would like to know does Major think all these people are cranks?
I think they are sincere and their questions deserve respect not insults.
Hey, last year I lost out to Rick – the guy actually presenting the awards! This makes Watergate, 9/11 (you never know), and the JFK assassination seem like the smallest of potatoes. Mulley? History’s greatest monster.
Wait. Stop. Hang on.
You’re right!
I’m one of Damien’s mates and I’ve only ever won once in the 4 years we’ve been doing this nonsense!!!!!
RECOUNT!!!!!!
Your decision to post using white text on a dark background is baffling. How anyone can read right through to the end of a post of yours without getting the spins, I can’t imagine.
I need a disprin….
[...] I’m coming late to the Annual Irish Blog Awards Post Mortem Car Crash, but there are a number of basic points. (1) there is a process but no one knows what it is, it’s the Coke secret formula and KFC magic recipe. (2) any criticism of the process or awards winners draws the wrath of the clique down upon you. [...]