The Black Weblog Awards 2007
voices from the afrosphere
2007-09-19
By Eric Easter

At the Republic National Convention in New York in 2004, approximately 20 bloggers were credentialed as journalists. That same year, a Washington based writer became the first blogger to be credentialed by the White House. Those two hallmarks helped push the concept of the blog (weblog) as more than the electronic equivalent of selling books from the back of your Honda.

It would be tempting to say that Black writers and techies have not taken to blogging at the same level and with the same impact as the mainstream community, but that’s not the case. More accurately, Black bloggers are often left out of the broader conversation about blogs and their power.

While the terminology, techniques and tools have changed over the years, several websites that would be called blogs today blew open the doors for the idea of building active, engaged community around Black-focused subjects. In particular, Urban Expose (the remnants of which can still be seen at urbanexpose.com) built a substantial daily following using the foundations of blog technology. 

Since then, in fits and starts, the Black community has embraced blogging as the tech part involved has gotten simpler and dramatically cheaper (pronounced "free"). And while there are still only a handful of "chosen" bloggers of any community that receive the kind of attention that DailyKos and its ilk have gotten as a result of their self-proclaimed political power, the Black blogging community can now be considered thriving, lively and impactful within their own spheres of influence. Only recently the blog, What About Our Daughters, was at the centerpoint of the battle against BET and its plans to launch the TV show, Hot Ghetto Mess.

And more people are noticing. So it was in 2005, that "Karsh", the assumed name of a blogger with a day job to protect, decided to launch the Black Weblog Awards  as a means of acknowledging what was happening in the space. It was (and primarily still is) a one person operation. Nevertheless, its first year garnered nominations for more than 2000 individual blogs. Now in its third year, the 2007 version received nominations for 7,852 separate blogs in 17 different categories.

If there is any common thread in Black blogs other than the blackness of their writers, it’s an unflinching willingness to aggressively examine and challenge contemporary Black culture.

Also, significantly, that there is a wealth of smart, insightful and witty writing talent – the kind that mainstream publications seem not to be able to find when they seek diversity.

But most importantly the 2007 BWA Winners List exposes to the world a look into the minds, interests and passions of a dramatically varied group of Black folk who have been smart enough to seize the inherent power of a global self-publishing tool and tell their own stories, in their own way, without apology.

See them for yourselves:

The 2007 Black Weblog Awards Winners

Best Blog Community
Popular Vote: Young, Black and Fabulous
Judges' Vote: Nappturality 

Best Blog Design
Popular Vote: Young Black and Fabulous
Judges' Vote: Clutch Magazine 

Best Post Series
Popular Vote: Nappy Diatribe blog - Who Killed Hip Hop?
Judges' Vote: What About Our Daughters Wins Battle 

Best Business Blog
Popular Vote: Black In Business
Judges' Vote: Black In Business

Best Celebrity Blog
Popular Vote: Tyra Banks
Judges' Vote: ?uestlove 

Best Culture Blog
Popular Vote: Young, Black and Fabulous
Judges' Vote: AfroBella  

Best Faith-Based Blog
Popular Vote: Are You There God It's Me, Dawn 
Judges' Vote: The Infidel Guy Show 

Best Fictional Blog
Popular Vote Fake Janice Combs
Judges’ Vote: Life and Times of Ata Nafia

Best Food Blog
Popular Vote: A Lot About Nothing
Judges' Vote: Trini Gourmet 

Best Gossip Blog
Popular Vote: Young, Black and Fabulous
Judges' Vote: Young, Black and Fabulous

Best Group Blog
Popular Vote: Concrete Loop
Judges' Vote: Racialicious 

Best Hip-Hop Blogs
Popular Vote: Real Talk NY
Judges' Vote: The Smoking Section 

Best Humor Blog
Popular Vote: Crunk & Disorderly
Judges' Vote: Funky Brown Chick

Best International Blog
Popular Vote: Black Women in Europe
Judges' Vote: Black Women in Europe 

Best LGBT Blog
Popular Vote: Keith Boykin
Judges' Vote: Keith Boykin 

Best Music Blog
Popular Vote: Real Talk NY
Judges' Vote: HoneySoul.com

Best New Blog
Popular Vote: Blogxilla.com
Judges' Vote: Stereohyped 

Best Niche Blog
Popular Vote: Afrobella
Judges' Vote: Fly 

Best Personal Blog
Popular Vote: The Beautiful Struggler
Judges' Vote: inthelifeof.org 

Best Photo Blog
Popular Vote: The D-Nice Journal
Judges' Vote: Alakija 

Best Podcast
Popular Vote: Hood Hype
Judges' Vote: Friday Favecast 

Best Political/News Blog
Popular Vote: The Field Negro
Judges' Vote: Jack and Jill Politics 

Best Science/Technology Blog
Popular Vote: Nerd with Swag
Judges' Vote: Tiffany B. Brown 

Best Sports/Recreation Blog
Popular Vote: The Starting Five
Judges' Vote: The Starting Five 

Best Teen Blog
Popular Vote: My Teenage Years
Judges' Vote: Queer Kid of Color 

Best Video Blog
Popular Vote: Love B. Scott
Judges' Vote: Ill Doctrine 

Best Writing in a Blog
Popular Vote: Young, Black and Fabulous
Judges' Vote: Blackprof.com 

Black Blogger Achievement Award
Popular Vote: Keith Boykin
Judges' Vote: Baratunde Thurston 

Blog of the Year
Popular Vote: Young, Black and Fabulous
Judges' Vote: What About Our Daughters?

Blog to Watch
Popular Vote: Real Talk NY
Judges' Vote: Average Bro