I was a Judge

I'm stepping out of the closet and admitting that I was one of the judges for the Irish Blog Awards 2010. I was told when I volunteered at the begining that we could blog and tweet to our hearts content when everything was all over. I was very glad I signed up to do it as I found some great new blogs in areas that I normally wouldn't read. A few that really caught me eye were:

The mOvie Blog:
There are lots of blogs out there that review films but very few of them have such a high level of writing. The writer deals with lots of topics within the world of cinema, not just sticking to regualr review. Just recently he has posted about the role of older women, the lack of horror in recent childrens cinema, and the disaster of floating heads in Hollywood posters. Through all the blogs that I was asked to judge, I started reading it on a daily basis. In general media I find most reviews a bit hackneyed, so it's really refreshing to read someone who is writing for the love of it. Although he didn't win the gong on the night, being in the same catagory as Culch.ie made it pretty much impossible to win.

The North Atlantic Skyline
The photoblog was a joy to find. It has a great layout that makes you focus on each photo individually. The urge when reading blogs is to skim through everything, when this makes you stop, pause, and appreciate what you are looking at. John Smyth really has a wonderful eye for capturing a moment, and the descriptions that go with them add a greater sense of depth to the images.

A Chich Named Hermia
Although this was not one of the blogs I had to judge, I found it through the list of nominees. This blog has quickly become my new favourite read. She effortlessly blends fashion photos with really quirky personal stories. Her writing is accessable and conversational while still having a lovely flare to it, while I'm reading it I feel like I'm having a natter over a cup of tea. I judged a lot of the fashion section, and this for me joined the aesthetic pleasure of reading a style blog, with the humour and personality of a personal one.

Contrast
I fell in love with the aesthetics of this blog as soon as I saw it, you can tell a bunch of young creative heads run it. It's clean and simple with just the right amount of rough around the edges to make it cool. Normally I would never read a business blog, but I love the fun metaphors and comparrisons that they use. They have a great knack of making me interested in techy business things that would normally send me to sleep, a skill indeed. This is another blog that's been added to the list to entertain me over morning coffee and toast.