As promised — my Vloggies votes for the best in vlogging, side-by-side with the culled judges’ selections and people’s choice awards. Keep in mind that I could only pick from what was in each list (though I made suggestions where I wanted to vote for someone else). The entire list is after the jump; I did a big wrap on this because I was really disappointed that (at the very least) local media like the Chronicle/SFGate didn’t cover this event.
I mean, seriously: media outlets should be paying close attention here. Videoblogging is the new media. I think there’s a strong cultural desire to see ourselves reflected in news and media presentation, and it’s not out there. No one relates to the talking heads on Fox or CNN, and when a good news vlog appears, it’s going to wipe these old outlets off the map with the aid of online content delivery systems, including iTunes and Democracy Player. They are in danger. Videoblogging is media off the leash. Ratings and advertisers, my ass.
It was an epic, stellar event — and even the technical difficulties were somehow perfect, as it’s such a new and evolving media channel. Listening to the acceptance speeches made me all excited and teary-eyed for the power of people and stuff. Especially when Alive in Baghdad cleaned up and got the only standing ovation of the night, and Galacticast — pictured — got no less than five awards — richly deserved for a fantastic creative and hilarious show from people who truly value their community. (Sadly, at this time, Galacticast’s luggage was lost by United Airlines on their way back home, and their awards and belongings are still MIA. Keep your fingers crossed. Yay, found!) Conversely, Rocketboom is selling their award on eBay (and they misspelled ‘trophy’). Blip.tv got Best Video Hosting, as well they should. Josh Wolf got the People’s Choice award for Best Male Vlogger and the Judge’s Choice Award for Most Controversial Video — he sent his acceptance speech from jail. I was stoked to see Freshtopia win so much too, and was bummed that This or That? didn’t win anything. I was also secretly bummed there wasn’t a sex category (the Webbies never had the balls/ovaries to do this), but then again, I’m at the point that I’ve seen so much bad online porn that I could really use hazard pay.
Oh — and Ze Frank won a much-deserved Best Male Vlogger, sent in a hilarious acceptance speech — and he *blinked*. That’s like the vlogger gangsign.
Scott Beale has excellent photos and links to lots more; Thomas Hawk was also a kick-ass Flickrazzi on the scene. Robert Scoble has lots of great follow-up as well (I cribbed finalist’s lists off his posts, and added ones he forgot). Explore winners, my picks and lots of exciting original new media after the jump.
Update: Very cool — Eve Batey, The San Francisco Chronicle’s Blogging and Interactive Editor writes to tell me, “Hey, we did so cover the vloggies! Not the Gate or the paper, but it’s a start. We’re tryin’, lady! We’re tryin’!”
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Dozens of categories, thousands of online votes and hundreds of videos to watch… being a judge was a blast. Here are the best of the vlogs, right now. URLs are listed once, at first mention:
Best (Overall) Vlog:
People’s Choice: Ask a Ninja * Judges’ Choice: Alive in Baghdad * My Choice: Alive in Baghdad
Best Male Vlogger:
People’s Choice: Josh Wolf * Judges’ Choice: Ze Frank * My Choice: Ze Frank
Best Female Vlogger:
People’s Choice: Nontourage — Julie Daman and Sarah Atwood * Judges’ Choice: Ryanne Hodson * My Choice: Ryanne Hodson
Best Group Vlog:
People’s Choice: Alive in Baghdad * Judges’ Choice: Alive in Baghdad * My Choice: Terra: The Nature of Our World
Best Comedy Vlog:
People’s Choice: Ask a Ninja * Judges’ Choice: Ask a Ninja * My Choice: Mark Cyr/Fred Kahl: This or That TV (not listed but I suggested) Tiki Bar TV (also, Ze Frank!)
Best Community Vlog:
People’s Choice: Minnesota Stories * Judges’ Choice: Chuck Olsen, Minnesota Stories * My Choice: Simon Dorfman: People of New Orleans
Best Education Vlog:
People’s Choice: Wine Library TV * Judges’ Choice: Freevlog * My Choice: Steve Garfield: Hipcast
Best Entertainment Vlog (fiction):
People’s Choice: Galacticast * Judges’ Choice: Chasing Windmills * My Choice: Galacticast
Best Entertainment Vlog (non-fiction):
People’s Choice: Beach Walks with Rox * Judges’ Choice: LoFi St Louis * My Choice: Geek Entertainment TV (and I also wanted) Vlog Soup!
