In case you haven’t heard, our blog has been nominated again for the Best Active Living Blog in the Petties pet blog awards.
The coolest thing about it is that I never asked for one nomination this year. It was you, our loyal fans and readers, that took it upon yourself to nominate us. I appreciate that so much and I am honored to make it to the finals.
Then it became a moral dilemma
First, the Petties awards are voter based. Personally, I dislike voter based contests. Maybe it is because I feel like I am constantly being asked to like this or share that. Perhaps it is because it makes an award feel more like a popularity contest than one based on merit (pot-A-to, Po-TAH-to I guess though).
Regardless, I groveled for votes for a month last year. Not that I am a sore loser, but we didn’t win.
I felt a little dirty every time I pitched you hard on why we were the one blog in our category that epitomized “active living” the most. I mean, we not only LIVE an active life but we INSPIRE OTHERS to become active with their dogs.
I felt a little dirtier every time I asked, on the blog or on social media, for you to vote over and over.
I REALLY want to win this year but I don’t feel comfortable begging for likes again. I decided that I am going to place this image on the sidebar of our blog (that big fat one up there to the right).
If you want to vote for us today, or every day, click that image and you will be magically transported to the polls.
I will not be making much more effort than that.
Moral dilemma solved….or so I thought
Yesterday, every finalist blogger in the Petties got an brief, cold-feeling email. DogTime Media, the organizers of the Petties award, said that there was a glitch in their processing of the nominations, that they counted the newly discovered tallies, and adjusted the list.
Confused, the pet blogger finalists clicked on the link to discover that some of them had been removed from the list and some new ones were added. That’s it. No advanced warning that this was going to happen. No personal email to those pet bloggers that were removed.
The email notification only said “sorry for the confusion” like it was no big deal. Seeing as how the Petties are touted as “the Oscars of the pet blogging community”, it really IS a big deal.
So my dilemma was what to do about my distaste for the way this mistake was handled. To be honest, I thought about emailing DogTime Media and asking them to pull my name from the nominations out of principle. I felt like that would be a slap in the fact to those of you who were generous enough to nominate us though. I decided to stay in the running but, as I decided for the first dilemma, I don’t plan to do much promotion of the contest.
Moving forward
First, I need to tell you that if you generously voted for us, even in the absence of my begging, your vote has been wiped out. You will need to vote again. Votes that were place before yesterday evening were wiped out and voting was re-opened at 7 pm. That really chaps my hide – that you made the effort and it was for naught.
Second, pet bloggers are a close-knit community and I know most the bloggers that were removed from the finalist list. What happened sucks but none of us have a real beef with the mistake itself. Mistakes happen.
I believe that DogTime Media should have been more transparent about the mistake, and more respectful to the bloggers impacted by it, though. From what I understand, they knew about this glitch for DAYS.
The bloggers booted were gracious enough to congratulate those of us that held our place on the finalist list. If you have time, you should check them out:
Kol’s Notes – Great DIY, dog-friendly crafts and LOTS of delicious dog treat recipes
Pawcurious – Vetrinarian Dr. V shares thoughtful stories about living, and living healthy with, dogs and cats.
Oz the Terrier – Oz the Terrier was up for funniest dog blog and, let me tell you, he’s a riot…and a cute one at that.
Dog House Adoptions – They believe that a dog’s love feeds the human soul so they designed a rescue program to enrich the lives of both dogs and people.
Bringing Up Bella – Leslie journals about living with her beautiful, crazy, smart, and reactive rescue dog, Bella.
The Writers’ Dog (Peggy’s Pet Place) – Peggy wrote the book Dieting with My Dog. She is a writer who also promotes getting fit with your dog.
I really appreciate our fans, readers, and friends. I wouldn’t be having this moral dilemma if it weren’t for you. Considering that winning a Pettie award is one of the highest honors among pet bloggers, there are worse problems to have.
