WUWT is a finalist in the 2011 "bloggies" awards

I was very surprised to learn today (almost a week later) that WUWT has been nominated for Best Science Blog in the 2011 Bloggies. This is like the Superbowl for bloggers. This nomination was done by a blind vote of some 200 people that got nomination ballots. I’m up there with HuffPo, Wired and many others in this award contest. Who isn’t on it is equally interesting. Please read on for info on how to cast your votes for WUWT and other bloggers.

Here’s the timeline and where to vote:

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This weblog award is a little different than the previous one seen on the sidebar (which closed last year because the organizers couldn’t get the system working right)…recall the Climate Audit/Bad Astronomy horserace from 2007 that continued to get votes after the ballots closed, requiring a tie to be called. In 2008 (voting in 2009) WUWT won, but there were other problems. So they closed shop in 2010.

Voting in this contest requires you to give an email address and complete a captcha, so it may be less prone to ballot stuffing.

The voting method is not obvious at first glance, so I’ve summarized it visually for everyone below:

1. Visit http://2011.bloggi.es/ for the main voting page,

or go direct to the Science category with this link: http://2011.bloggi.es/#science

2. Locate the Science category thumbnails:

3. If you want to vote for WUWT, click on the little grey circle in the lower right, and it turns into a checkbox and greys out the other thumbnails. Note the contest rotates the thumbnails for fairness in placement, so it may not look like the image order above.

4. Scroll up/down. Vote for any other blogs you like in any other categories the same way. You don’t have to vote for other blogs, as the system doesn’t require it, but please do. These other bloggers work very hard to deliver a quality product. Reward them if you feel they deserve it.

5. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page: (note – don’t use cursor keys, it will change your vote!)

6. Complete the captcha by typing the words displayed in your browser (not the ones above), put in a VALID email address. Press the yellow SUBMIT button. Note- you won’t get spammed by doing so. See the fine print under the email box.

7. Wait for an email in your inbox. That email contains a link to verify your vote. If you don’t get it within a half hour, check your spam filter.

8. Click on the link in your email to verify your vote. It will take you to the verification page on the website and you’ll get a success message.

9. Spread the word! Twitter, Facebook, mailing lists, friends, comments on other blogs, and most importantly, if you run a blog, I’d welcome a posting on this topic.

You know that some others who dislike what we do here will try to create anti-vote campaigns as they have done in the past. Success depends on whether there are more people who view WUWT as a science resource versus those that simply want to haul out the hate, and slap on the “denier” label.

10. Remember, while winning is fun, as I tried to teach my son in the recent pinewood derby we did, the way you play the game is just as important. Don’t cheat. Don’t encourage cheating, and simply let the chips fall where they may.

It’s an honor just to be nominated, especially when some other prominent blogs in our circle of influence were not.

Thanks for your consideration – Anthony

UPDATE: Ah, well, what can I say? The childish hatehate has already started over at BoingBoing in comments.