2007 Kairos Awards

2007 Kairos Award WINNER: Global Voices

2007-06-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

Global Voices Online has been selected as recipient of the 2007 Kairos Award for blogging excellence. This result comes after a six-week process of research, presentations, vetting and voting on thirteen semifinalist blogs, where students evaluated the blogs by applying an evaluation rubric that broke down criteria for determining how blogs exhibit rhetorical "kairos"

In ancient Greece, Kairos was a son of Zeus who had a penchant for seizing the day and acting at the most opportune moments. He is visually represented in sculpture as an athletic male with winged shoes, at rest but simultaneously poised to act. The Global Voices blog was selected selected because like Kairos, it takes advantage of the erasure of time and space barriers online to deliver thought-provoking and timely political commentary.

After racking up the second-highest score in the semifinals (90.5 points out of 100), Global Voices co-managing editor Solana Larsen chatted online with students during the final round of contest deliberations, where her blog garnered the votes of 54.5% of the students to finish in first place. Congratulations to the Global Voices team for a job well done!

TruthDig chat on the way

2007-06-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

Kasia Anderson, associate editor of finalist blog TruthDig, will be joining us tomorrow for an interview. Kasia knows something about Kairos, since she is a doctoral student of rhetoric at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communication. Earlier this year, TruthDig won a Webby Award for blogging excellence, but Anderson says a Kairos Award may be even more meaningful, given that TruthDig was founded in large part to reach college students. If things break our way, we will also have a chance to chat tomorrow with TruthDig managing editor Peter Scheer.

David Mixner interview lined up

2007-06-17T07:48:00.001-07:00

David Mixner, blogmeister at davidmixner.com, will be joining us for an online chat during our final deliberations next Tuesday. Mixner, whom Newsweek has called "the most powerful gay man in America," has been an activist and a political strategist for the past three decades and is the author of the highly praised memoir Stranger Among Friends.

Kairos Award interview with David Mixner
6/19/07, 2:22 PM

KAIROS AWARD (KA): hi david
DAVID MIXNER (DM): Hey everyone

KA: Thanks so much for joining us, and congratulations on your blog's qualification for the final round of the Kairos Award evaluation process. The students are here in class, being held in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, the western world's tallest academic building! We are all tracking the conversation on a projector, and look forward to the conversation.
DM: Thanks so much for including me...I am so honored and a little speechless

KA: Before we proceed, we wanted to ask if you feel comfortable having us post the text of this exchange on our weblog. Is this okay?
DM: Lets go to it! The deer are here in the lawn backing me up

KA: What inspired creation of the blog?
DM: Of course. I thought it was important to have a powerful progressive voice in all the 'noise' from the right of center folks plus I have lost so many friends to HIV/AIDS I wanted to be sure to have a place to pass on their stories and the history of a great struggle Most of the male story tellers from my peers died from HIV/AIDS. I lost over 280 friends.

KA: Thanks David. Is there any way you can make your font a little larger?
DM: let me see what I can do.....

KA: Has the purpose of your blog changed over time?
DM: Yes, one of the central aspects has been my deep opposition to the War in Iraq plus adding a 'Turkey Hollow Cultural Moment' every Wednesday. Also the Turkey Hollow Almanac has proven to be more popular than I ever thought it would be.

KA: What is one goal that you hope your blog accomplishes in the next five years?
DM: If in any way I can help shorten the war in Iraq, I would be one happy camper...also to be a member of the LGBT community that has a wide range of interests from Africa to Iraq to human rights.

KA: Who are your target audiences?
DM: 1) Want to stimulate the progressive community into action and a powerful morality; 2) LGBT community and HIV/AIDS community; 3) Those who care for Africa; 4) Anyone who love thought and beauty and want more of it in the world.

KA: Has your blog had a real-world impact?
DM: Wow. Tough question. The ego in me would like to believe it has but one must never write to be loved but to share truth as we know it....if it stimulates emotions in others..then I am thrilled...Gandhi says we have to value our words as much as our actions.
KA: "good answer" from the crowd!

