Another Morning Call "Best" Blog Contest

Last year, The Morning Call ran a supposed "best" blog contest, in which anyone who was logged in could cast a vote in every category, every day. A quick glance at Technorati would reveal the most widely read blogs. But that was irrelevant. This was a way for a struggling newspaper to increase its registered users and the all important ad revenue that follows.

A group of local twitterati - who spend their days sending mindless tweets about farting - decided to game the system by uniting and casting votes for each other. It worked, but many of the winning blogs simply vanished as soon as the contest was over.

It was a bullshit contest, but it's time to drive up that ad revenue again. Never mind that newspapers lose $7 of print ad revenue for every $1 they gain in new digital revenue. Hence, a new Best of Blogs contest. This time, like last time, no attention is paid to the actual nominees. One blog - Lehigh Valley Running Scene - has been entered twice in the Fitness category.

Lehigh Valley With Love, a very funny blog, is entered in the News category. Now I like George Wacker as much as the next guy and he is a former reporter. But his product is humor, not news. My blog, which actually does break news stories and scooped The Morning Call twice last week, is conveniently overlooked. Of course, a not-so-hidden message there is that only newspapers, and not those disgusting blogs, are real news sources.

This year, the twitterati are too busy hitting the bars to be involved. But blogger Jonathan Geeting wants to win badly, even though he knows he has few readers. A win for him is a win for his "pro-young people, pro-urban, pro-growth agenda." It will also "raise awareness of progressive political messages on economic and land use issues at the local and regional level." Yep. All the way from NYC, Geeting knows all about local local land use issues. Finally, Geeting claims, "[M]y readers like me enough to click this button every day for two weeks, whereas Bernie will be hard-pressed to find more than two or three people willing to stick it out more than a couple days."

If there were an Asshole category, I'd vote for Geeting every day myself. It is true that there are several people who, judging from the comments posted here, hate me enough to vote for Geeting every day, just to show me.

Geeting, unaware that the blogs are arranged alphabetically, is sure he's in the lead. Shhh.

Let's put Jonathan back in his crib with his binky.  Go to The Best of Blogs Contest page and vote for this blog in the Politics category. I'm nominated in two other categories as well, but the hell with them. You can cast one vote every day in every category between now and March 25.

Also, please vote for Michael Molovinsky. He promises we'll buy you a hamburger.

It'll have to be White Castle.

Here are my picks:

Opinion: Don't you think Michael Molovinsky is an opinionated bastard?

Humor: If you don't vote for Kathy Frederck's Junk Drawer, it'll be suicide by bacon.

Misfit: Why Corner Seat? Two words. Roller Derby.

Politics: Know a bigger political bottom feeder than me? Neither do I.

Sports: Noise Nation invented "the wave." At least at Coca Cola Park.

Fitness: LV Running Scene. But does running make you fit or kill you?

Business: LV's Chamber always gives me the business.