Meta-blogging

I just learned about the Asia Weblog Awards 2003. What surprised me was that the awards are broken down by country. Most Internet awards I've seen are, well, not broken down by anything. Pretty much if you're on the net, you qualify. It's a little odd to revert to the mindset of traditional geographic boundaries because that seems to run counter to the spirit of what the Internet is about in the first place (or should be about, I should add, since I just read something on Singapore nominee Peking Duck's blog about how China's controlling Internet usage.

Anyway, I'm running through the list of Singapore nominees, and so far they seem mostly divided into two categories: 18, articulate and angsty; or close to 30, articulate, and not-so-angsty. There are a couple of exceptions (Peking Duck's being one of them), but mostly that's the order of the day. Of course, in this I believe Singapore bloggers are no different from bloggers around the world. 18-year-olds and under, if they're on the net, are comfortable enough with technology and have enough free time to be avid bloggers. 30-ishes like me were some of the first people on the net when it took off in the early/mid-'90s, and we like to think we're old enough now that our blogging doesn't completely read like a script off Dawson's Creek.

Personally, I'm inclined towards something a little more structured like The Diarist Awards. I'm not saying it's perfect, but there's a system and it's open for participation --- as opposed to a complete lack of a system (other than a straightforward clicking ad nauseam of the "Vote" or "New nomination and vote" button).