2009 Okie Blog Award Winners Announced

Below are the highlights for the Tulsa side of the Turnpike on the big news at the Oklahoma Blog Awards Web site.

Congrats to all the winners, runners-up and nominees. Blogging is so important these days to how people learn about Oklahoma and what we can learn about ourselves. To anyone out there thinking that blogging sounds like fun, I say this: Do it. It's hard work (more than a lot of folks think, but that's true about darn near everything, isn't it?) and it's demanding of one's time, but it's worth it.

So worth it.

Last week, Oklahoma bloggers voted for their favorite Oklahoma blogs in the annual peer-selection competition. Winners and runners-up include:

Lifetime Achievement
The Pioneer Woman

Best Overall Blog
The Art of Manliness
Runner Up: The Lost Ogle

Best Audio/Podcast Blog
Blog Oklahoma
Runner Up: Goodbye Tulsa

Best Culture Blog
Tasha Does Tulsa
Runner Up: Oklahoma Rock

Best Blog Design
Erin Conrad Photography
Runner Up: Ad Brad

Best Family Blog
918 Coupon Queen
Runner Up: Rocks in My Dryer

Best Food Blog
Tulsa Food Blog
Runner Up: FoodDude

Most Humorous Blog
The Lost Ogle
Runner Up: Irritated Tulsan

Most Inspirational Blog
Life is Real (posthumous)
Runner Up: Napkin Dad

Best New Blog of 2009
Okie Creative
Runner Up: Carless in Tulsa

Best Political Blog (Conservative)
BatesLine
Runner Up: McCarville Report

Best Political Blog (Liberal)
Okie Funk
Runner Up: Alternative Tulsa

Best Rural Blog
The Redneck Diva
Runner Up: Brit Gal in the USA

Best Tech Blog
Blogging Basics 101
Runner Up: STF PR New Media Now

Best Tulsa Blog
Tasha Does Tulsa
Runner Up: Irritated Tulsan

This year marks the first time an Oklahoma blogger has been honored with a lifetime achievement award. Based on her enormous success as a blogger, and the positive image of Oklahoma she presents to the rest of the world, the final determination panel decided to honor Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, with the award.

In addition, this year is the first time a blogger has been recognized posthumously. Jim Chastain, whose blog, Life is Real via newsok.com, inspired hundreds of Oklahomans with his fight against cancer. Although he lost that battle just two short months ago, his words live on.

Mike Hermes, a newspaper editor from Little Axe, is the founder of the Okie Blog Awards. This year’s awards were coordinated by Jennifer James, an Oklahoma City public relations practitioner and writer who blogs about Generation X.

Members of the panel that counted the votes and determined the winners included Mike Hermes; Louisa McCune-Elmore, editor, Oklahoma Today; Mike Koehler, new media director, Schnake Turnbo Frank PR and John G. Johnson, J.D., executive director, Association of Central Oklahoma Governments.

Winners will be formally recognized this spring at an organized gathering of Oklahoma’s Twitter community. Information about the tweetup will be made available on okctweetup.com.