Comments on: Australia’s best Blog

By: Cameron Reilly

Cameron Reilly — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 02:12:12 +0000

As one of the finalists, I have to say I’m very happy for Jodi. I’d never heard of her blog but at least she it doing something weird and wonderful with the medium.

If anyone is interested in producing a podcast for TPN, please email me and tell me your story. We’re looking for audio innovation.

By: saint

saint — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 15:57:39 +0000

Sorry. There are a couple of good blogs in the top 10. But Antony Loewenstein? Says it all really.

By: Jess

Jess — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 07:22:41 +0000

Lefty E, you had to self nominate to enter and write 25 words about why you had the best blog.

Which does indeed sound like an awfully egotistical thing to do.

But if it comforts anyone who remotely cares, I was pressed upon by my ex to enter and thought “Ah well, ten grand, why not?” and didn’t think about it again until I got a call from them.

In fact, my 25 words or less as to why ausculture.com should be considered the “best blog” was a pisstake, and if I recall correctly, consisted of “I have a GSOH, am a social drinker and like long walks on the beach… hey! This isn’t RSVP.COM?!”

Or something along those lines. Either way, it was pleasant but definitely a surprise to be considered a finalist.

By: Glen

Glen — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 01:55:40 +0000

I heard her on JJJ last year (I think?), she, or was it the host?, had some typical things to say about the Futurists. I think it was the host, and it pissed me off. They always jump on the ‘war as purifying’ business without understanding how much our culture is presmised on such beliefs! Oh no, but we can’t talk about it or study the Futurists because they were fascists…

By: Lefty Elitist

Lefty Elitist — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 00:36:39 +0000

What might one say about a singing bridge?

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 00:05:40 +0000

Also, Singing Bridges has no comments. Therefore, doesn’t count.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 20:36:36 +0000

It doesn’t do much for my confidence either in the awards or in the virtues of SmartyBlogs as a host that they have not worked out how to hyperlink to sites. I’d use the list of nominated blogs to have a stickybeak around http://www.smartyblog.com.au/category/blogging

but am I going to sit here and bleedin’ cut and paste all day? Probably not. Geez.

By: James Dudek

James Dudek — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 17:09:30 +0000

Singing bridges beats Piss Christ for artistic merit.

UPGRADE!

By: cs

cs — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 14:16:28 +0000

Leaving aside MarkL’s attempted stitch-up (presumably he’s now an anti-Costello partisan), I’d prefer to take issue with the idea of “Ten grand for taping the wind on bridges. What a wonderful scam…” As Laura implies, actually there’s something wonderful from an artistic perspective about someone being rewarded for pressing the envelope (even if, or even more so, if they are complicit). From this perspective, MarkL’s objection is a necessary handbag.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:26:22 +0000

MarkL – it’s a contest with money put up by private organisation who can do what they want with it. Jodi seems to be a postgraduate at Melbourne Uni, actually.

By: Tim Lambert

Tim Lambert — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 09:55:58 +0000

I looked at the the about page for signing bridges and it contains a line that MarkL seems to have left out. Look:

Jodi Rose
Artist In Residence
ABC Radio National
Acoustic Arts Unit
GPO Box 9994
Sydney NSW 2001
AUSTRALIA

So the ABC is sponsoring an artist in residence. Only on MarkL’s planet is this a scandal.

By: Zoe

Zoe — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 09:39:51 +0000

ooops

By: MarkL

MarkL — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 09:35:47 +0000

Ten grand for taping the wind on bridges. What a wonderful scam for Jodi Rose. Of course, the ABC Acoustic Arts Unit is a principal sponsor of the “singingbridges.net” web & blog site which, in turn, is owned and administered by no other than….

Jodi Rose
Acoustic Arts Unit GPO Box 9994
ABC Radio, SYDNEY 2001, AU
Phone: 61 2 9333 1308

So it appears possible that public funds being used by a member of the ABC to ’sponsor’ the site of an employee of the ABC, which then wins $10K. It is difficult to regard this as not being close to fraudulent behaviour. At the least, there appears to be a potential conflict of interest. Wonder who authorises the money that supports Jodi’s website? If it is Jodi, she may have a case to answer.

MarkL
Canberra

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 08:36:54 +0000

David, via Cristy, the post is here. Looks like you have to register to comment. I'm just doing so now.

By: Cristy

Cristy — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 08:33:55 +0000

No, don’t worry David, it still there and running the Oz Blog Awards again this year – but getting Collective Apathy to actually host it for him due to bandwidth issues…

By: david tiley

david tiley — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 08:27:39 +0000

Are we talking about Keks in the past tense? Say it ain’t so.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 05:26:48 +0000

I sort of like that I’d never heard of half the finalists. It shows there’s more to the local blog landscape than meets the eye. Of course i was terribly pissed off that I didn’t win it myself, especially it takes me exactly five months to earn ten thou, but looking at some of the blogs in that list, I can completely see where most nominees were outclassed.

I know what you’re saying about voting Mark – and I agree. I were the person who runs Keks I’d be hopping mad that this outfit came steaming in and in effect helped themselves to the right to confer a title which the blogosphere itself has been taking care of administering perfectly well for some time now – but I think there’s probably enough blogs around now for there to be room for other kinds of recognition.

By: adam

adam — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 04:47:32 +0000

I was happy to see Jess there as well!

Although I didn’t recongise many of the blogs, and was forced to confront the fact that I’m a politics geek…

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 02:52:20 +0000

I take it you’re not the bloke who writes the “Razor” blog for Fairfax who was one of the judges then?

Without wishing to detract from the merits of the winner and the finalist (particularly the super sexy and always fabulous Ausculture Jess!), I’m more convinced by awards which are generated internally to the ’sphere, and which rely on blog readers’ votes and nominations. Keks who’s run a fabulous Oz Blog Awards with a great range of categories (and PR voting!) for a few years, makes a relevant point:

and I��m not talking about the dodgy ones that were put on by some dodgy hosting company that offered a cash prize in a poor attempt to get some bloggers to buy hosting packages… so sad really…

By: Link

Link — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 02:50:45 +0000

From Mt Hay in the Blue Mountains the Anzac Bridge looks like a skyscraper with a very bad tilt to it. BTW Congratulations to this “website”.