The winners of the 2014 Bip Awards are ...

The last two weeks have been fun for The Bip Awards. Lots of campaigning and lots of people pushing to get collectors to come and vote in the awards.

Given our little community, I appreciate everyone who took the time to vote for their favorites. We had over 200 votes in almost every category -- I have no idea if that is a lot, but I was happy with the turnout.

Here are your 2014 Bip Award winners (percentage of vote is in parenthesis):

Social Media: Best Instagram account: TheSnortingBull (29.29%)

Social Media: Best Twitter feed: WatchTheBreaks (40.14%)

Blog you wish would come back: Wax Heaven (26.09%)

Best recurring subject: Night Owl Cards - Awesome night card (40.94%)

Best non-sports blog: Cardboard Junkie (52.98%)

Best non-baseball blog (sports-related): Sports Card Uncensored (42.74%)

Most generous blogger: Jaybarkerfan (44.12%)

Best industry-related news source: Cardboard Connection (61.32%)

Rookie of the Year (Best new blog): Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards (43.41%)

Blog of the Year: Night Owl Cards (30.05%)

Now, let's get the 2015 card season started!

The nominations for the 2014 Bip Awards are ...

Welcome to the 2014 Bip Awards!

Below are 10 categories of voting in the first Bip Awards. I removed one of the categories from the earlier post - Best blog post. There just weren't enough entries for that to have a good poll.

The goal of The Bip Awards is to celebrate the card-collecting community on the blogosphere and social media. There are many of us who share our collections, expertise and humor every day. It has brought more collectors out and allowed those who want to return to collecting a special space to enjoy.

Blogs and social media have made collecting more enjoyable for me and others. I love reading stories, checking out those mail days and learning more about cards than I ever thought possible.

Take a few minutes and vote for your favorites. Polls will be opened until January 31 at midnight ET. The winners will be announced on Feb. 2.

(A special shout out to Topher over at Crackin' Wax for the banner)

Nominations for The 2014 Bip Awards: Excellence in blogging in social media in the trading card industry

Collecting cards is a hobby we all love an enjoy. We love sharing stories, keeping track of the latest news, and challenging companies to be better.

This year, I am hosting The 2014 Bip Awards, honoring the best of the blogging community. In addition, there are a couple of social media awards.

Starting today and running for one week, we are going to take nominations for each of the 11 categories. On Saturday, January 17, the five nominees (and 10 for Blog of the Year) will be announced. The voting will take place for the two weeks after that.

The winners will be announced on Feb. 2. And, there will be prizes.

I hope many of you take part in the awards. This is a special community and a great way to recognize those that contribute to it.

Please don't "stuff" the ballot box by getting every person you ever met to vote for your blog. If I think there is any tampering going on, I will remove that blog from consideration. It's the internet, people do crazy things to win contests. Also, try not to vote for yourself.

Please nominate blogs and social media members through the form below:

2014 BIP AWARD NOMINATION FORM

Here are the categories:

Best blog of the year
Rookie of the year (favorite new blog)
Best industry-related news source
Most generous blogger
Best non-baseball blog (sports-related)
Best non-sports blog
Best blog post (Was there one blog post that stood out to you this year?)
Best recurring subject
Blog you wish would come back
Social media: Best Twitter feed
Social media: Best Instagram account

GOOD LUCK!