Today is the last day (few hours in fact) to nominate blogs for the 2009 Blog Awards. If you haven’t seen the 100s of mentions of it in the past few weeks well now is your last opportunity.

In addition, we opened up registrations for the event itself well before Christmas and we are now booked out. Not even standing room is left. There is room in the hotel itself to cater for a few hundred more people but the conference hall where the ceremony is on cannot hold any more people. You can still add yourself to the waiting list but there is no guarantee you will be accomodated.

Once nominations close, we’ll be releasing the list of nominees and then each nomination will be examined, then a short list will be brought out. Then the winners will be announced on the 21st of February.

The Blog Post of the Month for December is from Haydn Shaughnessy and is called The Privileges of Communication Haydn points out how luck we are to be able to get our views heard on blogs and Twitter and elsewhere. Compare this to just 10 years ago. In a world where we take all this for grant, it’s a nice reminder. Congrats Haydn.

Don’t forget there’s still time to nominate posts for January.

Nominations are now open for the 2009 Irish Blog Awards. Nominations close at 6pm on January 14th.

Best Designed Blog and Best Arts and Crafts Blog and Most Humorous Post have been axed. Best Fashion Blog has been added and Best Humour Blog. Best Blog is now the Grand Prix and you cannot nominate a blog directly for this, it needs to have won in one of the other categories to get through.

There are never enough categories to keep everyone happy but there is finite time at the event so what we’ll be doing is having an online vote for categories that won’t make the ceremony but are worthy of attention anyway. Suggestions for these categories are welcome and voting will take place at the start of February with the winners of these announced online Wednesday the 18th of February during “Irish Blog Week”.

Have fun nominating. Choose wisely.

There were 22 categories for the 2008 Blog Awards. That’s a hell of a lot. A lot of people, a lot of glassware. A lot of Rick calling out winners. Suggestions for new categories for 2009 include a Beauty and Fashion Category, a Youth Category and a Health and Science Category. Should there be new categories? Should old ones be culled? There were a lot of people suggesting categories on a very selfish basis last time out even if they were the only Irish blog on polka-dot coloured unicorns. Those kind of suggestions this time round will be publicly pointed out and laughed at.

We’ll happily consider creating a new category if there are at least a dozen active blogs covering that category in Ireland. Get suggesting, you have a few days.

2008 Categories:

* Best Popculture blog

* Best Blog from a Journalist

* Best Food/Drink Blog

* Best Crafts Blog

* Best Arts and Culture Blog

* Best Political Blog

* Best Group Blog

* Best Use of the Irish Language in a Blog

* Best Technology Blog/Blogger

* Best Designed Blog – Buckley

* Best Sport & Recreation Blog

* Best News/Current Affairs Blog

* Best Specialist Blog

* Best Newcomer

* Best Business Blog

* Best Music Blog

* Special Recognition Award

* Best Personal Blog

* Most Humorous Post

* Best Photo Blog

* Best Blog Post

* Best Blog

Registration form.

Yes, already. Places are limited for this one (280 instead of 420) as the venue is smaller but it’s expected that some of the regulars might not travel that far South so it won’t be too jammed.

The venue is the Cork International Airport Hotel. If you quote “Blog Awards” when you ring and book you’ll get a discount on the room.

Photo owned by Eoin O’Mahony (cc)

Sponsorship and nominations will follow soon.