Demographics and Tally Notes:
There were 28 total ballots submitted. Montanans submitted 24 of those ballots. 7 ballots were submitted with comments to this site and to others, and 13 ballots were submitted by email. The remaining 8 ballots were submitted as posts by the following websites:
Speedkill
Spun and Spinning
Montana Jones
What I think (as if you give a damn)
Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere
Better Living Through Blogging
City Lights
Karbon Kounty Moos
Only 1 ballot was submitted anonymously (that is anonymous to me), and 6 of the submitters were "single issue" voters (those who voted in only one category).
Since many questioned this, self-voting was allowed. Tie votes were counted, but not for issues 12 and 13. If a tie vote was submitted for those issues, the result was scientifically decided ... I rolled dice with a 50/50 chance and kept the winning result. Those votes which were given to websites that deal with Montana, but are not Montana websites, were disqualified; but they will be represented in the results that follow. Most everyone who submitted "extra" categories did so either on their websites, or in comments to those websites. I won't include them here. There were a few of those submitted in email, and I want the authors of those to know that they gave me a chuckle, and their humor won't be forgotten, regardless of this polling or future attempts at such. All voters were invited to cast a vote for the main category as well as any sub-category, but most chose not to. That's okay, and any confusion will be rectified in the future. Finally, in an effort to stave off the inevitable email I will receive about this, no ballots were rejected or not represented, as will be clear come the results. So lets get to it.
The Results:
1: Best Montana Political Website (Websites relating or dealing with primarily political content).
Total Votes: 6
A Tie. Winners:
Left In The West
A Chicken Is Not Pillage
a: Best Left Leaning Political Website.
Total Votes: 18
Winner: Left In The West with 12 votes
Second: A Chicken Is Not Pillage with 4 votes
Also receiving votes: Granny Insanity, and Spun and Spinning
b: Best Right Leaning Political Website.
Total Votes: 14
Winner: MTPolitics with 10 votes
Second: Electric City Weblog with 3 votes
Also getting votes: A Chicken Is Not Pillage
c: Best Libertarian/Constitutional/Independent Website.
Total Votes: 15
Winner: Dave Budge with 12 votes
Also receiving votes: What I think (as if you give damn), Pragmatic Revolt, and The Last Best Place
d: Most In-depth Political Website.
Total Votes: 11
Winner: Left In The West with 6 votes
Second: Dave Budge with 2 votes
Also receiving votes: Pragmatic Revolt, SirotaBlog, Government News For Montana
e: Best Political Candidate’s Website.
Total Votes: 9
Winner: Tester Time with 8 votes
Also receiving votes: Tester For Senate
General Category Notes: I think that Montana politicians need to work on their websites; or perhaps websites aren't that important to Montana politics yet. From the way the voting fell out, I actually think that Montana has a different view of Left and Right than is traditionally accepted in other parts of the country. Personally, I consider that a good thing.
2: Best Lifestyle Website.
Total Votes: 7
Winner: Karbon Kounty Moos with 4 votes
Second: Thoughts From The Middle of Nowhere with 2 votes
Also receiving votes: Better Living Through Blogging
a: Most Exemplifies a Montana Lifestyle.
Total Votes: 20
Winner: Thoughts From The Middle of Nowhere with 11 votes
Second: Karbon Kounty Moos with a strong showing of 8 votes
Also Receiving votes: Spun and Spinning
b: Best Culture Website.
Total Votes: 12
Winner: Watermark with 6 votes
Also Receiving votes: BAH WEEP GRAHNA WEEP NINNY BON, Greater Falls, Montana Radio Cafe, New West Network, Spun and Spinning, John Clayton
c: Best Pop-Culture Website.
Total Votes: 13
Winner: Better Living Through Blogging with 7 votes
Second: BAH WEEP GRAHNA WEEP NINNY BON with 4 votes
Also receiving votes: The Monkey Cage, Hollywood and Montana
General Category Notes: We've done a terrific job of representing the eastern Montana culture of agriculture, but the websites showing the mountain outdoor activity based culture are gaining in strength. Perhaps next year, they will make a better showing, depending on how the categories are played out. Other thoughts later, in my personal notes regarding this polling.