KA: Do you expect your blog to have an impact on the upcoming presidential election?
blush
DM: Yes, I do. I am determined to work with others to make sure the WAR stays on the front burner of this election and the poor of this nation are not forgotten. We tend to take people's pain and think of it in political terms instead of moral terms

KA: What in your view is your blog's best quality?
DM: Another very tough question....I love the layout and I think the information is accessible easily for my readers...I try not to overwhelm them with too much at one time since I respect the limited time my readers have available....I love the mixture of politics, arts, wildlife and downhome Turkey Hollow wisdom....LOL

KA: Thanks so much for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
DM: yes, thank you so much...it is this kind of moment that makes getting up at 5AM in the morning worthwhile...you honor me and you honor others....how much better does it get? The deer say hello.

TruthDig

2007-06-15T05:22:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for TruthDig

Truthdig is an outstanding example of a political weblog which shows kairos in several different ways, all adding up to make it highly deserving of the 2007 Kairos Award. The weblog meets all of the necessary criteria in quite a few of the evaluation categories, such as critical thinking, writing quality, credibility, social responsibility, with a few noteworthy intangibles as well.

Truthdig demonstrates its superiority through excellence in the evaluation criteria. The weblog stimulates critical thinking through posts and comments reflecting differing points of view, instead of only one-sided opinions. Also, Truthdig's writing quality is outstanding, with no glaring spelling or grammatical errors. It is well written and carefully edited. In addition, with two very well-educated founders and close to 100 contributing columnists, Truthdig is a highly credible weblog. By having this many people working on one website, it seems that it would be almost impossible for their views and knowledge not to differ from one another, giving Truthdig even more of a diverse background. Adding to this credibility is its 2007 Webby Award for best political blog. Furthermore, Truthdig displays merit in the social responsibility category, with its main purpose of uncovering the truth through reports, interviews, and in-depth coverage of current affairs. Finally, Truthdig's layout is easy to navigate and appealing to the eye, adding to its overall charm.

In conclusion, Truthdig possesses many extraordinary qualities and therefore, should receive the 2007 Kairos Award. The weblog excels in the critical thinking, writing quality, credibility, social responsibility, and intangible categories of the evaluation criteria. All of these aspects of Truthdig interact with one another in order to create an exceptional overall feeling of kairos. Truthdig is a unique political weblog, which is well-deserving of many awards, especially this one.

Kairos Scoring

On June 14, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 23
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 18.33
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 14
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 13.44
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 9.11
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 9.11
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 4.89
Total Points [out of 100]: 91.89

Kairos buzz on Pitt websites

2007-06-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

As the Kairos Awards head into the home stretch for 2007, the University of Pittsburgh's School of Arts and Sciences and Department of Communication websites are both carrying news of the unfolding contest.

Interview with Solana Larsen and David Sasaki confirmed

2007-06-13T05:41:00.000-07:00

Solana Larsen (right), co-managing editor of Global Voices, the blog currently rated as the top semifinalist in the 2007 Kairos Awards, has agreed to engage in an online text chat with us on Tuesday, June 19, from 1:30-1:45 p.m. ET. Solana is a Danish-Puerto Rican journalist and activist, who lives in New York. In addition to serving as the the (new) co-managing editor of Global Voices, she also is an editor with openDemocracy.net. Her personal blog is solanasaurus.com and she blogs in Danish about technology at blogbyblog.dk.

Joining Solana for the chat will be David Sasaki, Global Voices' outreach director (left). David has been a blogger since 2003, and has lived, worked, and traveled throughout most of Latin America. He blogs in both Spanish and English with two other friends at El Oso, El Moreno, and El Abogado. Read more about Global Voices' outreach projects here at David's home page at Global Voices.

Special thanks to Georgia Popplewell, co-managing editor of Global Voices, for helping to arrange this exciting opportunity.

Kairos Award interview with Solana Larsen
6/19/07, 1:40 PM

KAIROS AWARD (KA): Thanks so much for joining us, and congratulations on your blog's qualification for the final round of the Kairos Award evaluation process.
SOLANA LARSEN (SL): Thanks for having me.

KA: The students are here in class, being held in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, the western world's tallest academic building! We are all tracking the conversation on a projector, and look forward to the conversation. Before we proceed, we wanted to ask if you feel comfortable having us post the text of this exchange on our weblog. Is this okay?
SL: Of course.