Just because I know that some of you will ask, voting is open through midnight (Pacific Time) on August 7, 2014. You can place one vote a day. You will have to long in to vote but it’s a quick process done either with email or through Facebook. Each winner will receive $1,000 donation to the non-profit shelter or rescue of choice (ours will be Motley Zoo Animal Rescue again this year), along with a Petties trophy.
Bruce Sherman says
Wow, you’re up against Crusoe. That’s some stiff competition! I know you’ll do well.
Jessica Rhae says
Well, I am not holding my breath 🙂 I was up against him last year too.
Bruce Sherman says
Well, I voted early and often anyway. I’ll take your dogs to old Crusoe any day, and I do love your blog.
Jessica Rhae says
Awwwww…thanks Bruce 🙂
houndstooth says
I’ve never been a huge fan of the Petties because to me, it seems more like a popularity contest than a real award. A real award is chosen by a panel of experts in the field. At least it is in my opinion. It’s always seemed like a way for them to get free publicity to me, and off the backs of people who put a lot of work into building their blog. The fiasco this year, however, has lowered my opinion of the Petties even more. They have tainted themselves pretty much beyond redemption if you ask me.
I definitely voted for you, and a few others that I know who are still in the competition. I don’t see the award having much prestige at this point, though, and I feel bad for everybody still in the moral dilemma that they’ve created. You’re darned if you do and darned if you don’t at this point.
Jessica Rhae says
Agreed. That is a big reason I don’t like voter-based contests. Being knowledgeable about social media and cause marketing, I KNOW these types of things are done to increase awareness/engagement for a brand. I do participate in some but I have to REALLY want to do it.
Thanks for voting for us regardless 🙂
Ann Staub says
Love this post Jessica. I feel like I’m in an awkward situation taking someone’s place… should I be happy? Should I be upset? It just sucks really. I’ll be voting for your blog. Good luck to you, you really do deserve it! Happy to see that you are still a finalist.
Jodi Chick (+ Kolchak & Felix too) says
Ann, I can’t speak for the nominees who were dropped in your category, but I definitely wish no ill will on the nominee that took our place in the Best Dog Blog Category. It was in no way your fault that Dogtime made this ridiculous mistake, nor should our disappointment detract from your excitement at being nominated. You earned it. Your readers nominated you and got you into the finals. That is wonderful. No matter how frustrated I am that the Petties treated us with such a lack of respect in announcing the error, I would never begrudge you or any nominee the enjoyment and satisfaction of enjoying your achievement. You are all awesome. You all deserve to be on those lists. Enjoy it.
Jessica Rhae says
Hear, hear Jodi. Everyone on the finalist list now totally deserves to be. The ones that were removed didn’t deserve to be discarded so harshly. They were just as worthy but it wasn’t in the cards, or nominations, I guess.
Jessica Rhae says
Oh, no Ann. Everyone who was added after the update is TOTALLY deserving of it. I was surprised to see my blog up there with so many “big players” and you should feel proud too.
Leslie says
Congratulations, Jessica! You totally deserve to be among the finalists. (And we’ll be voting for you to win!)
You’ve wriiten a remarkably gracious post in the face of such a mess. Thank you for the shout-out. That was very kind. Please don’t let the circumstances spoil your achievement. Good luck and we look forward to seeing you on the red carpet!
Jessica Rhae says
Thank you Leslie. That means a lot. It can be scary to put my honest thoughts out there but I do always try and err on the side of diplomacy when airing my grievances against brands. It is what it is but it sucks that you all were treated so harshly. For that, I feel bad.
Jodi Chick (+ Kolchak & Felix too) says
Thank you for sharing this Jessica and thank you for the shout out. I have a lot of feels about how this debacle was handled, but mostly I just wish the nominees continuing on the best of luck. Everyone is absolutely fabulous and I am rooting for my friends still on the lists to WIN.
