We launched Pedestrian Blogster Awards on 6 September 2011 and the response over the last few weeks has been overwhelming. The huge number of votes cast and the passion with with people have gotten behind their favourite blogs (and tweeters) is amazing and a testament to the power and reach that blogs have as a medium of communication. Blogsters Voting closes on Monday 26 September at 5pm, so if you want your favourites to make the final round you better get in quick and honour them with your vote.
In each Blogster category (Fashion, Music, Tech/Media/Culture, Food, Design/Photography and King/Queen of the Tweet) the 3 blogs with the highest number of public votes will go through to the final round, then the winner will be picked by a panel of judges out of that top 3.
In addition to bragging rights and making history, all Blogster Award winners will been given access to one of the most influential media outlets in their respective fields. Let’s me them shall we?
FASHION – RUSSH
Independent Fashion Magazine, website and all round beautiful thing is much more than just a pretty face. Featuring originally produced editorial and photography on fashion, art, music and film, RUSSH aims to reflect the way intelligent women approach fashion and beauty. The thinkin’ ladies fashionable fashion bimonthly, if you will.
Why did RUSSH want to get involved in the Blogsters? Clare Alstin, the lovely Deputy Editor, can tell you right now: “We see this as a real opportunity to nurture local talent and assist where we can in guiding towards international recognition in the blogging world. Australia has a wealth of bloggers who are at the cusp of taking their hobby and creating a business out of it in it’s own right. We want to help make this happen and encourage original, considered content online.”
Their view on the rise of Fashion blogging? “Fashion blogging is a great way to access trends, models, street fashion and photography instantly. It’s a fast-track way to find out what’s happening in different areas of the world simultaneously. They are mostly unedited, full of opinion and some, without financial motive. At the end of the day it’s good fun.”
FOOD – TIMEOUT
Timeout, where you go to figure out where to go, are offering a mentorship within the Food blogging category. With their empire including Time Out Sydney, Time Out Melbourne, Time Out Adelaide, Time Out Brisbane and Time Out Perth they’ve got Australia covered. (Canberra and Tassie, Mum and Dad still love you). They’re all about events in Film, Theatre, Fashion, Literature and FOOD. Google a restaurant and there will be a Timeout review chilling in your results page, ready to give you the lowdown.
Why are they interested in our lil’ old awards? “It’s a natural fit for us”, says Food and Drink Editor Myffy Rigby. “Time Out is all about spotting talent and celebrating excellence. The rise of food blogging is a reflection of how passionate we as a country are about food. It’s fantastic to see so many food fans out there writing their own blogs on everything from cheap eats to illustrating their favourite dishes around town. Helen Yee, one of Australia’s most respected food bloggers, is a regular contributor to the magazine.”
MUSIC – CHANNEL V
The Channel V folks are onscreen, online and on mobile, and are synonymous with music worldwide. Excuse me, Senior Online Producer Jed Ahern, can you tell us why V Music wanted to get involved with the Blogsters? “A lot of people ask us for tips on getting into music journalism and other areas of the industry, so it seemed like a good way to offer assistance directly. Hopefully we can help in some way by sharing what we know and offering a foot in the door.”
View on the rise of music blogging? “It’s great. It can seem like every second person has a music blog these days, but the more the better because there’s bound to be one or two that you’ll find useful… and entertaining. If you want to keep up with what’s happening and discover new music, a trusty blog is the perfect resource. They’re often good for a laugh too.”
ART/DESIGN/PHOTOGRAPHY – SEMI-PERMANENT
Semi Permanent – yearly and super aesthetically pleasing conferences which run nationally, you may have seen them around. Covering all disciplines of design, including graphic design, film, fine art, illustration, web design, interaction design, photography, visual effects, animation, graffiti, motion graphics, stop motion, architecture etcetera. Other property includes Design is Kinky, Empty Magazine and Take Magazine.
How can one company own so much good? More importantly why do they want in on the Blogsters? Take it away co-founder Murray Bell!
“Semi-Permanent is all about inspiring and giving people the access and motivations to create better work, so being involved in the Blogsters is a no brainer for us. We’ve learned a lot over the years running Semi-Permanent in Australia and overseas, and we’d love to part with some valuable insights.”
Their thoughts on blogging? “It’s the most accessible and quickest means to find reference, but be warned that it’s only surface level, its up to you to dive a little deeper. Meet the people that create the work, experiment yourself, get your hands dirty.” Stop it right there Murray. You are so wise.
MEDIA/TECH/CULTURE – PEDESTRIAN.TV
Uh… this is awkward… but… Pedestrian started life in 2005 as the World’s first DVD Magazine, when co-founders. buddies and really first rate bosses Chris Wirasinha and Oscar Martin thought to themselves: We should make a DVD magazine full of good bands, designers, artists, models, DJs, actors and assorted creative types. And so Pedestrian was born.
Over time it has become the website you’re looking at right now and through necessity Chris and Oscar eventually hired a small, unattractive staff. Covering Music, Fashion, Arts & Culture, Entertainment and everything in between Pedestrian started with just two dudes and one really good idea – which brings us back to the Blogsters.
Nobody wants to be friends with mainstream media anymore, blogs are the thing – words by the people for the people. Internet democracy at its finest. With some world class content coming out of Australia we thought it only fair that they get some recognition. We all love blogs, so why not all love blogs together! Publicly!
Vote Now for the 2011 Pedestrian Blogster Awards powered by Huawei.
