Readers Decide! Indymedia's Best of 2007.

international | arts and media | feature Friday December 07, 2007 01:41 by editor

Usually around this time of year, those of us grunts still on active service duty for Indymedia Ireland, spend a week or so trawling the archive with our virtual nets. Sometimes we return with a catch of material that we format into a review of the year. And other times - like last year - short-staffed and burnt out, we simply aren't up to the effort.

This year we are going to try something completely different - by running a competition to unearth the best of the site over the past 12 months. The editorial collective asks readers to dip into the archives, and come up with the sharpest, freshest and most spot on contributions to break through the newswire clouds. We'll be running the competition under several categories, so stick to them. When we have the nominations in, we'll open a poll and let the votes pile in on the most popular five in each. Read on for details...

"What the heck?" you say. Well there are a number of reasons driving this. Any such public vote implies feedback on what sort of content our readers find valuable. When you stick in your nominations, we''ll collectively recognize and front the quality of writing on the site - something seldom done. And for once, instead of watching their work strangled under sometimes snide and tangential comments, our contributers will finally receive the recognition they deserve.

Yes and of course, those of us on the lists can sit on our hands and let the passive among you generate your own year in review. Oh and by the way, if after you find you're one of those sadist types, and liked poking around the back tunnels of Indymedia - maybe you'll pop over to the lists and join us?

It's gonna go a little something like this:

Nomination Categories

Best Scoop - you looked at it first and thought "not another one from the green ink brigade," two days and 27 comments later it was clear Indymedia had another scoop - so who did it for you this time round?

Best Video Contribution - do you like the predictable plots of coppers battering Rossport residents or did some other tasty number slap you in the side of the head?

Best Audio Contribution - did it sound like a Rice Crispies advert, all snap crackle and pop? Yet still stand up as a priceless contribution to social history as we pen it in front of us? Good. Then nominate it and maybe get the kid a better mic.

Best Photo Contribution - so was it an SLR or a camera phone that took the standout photo from all those contributed by our roving and recording flash mobs?

Best Event or Action Report - would you like a squirt of pathetic fallacy with grey skies to set the mood there mate, or do you prefer it straight up tonight?

Best Analysis - so who fancies themselves as Indymedia Ireland's resident Chomsky?

TIME FRAME:
Get your nominations in before 12 noon, December 20th.
Our voting system will start on December 23rd and end on January 3rd.

Do's and Don'ts:

Do nominate photos with the URL of the image AND story you are taking it from provided, we need to see the context and who submitted it..
Don't re-upload the image itself again, its ALREADY online and do we look like the bandwidth fairies?

Do feel free to nominate yourself and your contributions to the site.
Don't be a sap and do it multiple times with your own troupe of personal sock puppets.

Do feel free discuss the various nominations and writing on the site as a whole on this thread.
Don't be a sap and break the editorial rules or abuse editors or contributers. You'll be missing the whole point of this feature if you do.

Do feel free to contact us directly instead of posting in public if you think you've prizes to offer our winners and runners up
Don't be moaning at us because we've no prizes. We editors do it for the RSI and have little to offer. Anyway, don't complain about the prize, be the prize...