The BiBs Shortlist: The Perfect Reading list.
The BiBs Shortlist revealed.
Despite the fact I only started blogging four months ago, I still had a wild fantasy I would wake up on Friday morning to discover I’d made it onto the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Awards 2016 (BiBs) shortlist. Yes, my imagination really is that wild! Unsurprisingly, when I excitedly scanned the list of finalists, my humble little blog was nowhere to be seen.
I even checked through the shortlist in the ‘Video’ blog category, despite never publishing a single video on my site. Not for the want of trying, I might add. You should have seen me meticulously setting up my camera equipment and tripod to shoot my first Vlog (That’s a video blog, mum!). My idea was to showcase our beautiful Pantone Mugs. I thought it would be a wonderful topic as we’d had a new kitchen extension and the mugs were so colourful and appealing. I also anticipated it being a fairly straightforward video to shoot, adding a lovely finishing touch to my blog post. Then I tried to shoot the damn thing…That’s when I realised BrummyMummyof2, (shortlisted for best video blog), makes something that is actually quite tricky, look effortless.
Okay, so perhaps a video post was a bit ambitious so early on in my blogging career. It made for a ‘difficult watch’, especially when the overhead led lights in our new extension did a great job of illuminating every wayward strand of grey hair on my head and the dark circles under my eyes. Those circles aren’t there because I am a new mummy like Katie over at MummyDaddyMe but because I’ve been staying up until ‘stupid o’clock’ and getting up super-early for weeks trying to get to grips with hashtags and @ symbols, (as well as carpet bombing every ‘Linky’ with one of my posts!)
Maybe if I’d waited a few months to attempt my first Vlog I’d have had a chance to peruse some of the short-listed fashion and beauty blogs and get some tips so I could at least look the part. Mind you, I’m not sure fixing my hair and makeup would stop me from cringing when I watch myself back. Needless to say, the Pantone Mug ‘video nasty’ will never see the light of day and my vlog plans may be on hold until I can afford a stylist and a makeup artist. In other words, don’t hold your breath!
The new bloggers on the block
As I looked at the blogs that made it onto the BiBs shortlist in the ‘Fresh Voice’ category, (blogs less than 18 months old), I realised I still had a long way to go. In fact, considering the quality of these blogs and the writing, it would be easy to assume they had all been around for far longer.
I can’t lie, I do have a favourite in the ‘Fresh Voice’ category. I’m a big fan of IslandLiving365, where Emma’s writing ‘had me at hello’. Her life and adventures since ‘moving from wild and wonderful Yorkshire on the edge of the moors to the rather lovely and sunny Jersey, on the Channel Islands’ have drawn me in. She has such a wonderful ‘writer’s voice’. The posts I have read to date are a delight: often witty, sometimes thought-provoking, always engaging. I still find it hard to believe she has only been blogging since January this year. Furthermore, she somehow manages to publish an interesting, high quality post most days. If you haven’t discovered IslandLiving365 yet, then I highly recommend you pay Emma a visit.
The BiBs shortlist is the perfect reading list.
When I first started to discover blogs and blogging, I found the variety and choice a little overwhelming. In fact, I really didn’t know where to start. That’s the beauty of the BiBs 2016 shortlist. It’s a wonderful ‘reading list’ for anyone who wants to get a flavour of the different styles and categories of blogs out there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s by no means an exhaustive list, (more about that later), but it’s a great place to start.
I will be working my way through the BiBs shortlist myself, time permitting. I want to dip into the life stories of all of these folks who have earned a place in this prestigious line-up. I confess that I can’t vote in every category this year as I simply haven’t had chance to get to know them all yet. However, by the time the nominations roll around next year, some of them will feel like friends. There will be blogs that move me, those that make me laugh and those that invite me to look at the world from a completely different perspective. I’ll laugh with them, cry with them and cheer them on with a word of encouragement when they have touched me, informed me or made me snort in a very unladylike manner.
The ones that got away!
As I said earlier, the BiBs shortlist is a great place to discover some wonderful blogs but it isn’t an exhaustive list. In fact, some of my favourites didn’t make it this year. If I were making my own shortlist, then Parentshaped would be on it. I can almost taste the deep-fried custard Penny Alexander described on her wonderful Italian Days Food Tour No. 1. and I loved her fun and informative London Museum Dash for SportRelief.
Then there’s the fabulous Making Spaces, where Interior Designer Karen Knox’s creativity, humour and inspirational ideas have brought me back to her blog time and time again. If you want a flavour of what’s on offer then just take a look at her amazing Magnetic Playroom, one of my favourite makeovers of recent months.
Get reading and don’t forget to vote!
So without further ado, may I present the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging 2016 shortlist. Some will be familiar to you and some are waiting to be discovered….So why not make a start on this wonderful reading list and don’t forget to vote for your favourites. Voting closes at midnight on Wednesday 18th May 2016.
Fresh Voice
Food
Inspire
Social Media
Writer
Video
Mrs Meldrum
Travel
Photo
Beauty & Fashion
Art, Craft & Design
Hodge Podge Craft
Family
Readers Choice
Catherine’s Cultural Wednesdays
VOTE HERE
P.S. A little request.
This blogging lark is hard and this past 4 months has been such a steep learning curve. At the moment it takes me ages to prepare a post, write a post, share a post and then try and work out social media too.
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Thanks so much for reading!
Please note: All text and images are copyright Maflingo unless otherwise stated and opinions are my own. Single images may be reproduced only if they remain in their original state and must be credited back to Maflingo with a link to the site.
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