blogs

Since 2004 the Best of the Blogs (BOBs) have been recognizing the top blogs, podcasts and vodcasts internationally.  Deutsche Welle, Germany's public broadcaster, organizes the awards.  PBS' own Mark Glaser was on the jury.
The BOBs challenge judges from all over the world to evaluate the abilities of bloggers creating content in 11 different languages.

"I think a common element among the winners is a sense of universality, a blog that can transcend language or cultural barriers," Glaser said. "To win the votes of judges who come from around the world, you need to demonstrate that the blog you nominated is special and stands out."

This map on the BOBs web site shows a sampling of this year's submissions. Voices of Africa, a site that aggregates community-generated journalism from over 30 African countries, won Best Videoblog. Users produce the site's stories using mobile phones and wireless Internet.more

Traveling, cooking amazing meals, and spending time with children and grandchildren - it's all part of the job for chef, restaurant owner and television host Lidia Bastianich.

Bastianich is the host of not one, but two nationally-syndicated television shows on PBS. In one of her shows, "Lidia's Italy," she travels across Italy bringing recipes back to recreate in her kitchen. You can watch the second season on PBS now, and stay tuned for the third season in fall of 2009.more

This Veterans Day, there are a number of ways to honor veterans online, on PBS.org and the wider web.  

On PBS.org : more

In the wake of the historic election this week, the web has been buzzing with reactions.

Across the nation, people uploaded photos and videos capturing their communities' reactions to Obama's victory.  One Flickr stream shows revelers in Washington, DC flooding U Street in celebration -- the very location of the 1968 riots.   In Seattle, a man led a crowd in song and dance to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."  Chants of "Yes We Can" could be heard in Harlem for hours.more

Several of us from PBS Engage attended BlogHer DC on Monday and sponsored an afternoon break.  Amidst the panel discussions, frequent snacking and handing out information, we were able to meet many interesting women who blog about quite an array of topics.  They were eager to learn about Engage.  They were even more eager to tell us about what they are doing with social media.more

Tavis Smiley might be the most connected man on PBS. You can watch his talk show, hear him on the radio, follow him on Twitter, ask him questions on his video blog, and read one of his eleven books. The man is truly multi-platform.

Did I mention he's also a philanthropist?

On his nightly talk show, Tavis interviews newsmakers and entertainers from all walks of life, from President Jimmy Carter to singer Donna Summer.more

New media expert Mark Glaser was the latest guest in our "Five Good Questions" series. Mark took time from being host and editor of Media Shift, a blog about the intersection of new media and culture, to answer your questions.

In addition to his work on Media Shift, Mark is the editor for Idea Lab, a blog about news innovators. Since graduating from the University of Missouri at Columbia, Mark has been working as a freelance journalist. You can read his work in publications such as HotWired, the New York Times, and Entertainment Weekly.

Mark sent his answers to your five good questions via video. Watch his responses below.more