Since we know that many in the MBA blogging community are curious (taking our cue from some comments in Marina’s blog a few weeks ago), we wanted to take this opportunity to officially announce the details of this year’s Best of Blogging awards (or the BoBs, for short). The aim of this exercise is twofold: to recognize the best blogs covering the 2005-06 admissions/academic cycle, and to identify valuable sources of information for the next round of applicants. While last year’s ranking focused on applicant bloggers, this year we’ll be broadening our focus to include a list of the cream of this year’s crop of current student bloggers as well.
Here’s what the timeline for this year’s awards will look like:
Nominees Announced – Friday, April 7th
We’ll begin by considering all blogs listed in the Clear Admit Wiki and featured in Fridays from the Frontline (bloggers are encouraged to email wiki@clearadmit.com about adding a link if their sites are not currently included). Using the criteria of relevance and frequency of posts, as well as overall quality of posting and contribution to the space, we’ll pare the list of nominees down to 25 applicants and 25 current students. Once we’ve determined the blogs for consideration, we’ll be sending out BoB ballots to each of the nominated bloggers.
Ballots Due – Friday, April 21st
Using the nominees’ input and that of a handful of celebrity judges, we’ll compile the list of this year’s very best applicant and student blogs, giving 50% weighting to bloggers’ votes, 25% to Clear Admit staff and 25% to our guest judges. In addition to an overall ranking, we’ll ask voters for thoughts on the funniest blog and best single post, and to point us to the blogs that they feel feature the best advice in categories such as GMAT preparation, school selection, application essays, admissions and recruiting interviews, as well as the best representation of academics and student life in business school.
Awards Unveiled – Tuesday, April 25th
Once the votes have been tallied, we’ll publish the category winners as well as the top ten listings in the applicant and student categories. To reward the best of the best for their effort and contribution to the community, we’ll be handing out six prizes this year. The second and third place bloggers in the student-blogger top 10 and applicant-blogger top 10 rankings will receive a one year subscription to Business Week or The Economist (their choice), and the two top-ranked bloggers (one student, one applicant) will be given the option of an iPod Nano or a $250 Amazon.com gift certificate.
That’s all for now – check back on Friday, April 7th for an announcement about the BoB nominees! In the meantime, happy blogging…
