Contour Housing Group has teamed up with Manchester based digital media company AND Digital, to develop the Community Blog Awards – a new medium to encourage local communities to talk to each other using blogs.
Samuel Cooper from Contour said: “The Community Blog Awards provide a great opportunity to encourage communities to engage with each other. Blogs can spread good news, provide opinion, start a campaign, create awareness about an event or just ensure local people talk to each other. It is important that local communities have a voice in the increasing social media landscape.”
Any of Contour’s 20,000 residents and tenants living across the North West region is eligible to enter – regardless of age. And for those not familiar with blogging Contour and And Digital are offering a free training course to provide help and advice on how to write and market a blog.
Tom Cheesewright from AND Digital said: “From the pithiest twitter stream to the most verbose commentaries, great blogs entertain or educate, engender debate and sometimes enrage. We’re looking for entries that fit all of these descriptions, but we’re also interested in what the blog can give its author – an outlet for their thoughts and a platform to learn web, design and copywriting skills.”
There are three categories to enter: best personal blog, best local blog and best advice blog. Categories will be judged on originality, wit and the value they add to the community.
The judges include Tom Cheesewright, Dave Carter Head of the Manchester Digital Development Agency and Kate Feld a freelance writer and creator of The Manchizzle, one of Manchester’s most popular blogs.
The overall winner will receive a Netbook, so they can continue developing their blog as well as support from AND Digital.
To enter or to find out more go to http://www.communityblogawards.org