Irish Blogger Awards

I went to the Irish Blog Awards last night. The big, if somewhat shy and secretive, winner of the night was Twenty Major. Twenties "representative on Earth” was a man of few words but did insist that he was not the man himself, though speculation continued. The complete list can be found at this site. Sarah Carey was there both as a nominee and representing the Sunday Times with a photographer in tow so I have to grab a copy of it and see if she managed to strong arm the editor for some extra coverage. There was also a photographer from the Irish Times taking pictures of the nominees and winners.

The awards themselves were refreshingly casual. Like blogging itself there seemed to be a variety of people in attendance. The first group were dressed to the nines, all spit and polish, dressed in their best suits and dresses. The kind of people you could expect to find at any awards ceremony. Next came the chinos and trouser people who had read the smart casual dress code and decided to dress appropriately. Finally came the old shirt and jeans brigade, including myself. Personally I hadn't even planned on going to the awards and had originally just shown up for the technical session before hand, so I didn't stick around for the drinks afterwards, but they sound like they were fun.

The one problem I had was the technical session. It was almost entirely focused on podcasting with a brief mention of OPML at the end. One speaker estimated there was just 38 podcasts in Ireland of which 12 were active and regular. I recognize that these sessions were organized by podcasters, but hopefully next year there will be some sessions for bloggers who, like myself, would like to learn from other more experienced Irish bloggers.

That aside I think the Awards are a good event. They have helped to highlight Irish blogging and it is nice to have the efforts of all Irish bloggers recognized, even those who did not win an award or even get nominated. Congratulations to Damien and all those involved in organising such a successful event.