Japan Blogs of the Year 2007 - Voting open!
VOTING IS NOW COMPLETE! Update: 25th December. Thank you everyone, and I’ll be contacting the winners individually and posting reviews all the candidates. Thanks again for all the votes, and I hope you all enjoyed the friendly competition, and you’ve all found a new blog or three to read.
I’ve totted up the nominations from both the comments sections and email, and after a complex process involving lots of beer and a dartboard, I’ve come up with the following nominations for each category. Winners in each category will be awarded some yet to be decided goods with the upcoming new What Japan Thinks logo on them, once I get round to setting up a Cafe Press shop. If anyone wishes to donate any more stash in return for some publicity, please get in touch!
To encourage you all to vote, I’ll also be giving away similar logoed gifts to randomly-selected posters, so post your thoughts on the candidates, or on who you think should be there, and I’ll select one (or perhaps more) commenter at random and contact them via their email address. Voting will be open until midnight on Christmas Eve (or so) and the winners announced on Christmas Day, assuming I don’t stuff myself too silly on turkey-effect tofu steaks…
Best serious blog on Japan
Best humourous blog on Japan
Best culture blog on Japan
Best technology blog on Japan
Best personal blog on Japan
Thanks to everyone who nominated, and there’s a few blogs new to me here and in the nominations that I’ll write short reviews of this week.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed, or check out my weekly newsletter. Thanks for visiting!
Read more on: blog of the year
Subscribe to feed
Send to mobile
Subscribe to 世論 What Japan Thinks newsletter
Tori said,
December 19, 2007 @ 14:29
Ken,
What do you think about installing a comment notification plugin so that people can know when there has been a reply?
I have been talking about this on DailyJ.
Nick from LongCountdown.com (another good blog) let me know where the plugin can be downloaded from and I am trying to share it with everybody.
http://nipponster.com/dailyj_copy/2007/12/19/friends-dont-let-friends-blog-without-comment-notification/
Garrett said,
December 19, 2007 @ 14:30
What’s stuck in your craw, Chris? This is, at most, a bit of good-natured, unscientific competition. Ken took nominations and chose his four “finalists” from those. In no way does a vote here or anywhere imply any kind of inherent superiority.
When I referred to what a blog is “supposed” to do, I was talking about what gets blogs attention and what even primarily personal bloggers pat themselves on the back for. What makes blogs relevant to people who neither know the authors nor have a voyeuristic streak.
Does this mean personal blogs are bad? Of course not.
I have nothing against Daily J at all - more power to them. I do, though, think it’s hard to object to “well-known bloggers patting each other on the back,” then assert that a site centered around bloggers patting each other on the back is “trying” to do more than anyone.
Chris B said,
December 19, 2007 @ 15:03
“What’s stuck in your craw, Chris?”
I was giving my personal opinion. That is not too out of line I hope?
Eric said,
December 19, 2007 @ 16:16
Tofugu is one of the best sights that I feel are out there. It lets you have some fun while still actually understanding what they are talking about. It’s helpful, funny, and all around a great site that I think well deserves its leading spot in the comedy poll right now. Good luck to all the other competetors, however tofugu can’t be beat.
Ken Y-N said,
December 19, 2007 @ 22:58
Eric - actually, Tofugu is brand new to me! I’ve just added it to my RSS reader right now.
Tori said,
December 20, 2007 @ 02:24
@ Ken,
Glad to see that the comment notification plugin is up and running. If you know others that need it, be sure to give them the link ( http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/subscribe-to-comments/ )
Also you might already have thought of this but, I keep a “copy blog” (a blog with the same template, etc. as Daily J) that I use for checking any plugins (or major edits) before trying them on the actual blog. It is a lifesaver.
DailyJ is actually NOT a blog about Japan at all, *gasp* (that’s why I was a little surprised to see it on this list). It is a blog that reports on blogs and sites about Japan. So it is kind of like comparing apples to a guy studying apples (you thought I was going to say oranges didn’t you
).
It is not much of a blog either, whatever a blog is.
It is more of a conversation (that is the goal anyway).
And as the moderator of that conversation, I’ll be the first to admit that DailyJ is not important. It’s not important, its interviewees, readers, and commentors are.
Forget DailyJ, it is the Japan-related web that is important! It is each individual Japan blogger and their impact on the reader. It is about when something you have written helps someone else. It is about greater collaboration between those who have the means to produce (webmasters and bloggers) for the benefit of the Japan-enthusiasts out there looking for their information (i.e. their readers). That’s what is important, that is what I am advocating.
Chris said that I am “trying” more than others. That is flattering but really I am not trying more as much as I am demanding more (*maybe*). I am saying, to everyone that has a blog or site about Japan, that I believe you have a responsibility (as producers) to give people interested in Japan the best content possible (by collaborating) and to help (and respect) your fellow Japan-blogger.