Jessica Rhae says
Thanks Jodi. I feel better about the whole thing after making my decision about how I am going to handle it. Inside I still feel yucky though about the conduct of DogTime and for all of my blogger friends who got booted. I understand that DogTime was in a very hard place. However, for a brand that organizes a pet blogger award but are really out of touch with the impact something like this has on the community and their reputation.
Melf says
You, my dear, are a class act. All of the way. I voted for you yesterday without reading this, 1. Because I respect you, and 2. Because I love your blog. I feel for all those who lost, but I still hope you win. Well done.
Jessica Rhae says
Geez you guys, you’re making me blush. Thank you so much for voting and the compliment. I really respect you and that means a lot 🙂
Christina Berry says
I think you’re handling this in a classy way. Of course, I expected nothing less. 🙂
You absolutely, positively deserve to be on the ballot. That is why I nominated you in the first place. Stiff competition or not, in my opinion yours is the best active living blog on among the nominees!
It’s sad the way all this has been handled, and hopefully DogTime will learn from their mistakes. That they offered no personal apology to each blogger who was so heartlessly booted from the ballot is what upsets me the most. As a close-knit community, it just really bothers me to see people I care about treated in such a thoughtless way.
Jessica Rhae says
Awww…you nominated me? Shucks. You are one smart lady and I appreciate your support.
kenzohw says
Honoring the bloggers that were booted is a very classy thing to do, as was sharing your thoughts on this.
Jessica Rhae says
Thank You!
Jodi says
I agree with Houndstooth.
I had no idea what the Petties were, will probably never even be nominated never mind become a finalist but I still think it was handled poorly and those were some pretty awesome people who were dumped. THAT SUCKS.
Maybe there was a glitch and maybe there wasn’t, who can really know, but they’ve lost any credibility they had with me.
Congratulations on your nomination, you have my vote.
It's Dog or Nothing says
This is my first year in the pet blogging community and therefore my first experience with the Petties. My stomach turned when I saw the posts go out that there had been a glitch in the system. I would imagine that it would be difficult to feel the joy of being nominated when some of your friends just found out the opposite. I hope the rest of the awards goes smoothly from here. Popularity contest or not, you definitely deserve the nomination.
Jessica Rhae says
Yes, I think this has made things awkward for everyone in the running that knows one, or several, of the bloggers that got booted. Sadly, I think not all of the bloggers nominated are aware of the impact because they aren’t in in touch with the pet blogger community. Also, many of the nominated blog’s readers will never get the memo. So, in the end, I don’t think DogTime will be impacted enough to seriously reevaluate. I hope that enough of us have been vocal that they will though.
Hailey and Zaphod says
It is too bad the glitch happened and wasn’t handled correctly. We think all of our blog friends are great, and don’t need awards to know it! Best of luck!
Jessica Rhae says
Bloggers are at different skill levels, and points in their journey, but I have never met a pet blogger that does not pour their heart and soul into their blog. That is part of what I love about this community – the passion.
Jen | DOGthusiast.com says
A well written analysis of the issue, and I certainly agree with this view. I can only hope with some of the feedback regarding the Petties that this and other “awards” in the future are handled in a different way. I am very frustrated by the focus on having voting, numbers, or money being involved in such competitions. It (sometimes) comes down to numbers and cash as opposed to merit, and as such it does not represent the quality or worthiness of all blogs on a list.
Of course there are always motives behind these contests, as it is essentially a marketing campaign and the bigger the blog the more eyeballs on that badge and clicks to the voting site. Heck, back when I was in the corporate marketing field I’d say this is a pretty good idea for the corporation (not how it was handled, of course, but the general idea to benefit the company itself). But I feel there are better ways to meet those goals than ask the nominees to jump through such hoops for the organizer’s gain, and it sure muddies how much worthiness there is in the award itself. And of course, cause the community upset as they did this year.