KA: Are you ready to proceed with the first question?
SL: Shoot (Hi everyone)

KA: What inspired creation of the blog?
SL: Well, Ethan and Rebecca who started Global Voices, realised a few years ago that for all the popularity of blogs, most bloggers in the West weren't reaching out to the rest of the world, in spite of the promise of the world wide web connecting everyone... etc. So they decided to create Global Voices in order to make stories from around the world more accessible to other bloggers and western media.

KA: Has the purpose of your blog changed over time?
SL: It's about breaking language barriers and bring people together. It always has been - you know we're all connected... and really not all that different from one another, but you don't really know it before you hear the daily musings... of say, and Iraqi teenager talking about her school day or a Japanese blogger talking about his pension anxiety or a Sudanese aid worker explaining what it's like to be living in a war zone.

KA: What is one goal that you hope your blog accomplishes in the next five years?
SL: Our community is growing, right now about 80 volunteer bloggers contribute stories from around the world. It's good for people to be reading and understanding each other more, I think the goal over time is to break through to more mainstream media.... get more coverage for issues from places in the world that tend to be ignored. We've started delivering RSS feeds to the Reuters Africa website, and that's the kind of thing we want to do more of becoming supplementary to the news race, providing more texture and depth.

KA: Who are your target audiences?
SL: If you look at our stats, the readers are all over the world, the comments too. Right now there is discussion on the site between filippinos on education, and on ethiopians on politics. We want people everywhere to take an interest in world politics and learn from each others failures and successes.

KA: How often do you delete comments?
SL: Deleting comments, almost never. We moderate all new commentors and occassionally there is some offensive stuff, but rarely - mostly we end up deleting spam, spam, spam.

KA: Has your blog had a real-world impact in shaping politics?
SL: I think so - we're just now beginning to hand out microgrants to people around the world who have ideas for citizen media projects. The deadline was last week - we're giving out $5000 grants to 4 projects this month and more projects soon.

KA: Yes, last class period we were looking at David's programs
SL: We've helped dozens of bloggers become stronger and more confident and we are directing traffic to hundreds of blogs who otherwise would be ignored by most of the world. David has received more than 100 applications and we have about 40,000 visitors a day from around the world, and it adds up to a significant amount of traffic over months/years, touching lots of people.

KA: Thanks so much for your time, Solana. You have been very informative, and you type EXTREMELY fast! In closing, is there anything else you would like to add?
SL: I would like to congratulate you in your work to look at all this stuff - it's really important to be watching and learning - if you discover anything interesting we look forward to hearing from you!! Keep in touch, all of you, and thanks.

Politically Inclined Heretic

2007-06-13T05:23:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for Politically Inclined Heretic

Political Heretic shows kairos by stimulating critical discussion through its bi-partisan perspective and range of links. Instead of treating gun control as a singular issue around which politicians may rally, posts on June 13, 2006 critique numerous pieces of partisan legislation in varying cities and states. Additionally, the blog features a bipartisan range of links to every major news network, CNN, national newspapers and popular political talk shows.

Political Heretic's writing style reflects the author’s background in newspaper journalism, lending an air of professionalism to the blog. Summaries and editorials are crisp, inquisitive, and avoid loaded questions and statements. Though Political Heretic relies on traditional media for credible information, it is skillfully written, and free of corporate restraints on publishing, making it a safeguard against selective prioritizing of news by media conglomerates.

Lack of comments concerning many of Political Heretics posts, despite it being linked to by a number of high traffic blogs, suggests that the site serves as neutral ground in the blogosphere. Visitors from partisan blogs can utilize the diverse range of links and relatively objective comments to better investigate topics that they feel strongly about. All in all, Political Heretic bolsters kairos by being bipartisan, professional, and independent, thereby encouraging critical discussion and adding to the credibility of blogs as a medium.

Kairos Scoring

On June 5, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 20.64
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 14
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 13.09
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 10.64
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 7.64
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 8.18
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 4.18
Total Points [out of 100]: 78.36

GOP Bloggers

2007-06-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for GOP Bloggers

Welcome to GOP BLOGGERS; Still Blogging for the Majority. Creators Matt Margolis, an architectural designer in Boston with an undergraduate degree from University of Hartford, and Mark Noonan, a member of the United States Navy who resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, are accompanied by a third member of the team, Jonathan, who has an undergraduate degree from the University of California San Diego in History and economics and history, continued his studies with a graduate degree in business administration from New York University.

