Let's Schmooze!

Lincoln was kind enough to choose me for the Shmooze Award, the purpose of which is to “recognize those people that were [are] exceptionally adept at creating relationships with other bloggers by making an effort to be part of a conversation, as opposed to monologue.”

The rules:
If, and only if, you get The Power of Schmooze Award, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think, or have schmoozed you into submission. Link to this post and Mike so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

Optional:
Proudly display the ‘The Power of Schmooze Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

So, in accordance to the rules of award, five bloggers do indeed come to mind (though I would honestly love to award many more). In fact, I WILL award more, and you'll just have to read them all, because I said so! There! : P


An Audience of One (Brian) - who's a very thought-provoking writer, whose poignant posts never fail to move me. He's so great in hosting frequent linkfests, and encouraging special attention towards bloggers who are facing challenges. His tone is always very respectful, and his posts are very balanced and fair. He very much likes to hear different opinions, which is a rare thing nowadays, even in the blogosphere!

Citizen of the Month (Neil) - can be hilarious, or very serious; he's been known to arouse serious debate with his thoughts on various issues and bring tears to my eyes with his posts about Sophia... but whatever the subject matter may be, he never fails to be a wonderful host, witty and humorous, always polite and respectful, but also firm and articulate, whenever he stands up for his opinions. He does a great job of reaching out to a wide variety of readers, and also bringing attention to other bloggers, so you can definitely see a great conversation taking place over there!

Random Thoughts - Do They Have Meaning?(Jack) - is one of the most prolific bloggers I've read, with posts ranging from reactions to various strange or hot-button news items to song lists, to very touching and introspective personal and family-related posts. Many of his posts are specifically directed at his audience, to find out their opinions on a wide variety of personal preferences, which makes his blog a great place to find out more about other bloggers and commenters.

Serandez (Ezzie) - seriously, leaving him out would make the whole award moot altogether. Serandez is SUCH a great hang-out place, covering a lot of different topics, and also a great deal of insanity (just look for Holy Hyrax or Jameel), which is what makes the whole thing so much fun. Ezzie also invites a great variety of contributors who make Serandez such a diverse and interesting place. And of course, I can't forget Ezzie's contribution to this years JIB Awards... one vary active blogger you have there!

Soccer Dad (David Gerstman) - none of you should be asking why I'm giving him this award. Come on, this is the creator of Haveil Havalim, who also does round-ups, Watcher's Council, and even e-mails various articles of interests to individual bloggers. Soccer Dad is community outreach personified!

The Muqata (Jameel) - another one I would be remiss not to award is the (in)famous Jameel@The Muqata. Who can ever forget the hilarious Purim Parodies or the Purim Podcasts he's organized? Not to mention the great team of guest bloggers he's invited more than a few times... and of course, his legendary Jewish Geography games. He epitomizes live connections to bloggers (and yet to me, he still remains elusive, AHEM!!!!) (And no, this is NOT just an attempt to bribe Jameel to come to NYC!) Wherever he is, not only does his blog turn towards Eretz Israel, but hilarity, hijinks and shenanigans, ensue.

This Woman's Journey (Monica) - I can tell that Monica is a wonderful, kind-hearted person from the way she blogs about her family and friends. But it's more than her writing, she actually constantly brings people close to her to our attention, and never fails to mention a blogger or a friend who's ill or facing other kind of troubles. She organizes prayer circles for people in need and strongly encourages her readers to comment on blogs, whose authors are encountering difficult issues. My hat's off!

Treppenwitz (David Bogner) - is really someone I admire a great deal for his sincerity and honest efforts to analyze his own thoughts and think critically. He really puts up some very important issues up for debate, and has been extremely thoughtful and fair and responding to a VERY BROAD spectrum of comments. He maintains a blogroll of people, many of whom have very different opinions or backgrounds, and from whom he's learning, and also is definitely a "giver" in the many great tips he has left for his readers in his entries. If that's not community outreach, I don't know what is!

Again, I'd like to thank Lincoln for the award, not just because I love recognition of any kind (AHEM!) but because I'm glad to find that my efforts are indeed doing a little something for someone, and that truly is a very rewarding feeling. I hope the bloggers I've awarded will take this on and will encourage community outreach by recognizing other bloggers who've made a contribution in this area. I really think this is a great idea!

Impressed,
Irina