That said, I nominated you and as such wholeheartedly believe you deserve to be on that list in the active category. You do so much to promote a healthy and active lifestyle for both humans and their four legged companions. No question in regards to merit or any of that, too bad it’s a numbers game because you do deserve to win in my books. Too bad my book is more of a post-it note 😉
Jessica Rhae says
I love your insight Jen. Not everyone can see situations like this from a business perspective. Voting contest can feel yucky to those nominated but if I was on the other side – the company employee tasked with increasing traffic/engagement – I think this is one of the best ways to do it. Despite my distaste, I have even recommended a photo contest and such on Facebook, etc.
You know, I think it’s the distinction to me that makes all of the difference. If I am in/enter a contest, I expect there to be some kind of voting. However, and award implies to be that there is some sort of merit involved. Yes, finalist are nominated on “merit” because readers thought they deserved it (well, technically, it can have more to do with how many people you can rally to nominate you) but then it becomes a contest based solely on how many votes you can get.
peggy says
The way this was handled is a big disappointment. It’s so nice of you to mentioning our posts. Really good luck to you, I hope it doesn’t diminish anything for you–you should feel good about being a finalist and I hope you win!
Linda - Alfie's Blog says
Oh my gosh – I can’t believe they did that! I had already voted for you (and some of the names that now magically disappeared from their nominations). I guess I’ll go back and do it all again. I agree that popularity contests like this are awful, but hey – I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you win because you put so much hard work into this blog and you really deserve it!
Scylla, Socks, Tuiren & Fenris says
Thanks for a very thoughtful post on the situation. We know many of the bloggers who were originally nominated and know they were excited about the nomination, so we feel awful for them. But we realize and we are sure they do too that it isn’t the new nominees fault. But we thinks the “mistake” should have been handled better by DogTime Media. Certainly a personal apology to those who are no longer nominated should have been offered.
Jessica Rhae says
Thanks and, Yes, that is exactly what we are all upset about. The bloggers not on the list anymore are ok with the fact that they just didn’t have the number of nominations needed to stay. The whole issue is about how this was handled.
YourSpecialDog says
Great to hear that you are a finalist , we love your blog
Pamela Curry says
The best blogger about and for pets has never been nomm’d or even recognized. That would be The Truth about Pet Food. The entire event is rather social. Many of the bloggers are strictly social, don’t
do an intense amount of research before writing. Moral Dilemma’s are not solved by expressing your feelings. Take an Action, start an alternative award, ask people to meet challenges to make this one different. I’m stopping here…way too much philosophy and theology in college but I did that while I was teaching at a business college. Considering the social nature of the entire event, my vote can be bought if it can benefit pets at my local rescue. In the end if it isn’t about the health and safety of Dogs or Cats, what good is it.
Jessica Rhae says
Hi Pamela. There certainly are different flavors of blogs out there. Some lean more towards the impersonal and informative. Others aim to help people by relating to them and sharing stories of how they dealt with similar issues. There are also blogs strictly aimed at entertaining. Considering the differences, there would inherently be different levels of research done for each type.
To totally discount one group because they are different than the other is insulting to me though. Not all flavors of blogs appeal to everyone but that doesn’t mean they there is not value in them. Being social, and relatable, is really valuable to a lot of people. I do agree that there should also be awards for “most informative”, or “solving the biggest moral dilemma” blogs though. In fact, there likely are.
Caren Gittleman says
Congratulations and good luck and if you didn’t see my barrage of comments on the Petties Page when the debacle first took place…head on over.
In my opinion the “technical” glitch destroyed the credibility of their awards…period………..like you, I suggested that ALL the candidates pull out to send an important message.
Also, I feel that EVERY blog that was originally a finalist should have remained and that the ones that were added due to their “technical” (actually make that POLITICAL) glitch should have just been added with them. Obviously they ALL deserved to be there (as always as did MANY others who weren’t even in the mix to begin with, but that’s the nature of awards)..