When first loading the GOP BLOGGERS website, the reader finds many opportunities to share and learn opinions on a wide range of topics. With over twenty different topics it is hard to resist not participating. While the blog does support the Republican Party, all viewpoints and thoughts are welcomed and discussed.

An important aspect of a web blog is the timeliness and organization of the posts. Any blog can have numerous postings but GOP BLOGGERS has a category of recent posts along with the blog roll which both are presented in an organized manner. When clicking a link under the blog roll, a blogger is welcomed to a new page with different posts with the most recent at the top of the page.

While some Web Blogs have many design features and exaggerated colors and pictures, GOP BLOGGERS is very professional, yet grabs the reader's eye. The homepage, although plain, is eye catching enough to make one stop and venture to the website. With extravagant designs, colors, and advertisements, the blog itself can be hidden behind the "extras." The GOP BLOGGERS blog has more important "extras" than just colors and advertisements. The external links to congressional bloggers and the ability to contact the blogging committee, elected officials.

Kairos Scoring

On June 5, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 18.90
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 17.81
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 13.64
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 11.73
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 8.36
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 8.27
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 3.73
Total Points [out of 100]: 82.46

Blue Star Chronicles

2007-06-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for Blue Star Chronicles

Blue Star Chronicles excels in many of the political advocacy blog evaluation criteria that we decided on as a class. It keeps readers posted on many of the most recent political situations going on in our world and provides a constant stream of new information. The topics that receive the most treatment on Blue Star Chronicles are the situations that matter the most right now. The war in Iraq; soldiers we continue losing in the war; Al Qaeda; Paris Hilton in jail, and the list goes on. People desire information about all these events.

Blue Star Chronicles stimulates critical thinking because with every article written, there are links that connect readers to other websites that have similar or contrary opinions. This shows that the weblog dialogue is not one-sided and that authors of the blog are open to other ideas and opinions.

Blue Star represents timeliness in that there are articles being posted on the website every few hours and there are comments written on every article on a regular basis.

The way the writer writes his articles by writing his opinion, quoting facts, then writing his opinion again shows emotion because the writer gives his opinion on the facts. The opinion the writer gives shows passion and sincerity about what he/she is writing.

Critical thinking, writing quality, timeliness, emotion and credibility are the more important criteria we decided on as a class when evaluating a blog and Blue Star Chronicles fulfills most of these criteria. Not only have I explained why Blue Star should be nominated as one of the top blogs, but the blog’s quality should be obvious to readers after they visit the website.

Kairos Scoring

On June 5, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 18.81
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 12.45
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 13.18
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 12.36
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 6.09
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 7.27
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 3.18
Total Points [out of 100]: 73.36

Americablog

2007-06-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for Americablog

Americablog.com exhibits kairos and stimulates critical thinking by, discussing a number of political issues and featuring news stories from around the world. The primary author for Americablog.com is an experienced advocacy blog writer named John Aravosis. Joining Aravosis are six guest bloggers with backgrounds in politics. The guest bloggers post regularly and provide a wide range of opinions. The author and bloggers focus on three main issues: the Bush Administration, the radical right, and gay civil rights. While lengths of the discussions vary, posts are often followed by hundreds of comments enabling a discussion to take place.

Americablog.com has many excellent qualities; timeliness being its best. Kairos depends on the appropriate time to present a particular point of view and with the chance that blogs may soon displace mainstream media, stories must be up to date and report on recent issues. Weblogs must take advantage of the window of opportunity for breaking news stories in order to stay popular and useful to their audience. Americablog.com also exhibits kairos is by having decisive action. Expressing a liberal point of view strongly shows decisive action. However, the liberal stance of the author does not take away from the opportunity for discussion.

In conclusion, Americablog.com exhibits kairos and stimulates critical thinking among its readers by taking decisive action and using an appropriate window of opportunity to report on issues. Possessing these traits qualifies Americablog.com to receive a 2007 Kairos Award for Blogging Excellence.