3: Most Web Gravitas (Best Read) Website.
Total Votes: 5
Winner: City Lights with 4 votes
Also receiving votes: MTPolitics
a: Best Website For Montana News (not an online newspaper, or presentation thereof).
Total Votes: 9, and 1 disqualification
Winner: New West Network with 6 votes
Also receiving votes: City Lights, Government News For Montana, Montana Forums
Disqualified: Topix Mt. excellent, but not Montanan.
b: Best Website For Montana Photos.
Total Votes: 16, with 1 disqualification
Winner(s): Tie between Bitterroot and Bergamot and Thoughts From the Middle of Nowhere with 4 votes each
Second: Patia Stephens with 3 votes
Third: Karbon Kounty Moos with 2 votes
Also receiving votes: Merciless.org, The Daily Cat Chase, and MontanaPictures.net
Disqualification: the truly fascinating Glacier National Park Webcams. Totally cool, but federal.
c: Best Website For Montana Tales and Stories.
Total votes: 11
Winner(s): Tie between Prairie Mary and Thoughts From the Middle of Nowhere with 3 votes each
Second: Watermark with 2 votes
Also receiving votes: Hardtack and Mustangs, Out There With Tom, and What I think (as if you give damn)
d: Most Informative Website About Montana And Montana Concerns.
Total Votes: 8
Winner: New West Network with 5 votes
Also receiving votes: Thoughts From the Middle of Nowhere, Government News For Montana, Donald Cyphers
4: Most Humorous Montana Website.
Total Votes: 17
Winner: (by a landslide) A Secular Franciscan Life with 11 votes
Second: The Monkey Cage with 3 votes
Also receiving votes: City Lights, BAH WEEP GRAHNA WEEP NINNY BON, and A Chicken Is Not Pillage
5: Best Montana Media Website (specifically dedicated to providing news and information).
Total Votes: 7
Winner: New West Network with 4 votes
Also receiving votes: City Lights, Billings Gazette, Montana webcams
a: Best Online Newspaper.
Total Votes: 13
Winner: The Billings Gazette
Also receiving votes: The Great Falls Tribune
And there was a shoutout to the Bozeman Chronicle for their layout.
b: Best Online Media Sponsored Website.
Total Votes: 15
Winner: with the most votes for any candidate in any category, City Lights with 14 votes. Congrats, Ed.
Also receiving votes: Montana Forums
c: Best Online Magazine.
Total Votes: 12
Winner: With all votes, New West Network
6: Best State Run Website.
Total Votes: 7 with 1 disqualification
Winner: Discovering Montana, with 3 votes
Second: Visit Montana with 2 votes
Also receiving votes: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and Montana Film
Disqualification: Glacier National Park (nope, its, still a federal thingy).
a: Most Useful State Website.
Total Votes: 10
Winner: Montana Department of Transportation Road Report with 4 votes
Second: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks with 3 votes
Third: The Montana Legislature page with 2 votes
Also receiving votes: The Montana Government home page
7: Most Helpful Montana Website.
Total Votes: 11
Winner: Montana Department of Transportation Road Report with 5 votes
Also receiving votes: Montana Job Service, Montana Gas Prices, Montana Legislature, Montana Secretary of State, Government News For Montana, and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
8: Most Historical Montana Website.
Total Votes: 9
Winner: Prairie Mary with 4 votes
Also receiving votes: Montana Nuggets, Montana History Resources, Lewis and Clark Heritage Trail Foundation, Karbon Kounty Moos, and Montana Vigilantes
9: Best Montana Community Website. (Community Websites are those that allow multiple posters or content providers.)
Total Votes: 13, with 1 disqualification
Winner: Big Sky Blog with 9 votes
Second: New West Network with 2 votes
Also receiving votes: Progress Montana, and the Montana Heritage Project
Disqualification: The Montana Craiglist.
10: Most Missed Montana Website Not Being Updated Or On Hiatus.
Total Votes: 14
Winner: The Monkey Cage with 5 votes. I guess the joke is on y'all, 'cause the monkey's back.
Second: Gates of the Mountains with 3 votes
Also receiving votes: Progress Montana, Dirt Between Lightbulbs, ParaBellum, Billings Blog, Greetings from Montana, and Wailing and Gnashing
11: Best Personal Montana Website (Relating to and about the individuals personal life).
