Countdown To The Grabbys Pt 1
Today, we're taking a look at the "web-based" awards. We don't have to tell you how
the web has changed the porn biz--and the entire entertainment industry for that matter. Just look at the number of categories & nominations compared to just a few years ago. Here, we'll be focusing on those categories we have more than a passing knowledge of --ad that would be of interest to you.
The differences between the Best Porn Star Site & Best Porn Star Blog categories used to be a bit fuzzier but it seems now that they are much clearer. For the most part the nominees in the former category feature original video content featuring the stars in the name of the site. The nominees in the latter category feature the stars in their own words & pictures.
In the Best Porn Star Site category it's clear that Next Door Studios was very successful in getting their new sites nominated. That being said you could argue that because most of them were launched at the end of the year there's not enough content on which to base the nominations. That basically leaves the judges with a choice between personality vs content. Whatever the outcome there is sure to be some fallout.
So many porn stars have their own blogs so it's somewhat amazing to see how relatively few nominees there are. We have to admit that we'd have a hard time voting in the Best Porn Star Blog category because we like many of the nominees & their work. There are even a few we feel were strangely left out that we would like to write -in if we could.
Since Jack Manly is nominated in the Best Porn Blog category it's of course nearly impossible to be objective here. As we stated before we are very honored to be nominated alongside some of the very blogs & writers who have inspired us. And we know only too well how much work is involved in publishing a blog, keeping it going & trying to keep it interesting. We hope the judges keep this in mind too.
We'd sure like to know what criteria the judges use in voting for the Best Original Content category. Is it really the video content or who produces it that is given more weight? After all studio-produced sites seem to have an unfair advantage of quality---and they already have their own category (see below). This category should be for content that's produced specifically for a site rather than for a future DVD. How about frequency of video releases and the visual quality? There are some sites that produce great content but have less than perfect technology with which to view that content. Again we hope that the judges give the nod to the site that makes the most effort to bring quality content to viewers.
Smartly they've got a Best European Theme Site category because many of those nominated here could easily win over US-based sites. There's good news for Bel Ami being nominated in both categories. It's akin to an actor being nominated in the leading & best supporting categories at the Oscars. One or the other is likely to win.
We'd really like to know if the judges really watch the full video submissions in the Best Fetish Site category. If so, can someone not into certain fetishes (or even repulsed by) really overlook their feelings & vote on the overall content of a video? What if the opposite is true & a judge is REALLY into a fetish? Whatever the case some of the sites here are pretty hardcore and it will be interesting to see who wins. They could go safe & vote Active Duty or I'm A Married Man go the other direction in KinkMen direction.
We haven't seen enough live cam show sites or shows to fully compare the nominees & make any guesses in the Best Live Cam Site category. But we have noticed that some sites who have really leaped ahead in technology are have been left out. In fact a few of the sites nominated here could stand to work on their quality. For us the winner should be one which tries to think out of the box.
The Best Mega Site category may be one of the most competitive this year thanks to the fact that you've got indie companies vs big studios and the fact that term "mega-site" isn't that well-defined. There's bound to be some unspoken favoritism here (and in the previous category) but it would be fun to see a real underdog win here.
The Best Video Company Site category is a real tough one any way you look at it. Obviously, this is the big-hitter online category but how are judges supposed to vote and on what basis? The design of the site? The quality of the product or what one gets for their membership dollars? In this respect it would make more sense if consumers were the ones to vote in this category. Nevertheless we'll see how inter-company rivalries are a factor here.
COMING UP: The production awards categories.
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