Whoever Testcase (more like Nutcase amirite) is, I like how my IRC quotes were taken out of context. It's so ingenious that any grade school kid posting on the internet could've thought of it! Hint: I was talking about physical age, but two or three lines wouldn't make that obvious!

Also, I didn't see the need to be affiliated with any one aggregator or association (and neither did Impz, apparently). Claiming the ABC is somehow pulling the strings behind this is a fallacy, and an ignorant accusation at that. 

Finally, for all the criticism going on, I think a lot of people have clearly failed to use their thinking faculties with regards to the matter of reader participation. You really only have one alternative suggested here, and it's either American Idol (what some people think is the better alternative apparently) sans the three judges, or the Academy Awards. Go figure why the latter is superior. See also peer review.

Woo, exciting to actually see someone using this forum, even if it is mostly just Impz and Hung (who really wants to read what they write, anyway). 

I had some similar concerns to Hung and Jeff when I first heard about the contest, but after thinking it through a bit I agree with Impz on most of his points.  Yeah, it's not perfect, and yeah the categories probably should be tweaked for next year, but at least someone is doing something to highlight quality blogs and also quality newcomers.

I think the nomination process is reasonably fair, given the lax qualification of just having to have a recently updated anime blog.  I also think it is a fair assumption that many anime bloggers know more anime sites than the average reader.  These points aside, opening up nomination to all readers would be more difficult for the staff to process, take some of the anticipation out of the contest, and dilute the votes.  I think there is a reason that most contests (Oscars, elections, etc.) use a subset of the population to narrow down possible choices before voting.  

I liked the mystery of not knowing who the committee was, but it was spoiled by Impz commenting so much about the ABA.  I thought the Owen quotes were funny since new people can start dorama too, and also because the idea of Impz keeping a secret is laughable.

Anyway, I think the contest is going reasonably so far, with quite a few bloggers contributing to the nomination process.  I like how I have seen several blogs that I have never read before, and it's actually gotten me to look at some new pages.  Even if the contest is not perfect, I think the organizers deserve credit for at least trying to do something to recognize anime bloggers.  No one wants to go through a 100 question survey, so I think the format has a reasonable number of categories and will limit the choices to a manageable number.

I hope it will become something that helps to expand the anime blogging community, and I also hope that it's something that people can take a look at without immediately condemning it/praising it. It's supposed to be a fun exercise, or at least that's how I look at it. And the awards are something that I hope won't be just a one-time thing, so concerns and constructive critiques with how things are done, like some already mentioned in this thread, are always good. :3

Anime Blogging is Serious Business. :P 

Hmmm. Popular vote went to Gore, electoral college voted for Bush. I like the wisdom of crowds.

Also, I think Kabitzin is going to be collecting a lot of payola checks this week! I kid. 

I'm expecting payola AND an award!

I think it's good to pat "our" own backs every once in a while. 

(And Kabitzin, your check's in the mail. d("d) ). 

Dear Kabitzin,

We hereby announce that your tax for this year amounts to USD$1,300,000 dollars. Please pay it to weloveaba@awards.com before April 15th to receive your payola.

Regards,

Impz 

These awards are clearly bogus. My blog has received multiple nominations in multiple categories.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I thought I'd throw in my 2-cents. 

The thing about any kind of award is that it is in the eyes of the beholder.  You won't find my blog as a winner nor a nominee on the ABA site.  That said, there is a blog listed there as a winner in a certain category. 

For the Blogged rating site, my anime blog scored a 9.4 (as rated by the Blogged staff in an unsolicited review) and as of this posting, is still the #1 ranked blog.  I mention this because the ABA-winning blog I mentioned earlier scored lower than mine from the Blogged staff.  Go figure.

Now, would I mind being an ABA winner?  Not at all.  After all, I'm always looking for new ways to draw in more traffic and hopefully gain more repeat customers (those that don't just come for a specific title, but will read and possibly even comment on anything I blog about).  After all, that's why I've submitted my blog for review here and over at 9rules.  ^_~

Still, Hung may think, "Wow! ANB's blog stinks!" and the guys at 9rules may go, "Wow! ANB's blog is cool!"  As I said, it is all in the eyes of the beholder and I think that goes more so for awards.