Phil Stead from Ffwtbol talks about winning Best Sports Blog, Best Blog and the People’s Choice Award at the Wales Blog Awards 2011

Nicola Tudor of Cardiff Bites – winner of Best Food and Drink Blog at the Wales Blog Awards 2011

We’re now working on getting through all your feedback and looking ahead to next year, which we hope will be even more successful.

In the meantime, we’ve had requests to publicise the judges’ comments on the winning blogs. We hope you’ll find the comments useful. And if you’re hoping your blog will be shortlisted next year, our judging criteria is here.

Best Blog

ffwtbol.co.uk

Carol Jones from award sponsor Chapter Arts Centre said, “This blog was a bit of a revelation really. As anyone who knows me will tell you I’m not a very sporty person and the ball is definitely the wrong shape in football. But I kept finding myself drawn back to this blog and just got engrossed in everything from EPPP (I know now what that stands for) to the price of a ticket to watch Bangor and why Cardiff doesn’t deserve Dave Jones.”

*Note from Wales Blog Awards – EPPP stands for Elite Player Performance Plan – we didn’t know either!

Best Community Blog

http://rhuthun.blogspot.com/

Award sponsor Talk About Local said, “What we love about http://rhuthun.blogspot.com/ is the author’s dedication to highlighting Ruthun as a thriving, independent market town, the way they look to draw attention to and preserve its individuality and chart the impact of new developments upon this. As a regularly maintained blog since 2005, its consistency is particularly impressive, as is the lively local discussion the blog facilitates.”

Runner up – http://wearecardiff.wordpress.com/

Best Food and Drink Blog

http://cardiffbites.blogspot.com/

Award sponsor The Potted Pig said, “We felt it delivers exactly what you want from a blog, is up to date, very well informed on new openings and very well known amongst the world of twitter and social media. We found Cardiff Bites very interesting and well reported.”

Runner up – http://whatkatebaked.blogspot.com/

Best Lifestyle Blog

http://wherearemyknees.blogspot.com/

Award sponsor Wales Millennium Centre said, “We found this blog to be amusing and witty but also very honest. We also felt it was a helpful blog to those that are going through those experiences, as people can relate to the group. We also thought it was really helpful with the healthy cooking tips etc. We like the fact it was a group blog which also included guest blogs.”

Runner up – http://thechicandcheerful.blogspot.com/

Best Music and Entertainment Blog

http://moviewaffle.com/

Award sponsor The Riverfront said, “A highly entertaining and well-written blog, Interesting to read for movie buffs, and those not so well versed in the land of cinema alike. It is poignant and personal without being self-indulgent. We hope Movie Waffle will come and soak-up some of the films we programme at The Riverfront.”

Runner up – http://catonthewall.net

Best Photo Blog

http://cardiffarcades.wordpress.com/

Award sponsor Rob Norman, Media Wales picture editor, said, “Her pictures show a great deal of creativity and a style that you soon come to recognize as Amy. Her subject is difficult insomuch as it would be very easy to become complacent and formulaic. Amy has avoided these pitfalls and every entry is filled with her simple but beautiful pictures.”

Runner up – http://circusclouds.blogspot.com/

Best Political Blog

http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/

Award sponsor S & L Associates said, “All blogs have displayed dedication to their causes, ensuring the public are made aware of the issues through the blogging medium. However, one stands out in its focus and tenacity in challenging the powers that be. The blog in question has been recognised in the national press, and the blogger’s dedication is such that their actions in pursuing the cause have resulted in their own freedom being denied. Therefore, the winner of the best political blog is Jacqui Thomson – Carmarthenshire Planning.”

Runner up – (joint) http://caredig.blogspot.com/ and http://www.radicalwales.org/

Best Sports Blog

www.ffwtbol.com/

Award sponsor Sporting Wales said, “There were some very good blogs in the sports category and the development of pictures and video was particularly strong in some of the others shortlisted. However when it came to writing, Ffwtbol was the clear winner. It was not just that it was well written, personal and engaging, clearly written with great enthusiasm and deep knowledge of the game and its history. There were also some different stories, the sort of features which could easily appear on the inside pages of our newspapers – in fact arguably should do so more often. It was that willingness to look away from the obvious which was the clincher against the multi-media talent on display elsewhere.”

Runner up – cardiffskateboardclub.com

Best Technology Blog

thisismyjoystick.com

Award sponsor Rant Media said, “Thisismyjoystick.com portrays a great interest and enthusiasm for the chosen subject. The site is well written and visually exciting.”

Runner up – http://techbeast.net/

Best Welsh Language Blog

http://henrechflin.blogspot.com/

Award sponsor Melys Media said, “The blogs shortlisted in the Welsh language category were quite different, one a Welsh window on life in Japan the other a self
professed “old farts” view on all things Welsh, “Hen Rhech Flin’s” blog reacts to happenings in modern Welsh life, and does attract comment, the writing is simple and direct and talks to its audience, but it is also a moving blog with
content appearing regularly drawing the reader back for repeat visits,
and what is said may well make you want to return for more.”