That’s why I don’t want DailyJ to only be “a site centered on bloggers patting each other on the back” I want DailyJ to be a catalyst that inspires Japan bloggers everywhere to pat one another on the back and help each other out.
Bloggers like Ken were already doing this long before me and stand an example of what I hope we will all practice and promote. And that is love and community.
Thank you. I am done ranting now
Japan blog mini-reviews: part 1 » 世論 What Japan Thinks said,
December 20, 2007 @ 04:35
[…] that they were nominated. Reviews of the candidates will take place after voting finishes. Please remember to vote, and remember that all commenters on that thread will be eligible for a drawing for a small […]
honkeyblogger said,
December 20, 2007 @ 14:19
This ain’t much more than a buncha white dudes, and maybe a few broads, giving each other virtual handjobs. I like it!
Garrett said,
December 20, 2007 @ 16:36
Hey, TPR’s Ken Worsley once saw a picture of Patrick Ewing. Does that count to make this bunch less monoracial?
On an unrelated note, Tofugu folks, nicely done. Tell us all how you mobilize your readership.
Koichi said,
December 20, 2007 @ 18:00
Hey Garrett, thanks for the compliment. We’ve worked really hard to develop a sense of community and personal attention. We try really hard to respond to people via comment, return emails, and talk to folks on IM. It takes a lot of time, but it’s been really working out (and we’ve met some cool people). I think having a viewership on Youtube as well as on the main site helps a lot too, kind of the “branching out from the center” approach.
I really do hope that people check out the other blogs though, like I asked them to. I’m really inspired at the quality of all the blogs listed up here, and have found a bunch of new feeds to subscribe to. I never realized the Japan blogging community was so big - we should be doing guest posts on each others blogs to help everyone out!
Garrett said,
December 20, 2007 @ 20:05
It has been educational. Including yours, Koichi, there are nine blogs in this little contest I’d never even heard of before, much less read. I was also reminded of a few I hadn’t read in a while. I must admit that when it comes to the Japan blogosphere, outside of “serious” stuff, I am quite out of touch.
rick said,
December 20, 2007 @ 21:47
Your list is a joke isn’t it? You’re missing 3yen.com, Dannychoo.com, Japansugoi.com, Stippy.com, Japundit.com Kirainet.com and so many more. Oh well, if you want to nominate from people who comment on your site, thats your choice. BTW, your site is getting so commercial these days compared to a year ago- just an observation.
Ken Y-N said,
December 20, 2007 @ 22:53
Kochi - I’ll have to check out your blog in detail - it was the first time I’d ever heard of it; it sort of feels like there are two disjoint Japan communities, and I’m glad I’ve been able to do something to get them it touch with each other!
rick - readers were free to nominate whoever they want; that’s the way these sort of things work. I’m surprised the guys from Japundit didn’t nominate themselves as my articles often end up there, but there you go. Indeed, why didn’t you yourself nominate one or more of them? If you feel my blog is too commercial, feel free to download an adblocker.
Japan blog mini-reviews: part 2 » 世論 What Japan Thinks said,
December 21, 2007 @ 04:58
[…] that they were nominated. Reviews of the candidates will take place after voting finishes. Please remember to vote, and remember that all commenters on that thread will be eligible for a drawing for a small […]
Shari said,
December 21, 2007 @ 13:57
I’ve been avoiding commenting because I figure any comment I make will be viewed differently since my blog was nominated in the “personal blog” category.
However, I’ve noticed that, in your second post on reviews, you seem to be showing just a bit of a pessimism about this contest (mainly reflected in some apprehension about doing this annually) and I thought it may be because of some of the people attacking you in this thread, so I decided to say something.
First of all, I think that any time you make a list or hold a contest, people are going to get upset. For instance, any time someone makes a list of the top 100 greatest songs of all time, you’ll get a hundred people saying, “I can’t believe song x wasn’t included!” Given the highly competitive nature of blogs and bloggers, you’re bound to get an even more vociferous reaction about anything seen as “elevating” one above another.
I hope you won’t take any of that seriously. The bottom line is that you put a lot of work into this blog and it provides a form of unique content which no other site offers. You probably work harder than a lot of people and tap into information they will not. Because of that, you deserve to commercialize the site and to do whatever you can to draw traffic to it. You should profit from this site as a reward for your efforts and the high relative value of your content. To that end, you should do whatever you can to draw traffic to your site and part of what does that is contests like these. The people you nominate are going to announce their nomination and encourage their readers to vote which drives people to your site. That’s the only thing that you should think about and don’t worry about any of the negative commentary or bitterness.
People can’t expect you to know every site, particularly when they couldn’t be bothered to nominate them initially. And you don’t have to know or review every site. Blogging and increasing web site traffic is an incestuous business. People who take the time to read your site and comment invite others to visit their sites (including you). If the sites that didn’t get nominated or their readers are upset that you don’t know about their sites, then it’s their responsibility to make you aware of them, not yours. If they can’t be bothered to comment and include a URL so you are compelled to go back and read their sites based on the content of their comment, then they have nothign to complain about.