Kairos Scoring

On May 31, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 19.36
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 16.18
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 14.82
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 11.36
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 7.82
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 7.36
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 3.45
Total Points [out of 100]: 80.36

NewsBusters

2007-06-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for NewsBusters

NewsBusters is a prime candidate of the 2007 Kairos Award for Blogging Excellence. Users of this blog use kairos by assessing the previous comments for a post and responding appropriately. Emotions shown within a response to a post can add to the value of the reply and demonstrate the use of kairos.

NewsBusters is a project of the Media Research Center, an organization established in 1987 with a mission to bring balance and responsibility to the news media. NewsBusters is run by a team of forty-seven editors, writers, and publishers. The idea behind this blog is to allow discussion about news topics using multiple points of view to decide if what we are seeing is being delivered to viewers with a bias behind it or not. The executive editor is thirty-year-old Matthew Sheffield who is a media/technology consultant with a background in political science, web development, and journalism.

This blog demonstrates superior timeliness. On May 30 alone there were twenty separate posts about twenty different topics! All of the posts have comments within hours. Some of the more ‘juicy’ topics have up to 50 comments after a few hours. These stories are some of the most recent one will see. The right side of the blog has a section devoted to listing the most recent posts, which also serve as a link to that story.

Viewers should inform themselves about topics and examine the stories before they believe everything shown about political topics, especially with the upcoming election year. NewsBusters needs to be a finalist in The University of Pittsburgh’s 2007 Kairos Award for Blogging Excellence.

Kairos Scoring

On May 31, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 19.55
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 16.82
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 14.27
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 11.27
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 8.09
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 8.09
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 4
Total Points [out of 100]: 82.09

DavidMixner

2007-06-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for DavidMixner

David Mixner, a progressive political activist, philanthropist, and author, now has his own weblog, davidmixner.com. The site touches on a number of different issues, including gay and lesbian rights, wildlife preservation, and daily politics. He updates his blog nearly every day with his thoughts on prevalent news stories, issues in the media, or with new information for his readers concerning one of his many causes, a strategy which exhibits effective kairos. Mixner not only employs the Internet for a timely and direct connection to his readers, but voices his opinions in a clear and concise manner.

David Mixner has successfully employed his weblog as a means of communicating with the masses about issues not necessarily prevalent in mainstream media. The reader can expect to view an extremely credible blog. From the sources and links used, to the excellent writing quality and critical discussion, davidmixner.com is not only a reliable blog, but an informative and entertaining one as well. Mixner uses a combination of media forms, employing sound bytes, video clips and prose in a seamless combination not often seen in other blogs.

The Kairos Award for Blogging Excellence will be awarded to the blog which most effectively meets the criteria set forth by our class. As the current frontrunner, davidmixner.com was criticized for not being among the most popular sites, but popularity is not a requirement in our criteria. Popularity may speak to the effectiveness of a blog, but is by no means a sign of ethos or stimulation of critical thinking. David Mixner not only employs these two functions but possesses a sense of social responsibility as well as frames emotionally charged issues sensitively. These factors, not popularity, are why davidmixner.com deserves to win.

Kairos Scoring

On May 31, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 20.64
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 19.27
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 14.1
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 13.09
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 9.45
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 8.18
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 4.64
Total Points [out of 100]: 89.36

Iraq the Model

2007-06-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for Iraq the Model

Honing in on one of the most important events in news and global media, Iraq the Model stands as a beacon among a sea of political advocacy blogs. With a steady focus Iraq the Model looks at only those political news topics dealing with Iraq. The two people who write for the blog, Omar and Mohammed, live in Iraq around Baghdad giving them an interesting perspective for their English readers who mostly hail from the US and Europe.

This blog excels most in the categories of emotion and critical thinking. One of the harder to measure parts of emotion is in people’s response to the blog. This blog in particular has a high number of comments, averaging about 100 per entry. While it may be difficult to judge the quality of each comment, many take a critical look at the ideas in the entry. For example, on the June 8th entry the first comment quotes the original entry at relevant points and then disagrees civilly. Commenters also address the original poster by name showing a type of emotional connection with the writers. The blog also had a "trackback" option which a handful of people have taken advantage of as well. When another blog uses excerpts of the posted entry they "trackback" to the site which shows interest in the topics the blog is covering.

