The Envelope Please ... 1st Annual Bloggie Winners

So a month ago I posted about a new idea I had come up for the Hopkins Interactive site and the Hopkins Insider blog -- the 1st Annual Bloggies. I was really excited of this new brainstorm and not just because it related to my addiction to the Oscars / Academy Awards. I really thought that the current Hopkins Interactive students, friends of the Hopkins Insider, and the faithful readership of this blog would rally around this mission and post some great "award nominations." Wow ... was I wrong. This idea was received like a ton of bricks. In fact, I even heard whispers that the Hopkins Insider might have actually "jumped the shark." (Read this if you don't understand that phrase.)

Well even though I got the hint that not many cared about the Bloggies, I am still fulfilling the initial goal and posting the winners the night after the 2009 Oscar telecast. (Yes, I am tempted to discuss the Oscars from last night, but instead I am going to reveal the winners ... this blog would be way too long if I went off on that tangent.)

I do hope that you all do follow the links to these Bloggie winners, as they really are some of the best entries we have ever posted to the over 20 blogs and hundreds of entries linked to Hopkins Interactive.

So without further adieu ... the envelopes please ...

THE FIRST ANNUAL HOPKINS INTERACTIVE
BLOGGIE AWARDS

BEST BLOG ENTRY OF 2008
    Roxi Rules - April 21, 2008
    NO JOKE ... TO THE CLASS OF 2012
This was the most talked about blog of 2008. Roxi took on a risky topic, and truly presented a honest, and real look at academic life at Hopkins.

BEST DRAMA
    Roxi and Jessica: Caught in Between - December 18, 2008
    COPING WITH DEATH WHILE AT HOPKINS
Hopkins Interactive blogs aren't supposed to bring you to tears. However, Jessica's heartfelt blog after the passing of her grandfather did that for many people. More significantly though, Jessica detailed how to overcome hardship while in the midst of finals.

BEST COMEDY
    Simply Serendipitous - February 3, 2008
    SO, WHAT IS CARBON?
A strong contender for Best Title as well, this entry from the increasingly introspective Mandy poses such a simple question that any committed natural science student should know the answer to ... or is it actually that simple of a question?

BEST ENSEMBLE
    2012: Hopkins Arts & Sciences Freshman Blog - multiple entries
    SWEET 16... (Dominique D.)
    A WORD ABOUT FUN AT HOPKINS (Lauren B.)
    A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS(Saznin M.)
    MOMENTS OF COFFEE(Wafa K.) 
The ensemble blog is something we launched last year with four freshmen in the class of 2011. In the Fall of 2008, we launched a number of new ensemble blogs, and it has been the all female Arts and Sciences blog that has been the most enjoyable to follow. Whether it was Dominique writing about her academic path; or Lauren dispelling the myth that Hopkins is where fun comes to die; or Saznin's quest for a major; or Wafa's reflection on the importance of a special beverage - this freshman blog has truly impressed. 

BEST SUPPORTING BLOG
    Hopkins Interactive Guest Blog - Nov. 27, 2008 & Dec. 8, 2008
    PRE-MED TO PHD (by Evelyn Clark) & PARIS, JE T'AIME (by Allison Blatz)
The Guest Blog has been the spot for some of our best written blogs. There were so many great entries to choose from but the best were truly Evelyn's reflections on her changing academic interests over her years at Hopkins and Allison's reflections on her time abroad.

BEST SCREENPLAY
    Julia's Journal - November 5, 2008
    YES WE DID! THIS IS OUR TIME!
Julia's blogs have consistently been the strongest written entries on a consistent basis, but it was this post-election night entry celebrating President Obama's victory may have been her best. Not shocking though, as great entries should come from Political Science student following one of the most momentous days in the history of the United States of America.

BEST EDITING
    2012: Hopkins Engineering Freshman Blog (Rohit D.) - Nov. 3, 2008
    HALLOWEEN POLITICS
Rohit has become our blogger of very few words. His entries, though shorter than most, are quite popular because he is able to provide an update about his freshman year in a succinct way and with interesting pictures.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
    The Reel Life of Josh - December 31, 2008
    TIME TO PRETEND
Thanks to Josh, our Film and Media sophomore, we incorporated a lot of videos into our blogs in 2008. This entry shows his talent in film as he shared his final project for his Intermediate Film Production class. (Interesting note is that this entry would not have been eligible if just posted one day later -- just like the Oscars, winners tend to come from the later part of the year.)

BEST ART DIRECTION
    Wish You Were Here - April 24, 2008
    SPRING AT HOPKINS + OPEN HOUSES!
Lauren's blog is known by most as our "prettiest" of blogs. It was this entry that celebrated the best season at Hopkins that was not only well written (typical for Lauren) but also presented some amazing pictures.

BEST SET DIRECTION
    Hopkins Interactive Video Blog - April 2, 2008
    HOPKINS CRIBS
The wildly popular Hopkins CRIBS series has been one of the most successful blog ideas we have ever pursued. It was quite difficult to pick just one of last year's CRIBS videos as best ... so instead we present 7 of the best videos in one entry.

BEST DOCUMENTARY 
    Verbal Snippets & Snapshots - December 10, 2008
    BALTIMORE: ANOTHER REASON TO CONSIDER HOPKINS
So many of Kate's entry this past year could be considered in this category for the blog that best presents a snapshot of student life at Hopkins. It was this ode to Baltimore though that was hands-down her best.

BEST NEW ARTIST 
    2012: Hopkins Engineering Blog - Nov. 16 (Brian) & Nov. 10 (Peter)
    WHAT'S YOUR MAJOR? (Brian)
    CAUGHT UP IN THE CONFLICT ... (Peter)
Brian and Peter couldn't be more different, but there entries have become some of the best presented by the Class of 2012. Of the all the blogs they both posted, Brian's discussion of his beloved Environmental Engineering major and Peter's re-cap of the middle of his first semester, rise to the top.

BEST FOREIGN ENTRY
    A Day in the Life - February 6, 2008
    LESSONS FROM FLORENCE
2008 has our first set of blogs from abroad as Esther headed to Switzerland and Laura headed to Italy. Laura's entry about the 12 lessons she learned in Florence along with her wonderful photos led to this win.

BEST TITLE
    Adventures at Hopkins - January 19, 2008
    I HATE AIR FRANCE AND OTHER STORIES
There were a lot of clever titles in 2008, but Esther's attack on Air France was a clear winner primarily because if you Google the phrase "I hate Air France" it is this entry that is the first link.

***LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT***
    NOT-QUITE-DAILY-RAMBLINGS
Since the inception of the Hopkins Interactive blogs in December 2005 there is a sort of Mount Rushmore of all-time bloggers that include Michelle T., Michelle B., Esther, and Julia. But it is Class of 2007 graduate Michelle Tellock that is the first to be enshrined in the Bloggie Hall of Fame. Michelle's blogs were always engaging and still resonate today two years after her graduation. As well, despite currently attending law school in New Haven (at a very good school), she continues to interact with our blogs and is the genius behind our Twitter page.

Hope you enjoyed the first annual Hopkins Interactive Bloggies. 2009 is shaping up to be our best blogging year ever, so check back in about a year for the second annual Bloggies. (STOP THAT GROANING!)

Comments

[jhu_michellet]

Awww...my thanks to the Academy for such a wonderful award! (The best part: no cheesy film montage!)

[Roxi Radi]

Thank goodness there was no speech, I'd absolutely be that person that gets cut off by the orchestra and everyone is rolling their eyes at...p.s. I miss you lifetime bloggers! So much wisdom bottled up in such awesome people, it just ain't fair