Electronic Village Nominated for 2012 Black Weblog Award

The Electronic Village has been nominated for Best Political Or News Blog in the 2012 Black Weblog Awards. It is nice to be recognized for the work that this blog does to bring information that is uplifting and relevant for the Black cyberspace community. I hope that this nomination spurs our readers to continue reading, sharing and commenting on what they see on this blog.

Once the nomination period is over then we will need your support in the actual voting process. We'll share more info with you as the details on voting become available.

Nominations Open for 2012 Black Weblog Awards

Did you know that nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 Black Weblog Awards?

Twenty-nine categories are returning to the Black Weblog Awards this year. Nine categories were retired. Nine were added. The largest number of new categories recognize outstanding achievement in video blogging.

Due to the large number of nominations in this category in 2011, the Best Fashion or Beauty blogging category was split into two separate categories. There is now a separate category for Best Fashion Blog and Best Beauty Blog. Best Culture Blog will now be called Best Fine Arts Blog. In some cases, categories which were spin offs of broader categories have been returned to their original category.  Blog of the Year will now be selected through a separate nomination process based on essay-based nominations.

Rules Review
The rules for every category are under review to establish more objective criteria to be applied to each nomination to determine whether a blog is qualified to compete in that particular category.

Returning Categories

• Best Automotive or Car Blog 
• Best Book or Author Blog 
• Best Blog Post Series 
• Best Business Blog  
• Best Faith Based Blog 
• Best Film Blog 
• Best Food Blog
• Best Gaming or Comics Blog 
• Best Gossip Blog 
• Best Group Blog
• Best Health or Wellness Blog
• Best Humor Blog
• Best International Blog
• Best LGBT Blog 
• Best Micro Blog 
• Best New Blog 
• Best Personal Blog 
• Best Photography in a Blog  
• Best Plus Sized Fashion 
• Best Podcast 
• Best Parenting Blog
• Best Political or News Blog 
• Best Science or Technology Blog
• Best Sports Blog
• Best Sex or Relationship Blog 
• Best Teen Blog 
• Best Travel Blog 
• Best Video Blog 
• Best Writing in a Blog

New Categories 

• Best Beauty Blog 
• Best Comedy Video Blog
• Best DIY, Home Improvement, Interior Design Blog
• Best Entertainment Video Blog
• Best Fashion Blog
• Best Fine Arts Blog 
• Best How to & Style Video Blog
• Best Original Graphic Design in a Blog 
• Best Science & Technology Video Blog 

Retired for 2012 

• Best Blog Design (Replaced with “Best Original Graphic Design in a Blog”.)
• Best Fashion or Beauty Blog (Split into “Best Fashion Blog” and “Best Beauty Blog”.) 
• Best Culture Blog (Now “Best Fine Arts Blog”.) 
• Best Hip Hop Blog (Moved back into ”Best Music Blog”.)  
• Blog Of The Year (Moved to a separate selection process.)  
• Blog to Watch (Moved to a separate selection process.) 
• Best Green Nature or Outdoor Living Blog (Introduced in 2011. Small nomination pool in 2011.)
• Best Blog Network  (Small nomination pool in 2011.) 
• Best Lifestyle Blog (Subsumed in Fashion, Design, Fine Arts categories.)

I encourage all our our blog readers to take a moment and support this Black Weblog Award process by making your own nomination. Goes without saying that we hope you will consider nominating this blog!

I Love Your Blog Award

There are many villagers that quietly join us to enjoy the posts and comments without sharing their village voice. Our blog never seems to get much in the way of COMMENTS in comparison to our daily hits. I appreciate the stealth villagers as much as those that are move 'vocal'.

One of my stealth villagers is Tey, a busy working Filipina mom living in Toronto. Tey publishes 'My Daily Thoughts'. Tey presented us with the 'I Love Your Blog Award':

"... for his informative posts about Black people (just love it)."

I appreciated the love when she gave our blog the award.  In fact, I've shared the award with others in 2007 and 2008.  I figure it was time to share some love again with other blogs that deserve it. The Electronic Village presents the 'I Love Your Blog Award' to five others that we read and enjoy often. They are more than welcome to pass along the award to other blogs which they love to read as well and so on.

1. African American Pundit - Rock is one of the first bloggers that I regularly followed in the afrosphere. His blog comes strong and correct with information about both race and politics.  He was also one of the first to join me in speaking out against the high level of taser-related deaths in America.
2. What About Our Daughters? - Gina is a blogger willing to take her online efforts to a new level.  She is a book author and a movie-maker.  She organizes the annual Blogging While Brown Conference.  At the end of the day this is a blog that I think should be followed by every person of African descent in our nation ... especially Black women!
3. Eccentric Lover - Nailah is a young 'un.  She is a college freshman who shows remarkable clarity on her blog on the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.  She also finds some of the most provocative and unique photos that I've ever seen.
4. The Field Negro - Field won this award from me in 2007.  He is the most consistent Black blogger that I've ever seen.  No guest bloggers.  It's all Field, all the time.  He seems to be able to have a new and powerful blog post each and every evening.  He provides outstanding social and political commentary on all issues that impact on the Black community.  This is my favorite blog of all-times!
5. Booker Rising - I disagree with the perspective shared by Shay on this blog more often than not.  However, I admire this blogger for bringing out the diverse voices of Black opinion makers in both America, African and Europe.  Can anyone tell me if Shay is a man or woman?

Congratulations to all of you and thanks for writing such great blogs. Villagers, who are the blogs and bloggers that YOU love?

'E' is for Excellence Award: 10 Excellent Blogs

So many folks are heading to Facebook that the landscape for pure-bloggers is changing. One of the things that I see less nowadays are the informal blogging awards that used to be given out so often. A few years ago I was blessed to receive the 'E For Excellence' Blog Award'.

I would like to re-ignite that particular award. There is only one rule -- after receiving the 'E For Excellence' Blog Award, you must pass it on to 10 more excellent blogs. Here are the ten blogs that I would like to share this award with today:

1. BDPA Education and Technology Foundation Blog - This blog shares information about fundraising, funding sources and BDPA programs. BDPA seeks to advance the careers of African Americans in the information technology industry.
2. Black Web 2.0 - This blog is great about discussing the wealth of exceptional innovation, talent, and ambition of Blacks in the technology and new media industries in an opinionated and authentic voice.
3. Booker Rising -This is a blog for Black conservatives. The sheer volume of quality blog posts blows me away every day.
4. Depraved Mindset - This is a blog for the radical progressives who wish to expose the world to the truth and promote the create a more just society.
5. Field Negro - This blog gets more comments on its daily posts than any other non-entertainment blog in the world. He has great rapport with his blogging community ... and his social commentary is always on point for Black America.
6. For Harriet - This blog works to elevate the voices of Black women online and off.
7. Jack & Jill Politics - This is the most prominent political blog in the afrosphere. JJP prides itself on providing a Black bourgeoisie perspective on U.S. politics.
8. The BrownWatch - This blog provides news for people of color.
9. The Intersection | Madness & Reality - This blog talks about the injustices AfricanAmericans face, politics, and the reverent or irreverent. RiPPa uses his sense of humor and sarcasm to convey his opinion, and whether others agree with him, it isn’t his concern.
10. TNT: Truth ... Not Tasers - This blog tracks all taser-related deaths in North America. I admire the passion and comprehensive nature of the reporting done on this blog.

Congratulations to each of 'em for doing what they do! I hope that all villagers will take a moment to visit these ten Excellent Blogs.