Experimental Vlog:
People’s Choice: 90 Seconds with Dave * Judges’ Choice: Pouringdown TV * My Choice: Aaron Valdez: Valdezatron Industries
Best Inspirational, Religious, Spiritual Videoblog:
People’s Choice: Beach Walks with Rox * Judges’ Choice: Beach Walks with Rox * My Choice: Steve Garfield’s Video Blog
Best Kids and Teens Vlog:
People’s Choice: Phil Hamilton Hits the Big TIme * Judges’ Choice: Jetset Show * My Choice: Phil Hamilton Hits the Big TIme
Best Cooking Vlog:
People’s Choice: Wine Library TV * Judges’ Choice: Freshtopia * My Choice: Crash Test Kitchen
Top Green Vlog:
People’s Choice: Freshtopia * Judges’ Choice: Treehugger TV * My Choice: Tanja Andrews, Freshtopia
Top News Vlog:
People’s Choice: Goodnight Burbank * Judges’ Choice: Rocketboom * My Choice: (reluctantly, as I do not think there is a good news vlog right now) Rocketboom
Best Diary:
People’s Choice: Josh Leo’s Vlog * Judges’ Choice: Josh Leo * My Choice: Josh Leo
Top Political Vlog:
People’s Choice: Ze Frank * Judges’ Choice: Alive in Baghdad * My Choice: Ze Frank The Show
Best Tech Vlog:
People’s Choice: Diggnation * Judges’ Choice: Bleeding Edge TV * My Choice: The Bleeding Edge
Travel Vlog:
People’s Choice: Amanda Across America * Judges’ Choice: Travelvlog * My Choice: Graham Walker, Travelvlog
Viral Video:
People’s Choice: Invisible Engine and The Singing Woodchuck * Judges’ Choice: Invisible Engine and The Singing Woodchuck * My Choice: David Broad: Pepsi Girl
Funniest Video:
People’s Choice: Ask a Ninja: Pirates * Judges’ Choice: Ask a Ninja: Pirates * My Choice: Ask A Ninja: Pirates of the Caribbean (except my way funnier choice for this category wasn’t listed and I mentioned it: Ze Frank’s The Ins and Outs ov Videoblogging One and Two)
Collaborative Vlog:
People’s Choice: Node 666 Project * Judges’ Choice: Bottom Union, Carp Caviar * My Choice: Alive in Baghdad
Top Documentary Vlog:
People’s Choice: Freetime * Judges’ Choice: American King * My Choice: Terra: The Nature of Our World
Best Editing:
People’s Choice: Freshtopia * Judges’ Choice: Stutterframes * My Choice: Vlog Soup
Best Interview Vlog:
People’s Choice: Geek Entertainment TV * Judges’ Choice: Alive in Baghdad * My Choice: Irina Slutsky: GETV
Best Original Music:
People’s Choice: Nontourage * Judges’ Choice: Aaron Valdez: Valdezatron Industries * My Choice: Philip Clark: Swordfight
Special Effects in a Vlog:
People’s Choice: Galacticast * Judges’ Choice: Galacticast * My Choice: Galacticast
Most Controversial Vlog:
People’s Choice: Alive in Baghdad * Judges’ Choice: Josh Wolf * My Choice: Josh Wolf
Best Vlogging Book:
People’s Choice: Secrets of Videoblogging, Michael Verdi and Ryanne Hodson * Judges’ Choice: Secrets of Videoblogging * My Choice: Videoblogging
Best Video Hosting:
People’s Choice: Blip.TV * Judges’ Choice: BlipTV * My Choice: BlipTV
Best Vlogging Tool:
People’s Choice: VPIP * Judges’ Choice: VPIP * My Choice: VPIP (Video Playing in Place)
Top Vlog Directory:
People’s Choice: MeFeedia * Judges’ Choice: Mefeedia * My Choice: Blip.tv
Best Vlog Website Design:
People’s Choice: Galacticast * Judges’ Choice: It’s Jerry Time * My Choice: Nadine Lessio, Dotboom
