A Dingle-based blog dedicated to the joys of ice cream, a political and news blog, and another offering beauty tips and bargains were among the winners of multiple awards at the annual Irish Blog Awards, which took place in Dublin on Saturday night.
The winner of the best blog category was, for the second year running, an anonymous online writer. Unlike last year when he sent a representative, "Twenty Major" attended the event to accept his two awards overall, although his real name was not revealed to those present.
The 21 categories for the event also included most humorous post, best photo blog, best contribution to the "Irish blogosphere", best sport and recreation blog, and best use of the Irish language in a blog.
The awards, now in its second year and growing in size, seeks to recognise the efforts of those who post their views and comments on a vast array of topics online.
Known as "weblogs" or "blogs" for short, these often focus on a particular subject, and can include text, photos, audio and video images. For the first time this year, a specially-arranged formal ball to accompany Saturday night's proceedings also took place in the "simulated" world known as Second Life. This meant audience members could at one stage see up to 20 people "virtually" dancing as the ceremony took place.
Prior to the event proper, the audience also heard music from UK-based Callaghan, the online house band. "Hello to all you people in the real world out there in - where is it? - the Alexander hotel," its lead singer said.
Many of the 300 or so people at the ceremony would have seldom if ever met before, according to the host for the evening, 2FM DJ and blogger Rick O'Shea. However, they would have been aware of each other's online "oeuvre", such as their views and analysis on a diverse range of topics.
"It is important for the people involved . . . even just to physically meet in a room people who's stuff they've read," O'Shea said. Many of the acceptance speeches at Saturday's event were unusually brief. One award was even accepted via a text message.
For Kieran Murphy of Ice Cream Ireland, who won two awards in the business and specialist categories, the award was about recognising the importance of blogs and ice cream.
He spends around 10 hours a week working on his website, icecreamireland.com, with many of his customers using it to keep up to date with recipes and other ice cream tips he posts there.
"I'm making the ice cream anyway, I'm just documenting what I'm doing," he said. "One of the things that makes my blog unique is the focus on ice cream . . . But I would imagine there will be much more non-technology blogs in the future."
More than 100 blogs were shortlisted for the ceremony, with over 3,000 nominations received, according to the event's organiser Damien Mulley.
He estimates that there are some 4,000 blogs which are identifiable as Irish, compared to about 1000-1,500 this time last year.
"I was blown away by the mumber of votes we got for the awards," he said. "I think what blogging is doing is letting everyone know that no matter how odd or niche or unpopular their area that they want to cover, they're going to get an audience."
• Best blog: Twenty Major; www.twentymajor.net
• Best blog post: Conor O'Neill; www.conoroneill.com
• Most humorous post: Twenty Major - Countdown to the Election
• Best photo blog: Headphoneland; www.headphoneland.com
• Best arts and culture blog: Sinead Gleeson, www.sineadgleeson.com/blog
• Best political blog: IrishElection.com; www.irishelection.com
• Best group blog: In fact, Ah; www.infactah.com
• Best personal blog: Red Mum; www.redmum.blogspot.com
• Best use of the Irish Language in a blog: HilaryNY; www.hilaryny.blogspot.com
• Best contribution to the Irish bloggersphere: Bernie Goldbach (shared with Damien Mulley) www.irish.typepad.comwww.mulley.net
• Best technology blog/blogger: Bernie Goldbach
• Best designed blog: Beaut.ie; www.beaut.ie
• Best sport and recreation blog: Tom's Sporting Almanac www.tomssportingalmanac.blogspot.com
• Best news/current affairs blog: IrishElection.com
• Best specialist blog: IceCream Ireland; www.icecreamireland.com
• Best newcomer: Beaut.ie