The BiBs aim to reward bloggers who have built up their audience and community through excellent content. The more votes nominees and shortlisted bloggers get, the better. At the same time the awards aim to recognise emerging bloggers as well – so it’s not just down to a popularity contest. That’s why we use a two-tier judging system, combining popular voting with a judging panel.
Here, the BiBs categories and their respective judges.
Fresh Voices
Liberty Oberlander, eiClub Manager, Editorial Intelligence
Liberty manages the eiClub at Editorial Intelligence (ei), the networking business founded by Julia Hobsbawm. EI is an opinion-forming network, which organizes events, discussions, symposia and awards. Previously Liberty worked at YouGov, where she wrote pieces for their blog, wrote polling questions on everything from the World Cup to the Budget and worked on the development of their real time public opinion website, TellYouGov.
Inspire!
Carla Buzasi, Huffington Post UK
Carla is editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post UK. She’s an award-winning editor and writer, and has contributed to titles such as Marie Claire, the Guardian, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, GQ.com, Vogue.com and the Metro.
Change
Dana Catterina & Laura Price, British Gas
Dana, Assistant Marketing Manager of British Gas, develops an end-to-end journey for British Gas customers on smart meters, including raising awareness of the governmentally mandated infrastructure upgrade through social channels and leading customer experience strategy.
Laura heads up social media at British Gas. She is responsible for the management of the company’s social networks, social customer service and overall social media strategy.
Tasty!
Kerstin Rodgers
Kerstin Rodgers, aka Ms. Marmitelover, is a pioneer of the UK’s underground restaurant movement. Kerstin’s blog marmitelover.blogspot.com is one of the most read food blogs in Britain. She’s the author of Supper Club: recipes and notes from The Underground Restaurant published by Harper Collins in 2011. She’s appeared on TV (The One Show, News 24, Vanessa), radio (Woman’s Hour, Bob Elms Show, Chris Evans show) and in the national press. She’s also singlehandedly raised an 18-year-old daughter. She agrees with Roseanne Barr, who once said “I figure if my kids are alive at the end of the day, I’ve done my job.”
Go!
Steve Keenan, Travel Perspective
Steve Keenan is cofounder of Travel Perspective, and is an expert in travel social media, video and site curation. Previously, he was online travel editor for The Sunday Times, and travel editor of The Times online for five years and deputy travel editor of The Times for five years before that. Dubiously credited with being the first national travel journalist to make the transition to online, he now regularly speaks on digital travel trends to travel companies and at conferences. But he still retains a healthy love and respect for print journalism, enabling him to see both sides of the fence – and occasionally having to moderate between the two.
Style!
Laetitia Wajnape, Mademoiselle Robot
Originally from Paris, Laetitia Wajnapel aka Mademoiselle Robot is a journalist and consultant living and working in London. She launched her blog in 2007. It is a space for her to showcase her sources of inspiration, personal style and also to share her various adventures. Wajnapel currently works full time on freelance projects and writes for the Huffington Post and Glamour UK. MademoiselleRobot.com has been featured in numerous UK and international publications such as The Telegraph, The Times, The Independent, Grazia, Vogue, ELLE Girl, Company, Marie-Claire, Stylist, The Sunday Times Style, MTV, Channel 4.
Snap!
Julia Boggio
Julia is one of the UK’s top wedding and portrait photographers. Julia is a popular columnist for Photo Professional magazine and, in the past few years, has had more than 30 magazine covers, including Cosmo Bride and You & Your Wedding – the magazine that gave her the Brides’ Choice award in 2010. Julia and her husband run a family, couple and boudoir portrait studio based in Wimbledon (www.juliaboggiostudios.com). She was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in Merton in 2010 and 2011.
Lit!
Robin Harvie
Robin Harvie is a publisher, author and ultra-distance runner. For his day job he works as Digital Publisher and a non-fiction commissioning editor at Aurum Press. By night he runs and wrote Why We Run: A Story of Obsession, published in paperback in 2012. His blogsite is www.robinharvie.wordpress.com.
Laugh!
Lynne Parker, Funny Women
Award winning producer, Lynne Parker originally trained as a journalist, worked in women’s magazines, owned a lingerie boutique, presented fashion and beauty for cable television and ran her own PR consultancy. Her comedy brand Funny Women launched in 2002 and Lynne has since produced nine Funny Women Awards and numerous other events, as well as raising thousands of pounds and awareness for female-related causes. Lynne launched Funny Women into the business community in 2010, with workshops based on stand-up techniques to improve self-confidence and presentation skills. She won the NatWest Award for outstanding business success at the inaugural NatWest Ladies at E11even Business Awards in October 2011.
Dad Blogger!
Craig Hodgson, Dadzclub
Hodgson is founder of www.dadzclub.com and a father to two children, a 10-year old daughter and 3-year old son. Craig launched www.dadzclub.com in August 2011 with the aim to become the social hub for dads online – a trusted peer network offering dads impartial advice and information on parenting, products and services. Craig is speaking at on the dads panel at BritMums Live!
Video!
Christine Beardsell, VCCP
Christine recently launched the VCCP Content division at the prestigious VCCP agency. Previously she spent the last 11 years pioneering branded content, social media and video at the world’s largest digital agency, Digitas. She was also a driving force behind the Digital Content NewFronts — the premier digital content event held in New York each summer. She has won top industry honours, including Cannes Cyber Lions, Webbies, Caples, Effies, and OMMA Awards. www.christinebeardsell.com
Outstanding!
Katy Hill
You may recognize Katy from TV. She presented Blue Peter for five years and has also presented Live & Kicking, Top of the Pops, Football Fever and The Millennium Quiz Show with Michael Parkinson in addition to other television and radio programmes. She writes regularly about motherhood for iVillage.co.uk with her blog Here are Two We Made Earlier.