The Construct

This post is an offshoot to a Plurk I posted to which only Jester was gracious enough to oblige with comments and I’m following it up with this post.

Today’s the day many Filipino bloggers have been waiting for – the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards night. I wish every nominee the best of luck. I do think that the PBA is a great effort in acknowledging the effort and talent that Filipino bloggers poured into their blogs.

Still, I’d like to bring up a key issue regarding this effort. The PBA has so much at stake for one not be critical about it. Every blog nominated and every winner will be elevated to an elite status that virtually raises the credibility and authority of the blog as far as the Pinoy blogosphere is concerned. Whenever we have an institution doing this, we are subscribing to the idea that these awardees, are indeed, the best of what the Philippine blogosphere has to offer.

The important question – How do we decide which blog is “the best”?

The PBA has been transparent with their selection process which they outline on their website. The conditions for eligibility and the nomination procedures are clear-cut. The eligibility rules automatically narrow down the field and the nomination process is democratic. Both could be found apt and satisfactory. However, I think a problem lies in the criteria for judging when it comes to judging the different categories.

80% content and 20% usability. I think that style (which I use in the sense of stylistics) and web usability alone will not be able to determine how one blog becomes “the best.” Such criteria seems to be too simplistic to properly evaluate a very complex communicative process such as blogging. Taking the features of the blog alone,

The criteria also aren’t clear cut on how a blog will be measured. Did they compare a nominee to the other blogs and choose which stands out among the rest. Or did they, based on the criteria, institutionalize an archetype of “the best blog” and use that as the benchmark to which a blog will be measured?

Either way, I think that a blog should be measured on how well it fulfills its potential. Blogging isn’t just about creatively displayed web content. It is a communicative process that involves so many factors from the generation of a blog post to its eventual consumption by the audience. As a publishing medium, it can also be asserted that it has capacity to have an impact to society. These are simply beyond the scope of content and usability.

I am therefore proposing a critical framework (based on Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis framework) in evaluating a blog.

1. Text

• Content – Is the topic interesting, meaningful and relevant?
• Organization – Does the writing feature unity, coherence, and cohesion?
• Language – Does the writing display good use of language? (I refuse to consider grammar and mechanics here since creativity should allow for non-standard use.)

2. Discourse Practice

• Identity – Does the blogger successful in creating his/her own unique voice in the blogosphere.
• Blogging and web standards – Does the blogger employ web standards (usability and accessibility) in the blog?
• Consumption – Is the blog successful in reaching an audience?
• Reaction – How well does it influence (links and comments from fellow bloggers) its audience?

3. Socio-cultural context

• Filipino – How well does the blog capture/promote the Philippines to fellow Filipinos and to the world?
• Impact – Is it able to breach the borders of the blogosphere and affect Filipino society?

Such a multi-level and multi-faceted approach covers the levels on which blogs operate as text, medium and vehicle for social change. In short, the “best blog” should be able to be the best in all these levels.

By looking at all of these factors, I believe that we can further separate the wheat from the chaff and possibly. This set can also help judges avoid measuring quality based on sheer popularity and flair (though I do have confidence in the judges not to fall into such traps).

While I understand this will not be readily applicable to the popular vote-driven Blogger’s Choice Award, these can still be proposed as a guide to help bloggers decide which blog really is the best. Not to single out any winner, but I think the Blogger’s Choice award is still judged simply based on creativity and flair more than anything.

Note to the PBA: If I have misinterpreted any of your processes, please feel free to clarify. I do admit that I am discounting the possibility that you may have used a more stringent set of factors in your judging sheets. More power and good luck to next year’s awards.

Check out these other posts:

1. Wee, I’m cited by the Blog Herald!
2. How do we define ‘authority’ in blogging?
3. How does one delimit a blog post?
4. What is mainstream media’s beef with blogging?
5. A few new insights on blogging for literacy in the Philippine context