The two writers live in the region that they're writing about and are able to provoke a unique viewpoint which is often silenced. Several of the entries commenter’s pose opposing viewpoints instead of perpetuating the echo chamber effect whereby like-minded writers simply find different ways of agreeing with each other.

The blog is crisp and clear; its ideas are laid out in an accessible manner and are accessible to the average person. Lastly the rhetorical situation of this blog is one of utmost social importance because the situation is one everyone is involved in but no one will open a dialogue about. Iraq the Model is a voice that has become silenced due to war and turmoil. All of these factors add up to Iraq the Model being a stellar candidate for the Kairos Award.

Kairos Scoring

On June 12, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 21.42
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 18.03
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 10.58
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 12.75
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 8.42
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 8.75
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 4.08
Total Points [out of 100]: 84.08

DailyKos

2007-06-12T05:42:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for DailyKos

DailyKos.com, with thousands of readers and accessible posting techniques, is a pivotal political analysis forum where the blogosphere realizes the immense possibility of kairos.

On Technorati.com, DailyKos ranks highest out of all nominated blogs in number of unique links to the site from other pages during the past six months. While numbers may not make a difference in and of themselves, they do make clear the ability of DailyKos to reach politically minded readers. Many links to DailyKos help the blog surface to the top level of Web visibility and offer numerous and diverse lay readers and experts alike a forum for political discussion. As a result, more discussion occurs and multiple responses to posts abound. Simply put, increased traffic on a site like DailyKos adds more opportunity for the site to host significant, kairos-based thought and discourse.

On the other hand, the left-leaning nature of Daily Kos can create an “echo chamber” quality to the site, where all readers, posters and bloggers intrinsically agree on issues. But while posts typically stem from a Democratic perspective, the thoughts and responses from readers all over the country, coming from different backgrounds, cultures and mindsets, allow depth and dialogue in the material.

Unique to DailyKos.com is the Diary function. This section of the site is a consortium of individual blogs from any reader who chooses to create one. The masterminds of DailyKos rank the Diaries to “rescue” the most well stated and rhetorically sound contributions to a recommended list. Naturally, diary posts increase the amount of possible rhetorical situations. With so many respondents able to sound off their personal views on the site, disagreements can arise and political activism and discourse ignites the pages of DailyKos.

In conclusion, millions of visitors per month contribute to posts on the main site and in thousands of Diaries at DailyKos, and this vast forum creates a politically resonant environment ripe with the possibility of kairos.

Kairos Scoring

On May 29, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 18.25
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 16.67
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 14
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 11.92
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 9.08
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 8.58
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 4.17
Total Points [out of 100]: 82.67

God is Pro-Choice

2007-06-12T05:33:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for God is Pro-Choice

God Is Pro-Choice is a blog, which tackles the controversial issue of abortion. Showing support for a woman’s right to choose does not have to mean that one has no qualms with the issue of abortion. As God Is Pro-Choice states, a person may only be concerned with a woman’s fundamental right to choose what is right for herself.

Abortion law is in constant flux. It can be hard to remain informed about the latest developments and stories in the news surrounding abortion. God Is Pro-Choice provides links to other websites, such as BBC.com and an article archive site, FindArticles.com. Not only is it easy for a person to remain informed, it is also easier to understand and choose to agree or disagree with the topic of discussion as well as the blog discussion itself.

Being that this is an award for kairos, timing of the blog’s posts is of the essence. Surrounding a previous election were several posts and comments on the issue of Proposition 85, a California law that would have required minors to inform their guardians of their decision to have an abortion 48 hours prior to the procedure. The aim of these posts was to get the word out on the issue well before the election. Whether God Is Pro-Choice had anything to do with it, the law failed to pass.

Passionate writing and word choice are crucial. The writers at God Is Pro-Choice are careful not to offend. In this way, integrity for the blog as well as the issue of abortion is maintained. But perhaps more importantly is the respect this shows for the audience.

God Is Pro-Choice may not be updated regularly, but the passionate posts featured more than make up for that fact. This blog is open for anyone to author a post, comment on one, or just to read up on the issue. For these reasons, God Is Pro-Choice is an apt nominee for a 2007 Kairos Award.