Runner up – http://siondafydd.wordpress.com/

Best Writing on a Blog

http://isawelvisinthewoods.blogspot.com/

Award sponsor Leaf Books said, “They won because of the originality of content, and because they were the most engaging with their reader. The writing grabbed us from the get go with a great sense of humour, while keeping topical and displaying an excellent use of language.”

Runner up – http://www.mikejenkins.net/

S&L Associates are a management consultancy team, specialising in bid writing, contract management and project management for the public, private and 3rd sectors.

S&L Associates & partners represent over 90 years of procurement, tender and management experience. We therefore offer a variety of services to ensure your competitive edge is maintained. From project & contract management specialists through to tender writing services and training, S&L Associates can improve your effectiveness and commercial focus and ultimately improve your bottom line.

Website (launching soon) www.slassociates.co.uk

This year’s winners were:

Best Blog (overall winner) – www.ffwtbol.com/
People’s Choice Award – www.ffwtbol.com/
Best Community Blog – http://rhuthun.blogspot.com/
Best Food and Drink Blog – http://cardiffbites.blogspot.com/
Best Lifestyle Blog – http://wherearemyknees.blogspot.com/
Best Music and Entertainment Blog – http://moviewaffle.com/
Best Photo Blog – http://cardiffarcades.wordpress.com/
Best Political Blog – http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/
Best Sports Blog – www.ffwtbol.com/
Best Technology Blog – www.Thisismyjoystick.com
Best Welsh Language Blog – http://henrechflin.blogspot.com/
Best Writing on a Blog – http://isawelvisinthewoods.blogspot.com/

Congratulations to everybody who made it through to the final, and particularly to Ffwtbol for winning a hat trick of awards on the night!

The runners up and judges comments about why they chose the winners can be found here.

Many thanks to everyone who entered, nominated and attended this year’s awards. With your help we hope to keep making them bigger and better.

The Potted Pig restaurant is located in central Cardiff on High Street within 100m of both Cardiff castle and the famous Millennium Stadium.

Opened in 2011 The Potted Pig has made its home in a former bank vault underneath the city. We serve a varied and constantly changing menu of modern British food with a few French and New-York grill inspired influences. The menus are based on food we love cooking and eating rather than a single concept. At The Potted Pig we make every effort to keep our menus seasonal, which means using as many locally sourced products from independent and local suppliers as possible.

Our wine and drinks menu has been carefully selected to match our menus and we carry an excellent range of independently sourced wines as well as a fantastic array of bottled lagers, ales and ciders. Don’t forget also to check out our extensive spirit range including an unrivalled choice of bespoke gin.

http://www.thepottedpig.com/

Leaf Books is a small independent publishing house based in South Wales. It specialises in the publication of short fiction, micro-fiction and poetry by both new and established authors. Since its inception in 2006, the company has put over 200 authors into print. Leaf Books is also known for its series of A6 pocket-sized books, each book containing one short story (3000-5000 words) or a collection of short poems or micro-fiction.

Leaf Books has links to the University of Glamorgan, and was launched with the help of the university’s GTI project. The publishing company was started with the intention of providing a publishing outlet for short story writers beyond the usual route of magazines or anthologies. The company runs several competitions a year. All titles are selected anonymously from competition entries and published in competition anthologies.

For more information please visit http://leafbooks.co.uk/

Talk About Local helps people in deprived and isolated communities find voice online that they own and run. We have helped people create around 100 sustainable local web sites. We are a small business with a public service ethos – our free Spring unconference on hyperlocal publishing in Cardiff was attended by almost 100 people.

Visit http://talkaboutlocal.org.uk/ for more details.

Live streaming of the Wales Blog awards will appear below.

Melys Media is a brand new multi media company which brings a new way of thinking to all of its creative projects.

Headed by Huw Marshall a former development executive with the Tinopolis group, and former head of the multiplatform S4C weather service, Melys is currently involved in a raft of exciting new projects.

Collaboration is key as we develop new and innovative projects in house or for clients. Next year will see the launch of cartref.com a brand new Welsh language web portal developed by Melys providing an online community for the Welsh language.

Be it a small documentary shot in Wales or a mobile App for a multinational company, Melys is here to help turn ideas into reality.

Rantmedia is a specialist mobile and web app company. Founded in 2003, Rantmedia use creativity, innovation and technical excellence to build amazing apps for a wide range of companies including a number of national and international brands.

Rantmedia work with all platforms – iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and the web. Much more than just ‘app developers’, Rantmedia have the experience and passion to create innovative, exciting – and profitable – mobile solutions for our clients.

http://www.rantmedia.com/