Total Votes: 20
Winner: Revolving Duck with 8 votes
Second: Spun and Spinning with 3 votes
Third: Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere with 2 votes
Also receiving votes: A Secular Franciscan Life, Karbon Kounty Moos, Forever Vain, An Offering of Myself To the World, Patia Stephens, What I think (as if you give a damn), and Montana Jones
12: Montana Survivor: Website you’d most like to be voted off the mountains (try to be nice, here).
Total Votes tallied: 13 (in the true spirit of ... if you ain't pissin' people off, you're doin' somethin' wrong.)
Winner?: Spun and Spinning with 4 votes
Second: Dirt Between Lightbulbs (aren't they already gone at our request?) with 3 votes
Also receiving votes: The Viceroy's Fugue State, MTPolitics, Montana News Association, A Chicken is Not Pillage and SirotaBlog. Also, Osbasso, but only because his design is painful to view. Perhaps a category for next year ...
13: And Finally, The Montana Website You Would Choose To Read Everyday.
Total Votes: 24
Winner: Spun and Spinning with 4 votes
Second: A tie between Left in the West and A Chicken is Not Pillage with 3 votes each
Third: A 6 way tie between MTPolitics, Karbon Kounty Moos, The Billings Gazette, City Lights, The Monkey Cage, and Watermark
Also receiving votes: Thoughts From the Middle of Nowhere, and The Last Best Place
Well, there you have it. I have many more things to say about this, but just posting this linkapalooza has taken over 3 hours, so I'll save it for another time. There's a bit of extended voting I need to present as well. I have questions concerning next year's polling, observations concerning this year's responses, and I'm chomping at the bit to get over this stuff such that I can go whoop-ass on the stupid yet again. I truly, deeply, hope that you have enjoyed this vote. Please, revel in your victories, and plan for the coming year. And one last time, thank you all for voting for Montana. We done okay here, folks.
p.s. I know there's a whole boatload of links to update, and I will do so over the next several days. I just wanted to get this posted for now.
Personally, I'm just amused that the best right-wing blog is called MTPolitics... "empty politics", y'know?
As for the lefties, be sure to submit to if you're not already there....
Posted by: Kari Chisholm | November 22, 2005 at 12:52 AM
Good work, Rob! That was a boatload of work, and thanks for doing it.
Posted by: Craig | November 22, 2005 at 03:07 AM
Thanks for the hard work Rob, hopefully we can get more voters this year. It seems like only bloggers or website operators voted...thats ok though. Again, thanks!
Posted by: Tony | November 22, 2005 at 07:12 AM
WHAT? I DIDN'T WIN ANYTHING? I WANT A RECOUNT! HANGING CHADS! HANGING CHADS! I'M GONNA SUE! No seriously, I'm really surprised that I got any votes at all considering how recently I came on the scene. Thanks to all who felt compelled to mention me, and thanks most of all to wulfgar for putting forth the effort to tally up the responses. I'm gonna open up a can of whoop ass next year though, I don't care if I gotta post nudie pics of my fat, hairy butt. Thanks again all!
Posted by: Justin | November 22, 2005 at 10:11 AM
WHAT? I DIDN'T WIN ANYTHING? I WANT A RECOUNT! HANGING CHADS! HANGING CHADS! I'M GONNA SUE! No seriously, I'm really surprised that I got any votes at all considering how recently I came on the scene. Thanks to all who felt compelled to mention me, and thanks most of all to wulfgar for putting forth the effort to tally up the responses. I'm gonna open up a can of whoop ass next year though, I don't care if I gotta post nudie pics of my fat, hairy butt. Thanks again all!
Posted by: Justin | November 22, 2005 at 10:14 AM
Thanks, Rob -- I'll get this up at Watermark, too, in the next couple of days.
Posted by: SB | November 22, 2005 at 10:27 AM
Hey Wulfgar, what's up with you??? Are you Left Leaning or Right Leaning?? I got a chuckle over you getting votes in both categories. Just keeping Montanan's on their toes, huh :)
Posted by: Brittany Kailey | November 22, 2005 at 10:49 AM
Thanks for all the work. You must have gone half-crazy inserting all those links. Way above and beyond the call of duty.