Kairos Scoring

On May 29, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 17.67
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 15.67
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 7.33
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 12
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 6.83
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 8.42
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 3
Total Points [out of 100]: 70.92

Power Line

2007-06-12T04:22:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for Power Line

When you first look at the Power Line website you can’t help but notice the lightening bolt at the top. This attractive design aspect draws people’s attention to the blog and makes them interested in reading it. Many people do indeed read the blog; Power Line’s site meter indicates an average of 68,720,421 visits per week (or 56,600 per day). The blog is able to lure so many people to it because it covers a wide array of topics that a lot of people are fascinated about.

One of Power Line’s recent posts, entitled “Civil Rights, British Style,” shows that the blog covers a diverse subject area. The article really made me wonder because it talked about three British terrorists and I do not usually think of them as terrorists. I thought it was good to introduce topics from other parts of the world. The information in the blog seems accurate because it cites credible sources. For example, in the aforementioned post, the author makes reference to what Tony Blair has said regarding the situation. They also used educated words such as absconding. I had to look this up and it felt good learning a new word.

Power Line is also updated daily which is a good thing. In a recent day, one post was made at 10:20 a.m. and two more were made at 1:49 p.m. and 3:59 p.m. It is good to be up-to-date on the latest information so I like that they keep me informed a lot.

Overall, Power Line is a good blog site. They have insightful and interesting blogs. These blogs stimulate the reader’s mind and have links to various other creditable sites such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the London Times. With sources such as these you know you are getting the truth.

Kairos Scoring

On May 29, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 19.08
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 16.67
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 14.92
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 12.58
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 7.67
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 7.67
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 3.58
Total Points [out of 100]: 82.17

MyDD

2007-06-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

Nomination briefing for MyDD

The MyDD blog has many redeeming qualities that we are looking for in the Kairos Awards; it should meet all the categories of our evaluation criteria. Additionally, MyDD contains multiple aspects that make this blog unique from the others.

MyDD discusses political movement issues and includes several forms of work including polling, research, commentary, analysis, and activism. MyDD has four front page writers who all participate heavily in the political arena. For example, Jerome Armstrong’s resume includes participation in Jon Corzine’s ’05 campaign, Sherrod Brown’s campaign, and assisting in Howard Dean’s presidential efforts.

MyDD is a blog that is updated on a daily basis with three or four new posts a day. The four authors write their stories with a clear, precise, and understandable tone that makes this blog very easy to read. MyDD has a vast number of hyperlinks present on the site that lead to a variety of other sites. These sites include local state blogs, political forecasters, and political characters among others.

However, there are a few areas that this blog can improve in. Even though the posted stories do receive feedback, the response is often small. Some stories will have a tremendous amount of commentary while other stories will only have four or five. Another area that could be improved on in the MyDD is grammar. There are quite a few grammatical errors on the site.

Overall, MyDD is a great blogging site that reaches out to its readers. MyDD boasts many redeeming qualities that no other blogs include and excels in all the criteria necessary to present the Kairos award.

Kairos Scoring

On June 7, 2007, our class listened to two presentations about this blog and deliberated about its quality in light of the evaluation criteria developed to measure excellence in blogging kairos. Below are the average scores awarded after the conversation.

Critical Thinking [out of 25 points]: 19.45
Writing Quality [out of 20 points]: 15.73
Timeliness [out of 15 points]: 13.73
Emotion [out of 15 points]: 11.91
Credibility [out of 10 points]: 8.18
Social Responsibility [out of 10 points]: 8.27
Intangibles [out of 5 points]: 4.45
Total Points [out of 100]: 81.73

Evaluation Criteria

2007-06-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

One of the most important elements of accurately measuring a blog's merit is to develop and apply grounded evaluation criteria. In our course on Weblog Advocacy, we consulted rhetorical theory and literature on blogging practice to develop a rubric for evaluation that foregrounds kairos - a fitting and timely response to a rhetorical situation - an urgent imperfection in society that calls forth speakers to contribute ideas.

The criteria that we came up with was based on seven factors (featured in the evaluation rubric that appears at the top of this page):

- Critical Thinking (25 points)
- Writing Quality (20 points)
- Timeliness (15 points)
- Emotion (10 points)
- Credibility (10 points)
- Social Responsibility (10 points)
- Intangibles (5 points)