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WELCOME TO THE 2008 TRAVVIES

As previously announced, it’s time for the 2008 Travvies, celebrating the best of the past year in travel blogging.

Things change quickly in the blogosphere, but the reasons for having the Travvies are still the same as last year: To recognize the great blogs out there devoted to travel, and to draw attention to the field of travel blogging as a whole. When I tell people that I write a travel blog, I still often get the retort, “You mean, you write about your trips?” Not exactly. There’s an ongoing misconception that all travel blogs are travel diaries — some of which are terrific — but the scope of the travel blogosphere is much larger, and the Travvies are here to expose readers to a broader array of good travel writing.

WHAT’S THE PROCESS?

1) Nominees will be solicited from the general public for two weeks, beginning today, Monday, March 24, 2008. Readers will be asked to post their nominations for each category via the comments section of the post announcing that category.

2) When the nomination process is closed, a panel of invited judges will investigate and select their top 3 selections in each category. The four blogs in each category that are most often chosen by the judges as finalists will be presented as the finalists for each respective category. Like last year, to prevent “tampering,” the judges’ names will be announced along with the finalists, not before. As I am organizing the contest, my own site, Upgrade: Travel Better, will not be eligible for any nomination.

3) Finalists will be announced after the judges’ votes are in. Thereafter, for one week, readers may cast ballots online for their favorites in each category.

4) The winner in each category will be that finalist that receives the most votes from the general public.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR NOMINATION?

• Any travel blog that existed in 2007 and that generated at least 52 posts in 2007 is open for consideration.
• The primary focus of the blogs should be on some aspect of travel. They should be blogs about travel, not blogs about a range of topics, with only an occasional mention of travel.
• The content must be original, not aggregated from other sources, repurposed from another site, or (heaven forbid) a splog.
• While quality travel blogs are written in many languages, we will unfortunately only consider English-language blogs for the Travvies.

CHANGES IN 2008

• The “Destination” blog category has been changed to be the “Destination or Trip Narrative” category.
• New category: Big Media Blog. Most of the Travvies categories are pro/am. This category is designated for those in the mainstream media whose blogs are an extension of their company’s website.
• New category: Podcast/Video. Blogging isn’t just about text and pictures, after all.

Descriptions of each category are in the nomination posts. You will also be able to find the links to each category by clicking the 2008 Travvies logo on the sidebar.

Any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or use the contact link.

REMEMBER:
- You can nominated up to THREE blogs in each category
- Once a blog is nominated, it’ll be considered as a finalist. Multiple nominations don’t help (or hurt) that blog’s chances.
- Yes, you can nominate yourself.
- Yes, you can nominate the same blog in multiple categories. But choose sensibly.

Good luck to all bloggers!

Click below to go straight to any nomination category.

• Best Travel Blog
• Best Single-Author Travel Blog
• Best Group-Written Travel Blog
• Best Destination or Trip Narrative Blog
• Best Informative/Practical Travel Blog
• Best Photography on a Travel Blog
• Best Big Media Blog
• Best Podcast or Video Blog