Posted by: Ed Kemmick | November 22, 2005 at 11:03 AM
Wulfgar, very much appreciate both your sentiment in running this, and the effort you put forth.
Posted by: david | November 22, 2005 at 09:16 PM
Thanks Wulfgar. I didn't think you were leaning at all.
Posted by: Karen | November 22, 2005 at 11:19 PM
For what it's worth, I think some of the best photographs are kept on Offering of Myself to the World by Pandora at http://www.terrestrialball.com. I knew I should have voted!
Posted by: Jough | November 26, 2005 at 09:30 AM
Hey thanks for the votes I got and thanks for putting together these cool awards!
Posted by: Monkey | November 27, 2005 at 05:49 PM
Way to go. Nice to see they are paying you to do something constructive all day.
Posted by: nu2thuseen | September 28, 2006 at 06:37 PM
I would adore getting paid for this. Now, late-to-the-party Bozemanite, perhaps you'd like to clarify exactly who this "THEY" are who will pay me for blogging?
Posted by: Wulfgar | October 02, 2006 at 03:59 PM
The MSU BOOKSTORE ;-)
Posted by: nu2thuseen | October 03, 2006 at 05:16 PM
I'm sorry, but you are very, very confused. You see, the MSU Bookstore doesn't pay me to blog, nor have I ever asked them to. I'm so glad I could clear that up for you, but if you'd like to know more, please, just ask.
Posted by: Wulfgar | October 03, 2006 at 06:27 PM
Oh contrare, they do pay you to blog...they just don't know it ;-)
Posted by: nu2thuseen | October 04, 2006 at 09:52 PM
Oh how very sad, dearheart. Once again you prove yourself grossly confused. Why would you not pay attention to the facts as given? The MSU Bookstore pays me to blog only in the same respect that they pay me to breath or to crap.
You continue to assert as facts things about which you are completely ignorant; yet strangely you present yourself as knowledgable. Very odd. What is this fixation you have with my employment about which you know nothing save it's name? Do you care to explain?
Ya' see, kitten, it appears for all the world as if you are making some statement about malfeasance on my part, yet you remain afraid to actually accuse me. Am I really that frightening that you would rather remain an anonymous purveyor of untruths?
Here, let's share secrets, shall we? This I know of you: You live and work in Bozeman, you are on the national sex offenders registry for having ... relations ... with livestock, your myspace page includes naked pictures of your mother, and you have an unsightly disfiguration on your face. Now, wasn't that fun? The sharing, I mean? How hilarious! Okay, do me next. Tell everybody what you really know about me.
What? You think that stuff is untrue? How can you possibly suggest such an impolite thing? I would never lie ... after all, people know who I am. But yet they don't know you, do they?
And still you expect folk to swallow the implications you refuse to back up with any evidence at all. I feel sad for you, nu2. So let me clarify reality.
You posted this weak and pathetic attack in a thread that is long dead. It gets maybe a hit every two months now. Those who do find it are people doing Google searches on Montana websites, and I assure you, they don't know anything about your predilection for attacking the host of a popular Montana web event. Trust me on this, kitten: you're looking like a real asshole in their eyes, right about now.
You remain completely ignorant about my employment, which is the dreaded cause of you pulling things right out of your rectum. (Please wash your hands before touching the keyboard again.) My superior at the MSU Bookstore knows that I have a website. He knows about my blogging. But, unlike you, he knows my work schedule. Unlike you, he is wise enough to actually check the time of my posts. Since your implication is obvious, that I blog from work, how very thankful I am that my boss is so very much less confused than you.
If you are really concerned about who pays me for what, why don't you call them and ask? Scared, you say? Well, obviously. Please believe me, you are REALLY looking like a dickhead just about now. I'm just trying to save you from embarrassment.
Seriously, cupcake, get to the point or shut up. Your choice, of course.
Posted by: Wulfgar | October 05, 2006 at 05:33 PM
Enjoyed reading your article - I will stop by again in the near future to check up on your latest news. Trent
Posted by: Ski Montana | April 25, 2008 at 02:45 PM