Tori said,
December 21, 2007 @ 14:53
At the risk of wearing my welcome I am commenting again…
Hi Shari,
Good points. I hope that Ken hasn’t been discouraged too.
It’s just an assumption but I think that the contest was not something to be taken so seriously. It is just for fun. Of course it is not perfect.
There is one thing you said that saddens me though:
“Given the highly competitive nature of blogs and bloggers, you’re bound to get an even more vociferous reaction about anything seen as ‘elevating’ one above another.”
Although their are blogs that are full-fledge businesses and even among J-bloggers there are blogs targeting the same audiences I do not think that we should consider one another as competition.
I hope that this contest does not make people feel like competitors but rather fellow bloggers and members of a community. I think that was the intention from the beginning.
Working together is the key. Collaboration is more likely to raise traffic and ad revenue anyway. And more importantly collaboration benefits THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT MATTER, i.e. your readers. In my humble opinion you should work together, for the benefit of your readers, because you care.
Ken Y-N said,
December 21, 2007 @ 15:40
Hi Shari, thanks for your comments!
Ahh, I was being pessimistic as it was more if I could be bothered next year!
Thanks for your support anyway!
Why am I doing it is a good question! First, it’s for the traffic, of course! I’m giving away a number of prizes that will represent in value just under one month’s worth of AdSense, or about 25,000 visitors and so far I’ve got mch less than 5,000 extra visitors in return, but I’m not looking for a profit. I just thought it would be fun to draw a few more blogs to everyone’s attention, and as I don’t tend to link out to other people much but a lot of people have me in their blogrolls, this is a good way to return some of the link love.
Tori, thanks for your feedback too, and thanks for pointing out the Subscribe to Comments plugin. I’ll mention it in my newsletter. I’m not very good at this community thing, but I feel that there should be some sort of J-bloggers United mailing list/SNS where we can get to know everyone a bit better, but without getting too incestuous; the blogging about blogging world is really bad for that!
I see Japan Probe has a new AdRoll icon; the Japan BlogAds doesn’t sell anything as a unit; could “we” work out a deal with Piqniq, TokyoApartments, etc so they could advertise direct rather than through the AdSense, TLA middlemen? I don’t, but someone like Robert at jp.blognation may have answers.
Blogs of the year | xorsyst.com said,
December 22, 2007 @ 01:05
[…] a little reminder, if you have not voted on the Japan Blogs of the Year, head over to WhatJapanThinks.com in order to do so. There are a lot of good blogs nominated, and […]
Japan blog mini-reviews: part 3 » 世論 What Japan Thinks said,
December 22, 2007 @ 06:21
[…] that they were nominated. Reviews of the candidates will take place after voting finishes. Please remember to vote, and remember that all commenters on that thread will be eligible for a drawing for a small […]
Chris B said,
December 22, 2007 @ 10:44
“and I thought it may be because of some of the people attacking you in this thread, so I decided to say something.”
Since when is giving opinions considered attacking?
This site, and some of the posters on it, has been an “eye opener” for me.
Debate is good…it is ALWAYS good!!
You want 50 posts that say “good job”??
Garrett said,
December 22, 2007 @ 14:56
Chris, it’s telling that you assume Shari’s comment was directed at you. I don’t think anyone, least of all Ken, would say that debate is a bad thing.
At the risk of offending you, I’d say that you attempt to start a debate, you jumped in and insulted the host of the contest and almost all of the blogs in the contest, then got defensive. Asking questions and debating are fine, but there’s a difference between debating and taking offense at your hostility begetting less-than-charitable responses.
When you come in and basically say that the contest is crap, the nominees are almost all crap, and the votes cast are crap, what do you expect? Is everyone supposed to respond with calm equanimity?
If a reasoned debate is what you wanted, that’s what you should have started.
Chris B said,
December 22, 2007 @ 19:04
“Chris, it’s telling that you assume Shari’s comment was directed at you.”
I could not possibly give a flying “F” WHO it was directed at, I responded. I’m not sure what exactly you find “telling”??
First you defined what a Blog is supposed to do (Duh….O.K.??) and now your saying I’m not following some unknown debate guideline?
“Telling”……Garrett, would be you taking a dump on another site after you had already made your point.
The Gaijin Tonic Awards 2007 « Gaijin Tonic said,
December 22, 2007 @ 23:39
[…] And, speaking of awards, don’t forget to vote for me as “best humorous blog about Japan” at the website “What Japan Thinks.”“ […]
Japan blog mini-reviews: part 4 » 世論 What Japan Thinks said,
December 23, 2007 @ 08:29
[…] that they were nominated. Reviews of the candidates will take place after voting finishes. Please remember to vote, and remember that all commenters on that thread will be eligible for a drawing for a small […]
Emily said,
December 23, 2007 @ 09:12
Oh it’s a shame no one nominated gaijinsmash.net