The Canadian Blog Awards are back with this year with a single transferable vote-a-thon. Here are the first of my picks and some predictions:

Apartment 613: I love a great success story. This crew of writers, artists, volunteer photographers and good people produce a daily blog, sponsor community events with their time and effort, have presented a clean and simple interface with damn good use of visuals. All round expect Apartment 613 to be the go-to blog for another very different eye on events in Ottawa. The team is nominated under New Blog category and Group Blog categories.

Pundit’s Guide: It’s not just a blog; it’s also a web application. Think about it. The massive database is lovingly tended and meticulously cared for and you don’t have to think about it. Instead you just see an interface for the political statistic hound. Political professionals rely on it. What used to take some people days can now be done in moments. This amazing work is nominated in the best Political Blog category.

Antonia’s Broadsides: I’m constantly amazed at the fierce skills of this longtime provocateur at the Toronto Star. Her former perch as media critic affords readers with an understanding of how far she is willing to take a theme, idea or battle. Unlike far too many columnists, Antonia seems to actually care about the issues she takes on. Broadsides is nominated in the Political Blog category.

Miss Vicky’s Offhand Remarks: Simultaneously this amazing webspace is a hyper local blog a venue for a neigbourhood to gather and the authors personal blog. The comment section are filled with thoughtful ideas, reader submit information to Vicky and her personality shines through the entire thing – even when the disposition is less than sunny (which, praise be someone out there tells it like it is and speaks truth to power: the good, bad and ugly!) Vicky is nominated in the Personal blog category.

I also love a lot of the New Democratic bloggers listed in the political category:

Accidental Deliberations; for the support of the community

Blogging a Dead Horse; for the machine like regularity of useful info

Buck Dog Politics; for solid commentary and a reason to keep coming back

Devin Jonston has the full list of New Democratic bloggers nominated. As an aside,  I’ll be ranking his blog at the top of the political heap – it’s always an honest, straight up assessment of the days politics. Written out of Manitoba, Devin won’t echo the “inside the Queensway” mentality. I look to this law student as part of the future of politics in Canada. Mark my word: he will be elected and do good things. (Cam Holstrom at Peterborough Politics  is also nominated; but I’m hoping to write up a full post about him. Oddly, his blog is down right now. Know anything folks?)

While I’m busy predicting the future: Look to Ottawa Tonite to enter the group blog race next year; I’d be shocked if Joe Boughner wasn’t winning awards next year – his writing is strong, great reputation in the digital space and his new job with Non Linear Creations will provide much profile. He calls them like he sees them – with more patience and prudence than I can sometimes muster. I admire him for this.

Also, I think the Blog Award themselves may see some new categories added to reflect the changing face of online communications. Here are leading contenders:

Edu-blogs (education at all ages); Parenting Blogs (which is an off shoot of “Family”), Mobile space/ micro-blogs (both on the rise as platforms for lucid and narrative work) and lastly Hyperlocal blogs (also on the rise; featuring smaller audiences and more niche content; they are home to motivated people-powered-networks who care about the online space created).

And a final note; as we wrap up our first year of blogging I’m proud that MediaStyle.ca was nominated for two awards – in the Political Blog award and in the Professional Life Blog – if you’re so inclined you can vote by clicking on the category links above.