I also suggested that EVERY finalist be given money towards their shelter………. to me, that is the only fair solution.
The thoughtless and frankly intellectually challenged way that they have handled this entire process just does nothing but make them look inept in my mind.
I am sorry, but no matter who wins, I will forever question the fairness and validity of their win as well as the Petties in general.
I also feel that ALL blogger award programs should be run and judged by those who know NOTHING about the bloggers as people………..
PS: I doubt Jimmy Fallon had to campaign for his 7 emmy award nominations or final votes lol.
Jessica Rhae says
I did see your comments Caren and left my own comment on the thread. I was already considering pulling out and your comment almost inspired me to do it. I believe if “voting with your feet” when something goes against my principles. However, as I pointed out in this post, I felt like it would be an insult to the generous readers that nominated me.
Dolly the Doxie says
Very glad that you put this out there. I really felt bad for the blogs like Oz that were removed. This is only my 2nd year aware of the Petties and I get very turned off when blogs asked to be nominated then ask for votes. I pretty much don’t vote, I tried to last year but my favorite blogs were pitted against each other and I couldn’t vote for just one. Of course I’d be thrilled if I got nominated but I am not good at begging like you said an I wouldn’t feel right to be doing it on every blog post. Glad I am not doing much blogging right now.
Good luck in your category as you are one of the best!
Jessica Rhae says
Well, we were pitted against Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund last year (and are again this year) and we share a lot of the same Doxie fans. That made it even more awkward when asking for votes because those people had to decide between us. He has SO many more fans than we do though so, just based on sheer numbers, I knew it was a long shot to try and win last year. Like I said, I groveled and it still didn’t matter. I decided to save my moral sanity by not begging when I know I won’t win. I didn’t ask to be nominated though and made it to the finals. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I won this year without asking either? 🙂
Emma says
We avoid voter based contests as well as we don’t find them real fair and we don’t like to ask people to vote for us for weeks on end. As for the Petties, Congratulations! It is an honor to be selected, especially when you didn’t ask for it. I also think it is rotten the way they have handled things this year and we feel bad for those that were falsely told they were nominated only to have it taken away without even a real apology. We love what you guys do and sure hope you can win, even without begging 😉
Genevieve says
We’ve been on every day voting for RumpyDog and of course we voted for you and a bunch of other friends while we were there. We’ll continue to do that. Congratulations and good luck!
Jessica Rhae says
Thanks for voting for us. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we won even without me asking people to vote every day?
Jenna,Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady says
I had heard of this complication from someone else as well! Major screw up!!!!!
Not that it matter since votes were wiped out, but I have been voting for you! And I will continue to do so, daily 😉
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Dawn says
I’ve heard a little here and there about bloggers being nominated and dropped. I had wondered what happened, but even us voters weren’t notified. If my votes had been wiped out, it only makes sense to notify me so that I can revote. It does sound unfair. Thank you for not begging for votes. It does get a little old when I visit all my pet bloggers only to find all their posts are about begging for votes. I’ve begged for votes in the past too, but I think next time I will take your view on it and just casually mention it on the side.
Amelia says
I don’t like some pet blogs such as the celebrity dachshund “Crusoe”. I guess it’s mainly because he has to much of a big head and it’s irritating . I hate how this seems like a popularity contest instead of what the blog really gives the readers. Hopefully in the future this will change for good, I hope you win.
Nerissa's Life says
I just wanna say that after the uh… ummm.. “issue,” I went from bein’ a finalist in two categories to one but do you know what? It’s okay! My post that was up for Best Blog Post should never have been there in the first place and I know that for a fact ’cause it was from well over a year ago. I suspect that most, if not all, of the bloggers who lost positions in the finals feel the same way. It was just kind of a shock how it all came about, you know?
So to all those fellow finalists out there… ENJOY IT! You DESERVE this honour and there’s nothin’ wrong with makin’ the most of it.
Purrs,
Nissy