The Bali Blogger Community (BBC) received The Most Promising Blogger Community award at the annual Blogger Party, which was attended by some 1,500 bloggers in Jakarta on Saturday.

The Blogger Party was first held last year, when the organizer awarded prizes for individual bloggers only. Awards for blogger communities were introduced this year.

BBC member Fenny Sukamto received the award on behalf of her community.

"It was beyond our expectations that a new blogger community like us can get a national acknowledgment," she said.

Also honored was Cah Andong, which received the Blogging for Society award because the community had been keenly promoting blogs through training programs for school students.

Both communities outshone 32 other blogger communities across the country.

"This (award) is in line with this year's theme, *Blogging for Society'," said Iqbal Prakasa, a member of the 2008 Blogger Party's organizing committee.

He said the judging process highlighted the high number of blogging activities and their positive contributions to society.

"Our criteria were the quantity and quality of the programs conducted by the blogger communities for a year," the owner of the colonelseven.com blog said.

Iqbal said many blogger communities held only one public program each year, while others held many programs but exclusively for their members.

"We hope the awards can inspire blogger communities all over the country to make more contributions to society. It's important that the communities do not meet and talk to each other only or become a NATO (No Action, Talk Only) organization," he said.

He said the BBC was an example of a potential blogging community that could be expected to make a greater contribution.

The BBC, which has around 230 members and can be reached at baliblogger@yahoogroups.com, was established on Nov. 11 last year.

Members of the BBC come from a range of backgrounds and include lecturers, physicians, activists, students and cartoonists.

As well as holding regular internal gatherings, the blogging community conducts a monthly public program. Past events included blogging training, a social activity targeting patients of a psychiatric hospital and running a booth at the Kuta Carnival.

Last week, the BBC hosted five foreign bloggers from the United States, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore as they visited famous tourist attractions in Kuta, Jimbaran and Ubud.

-- JP/Luh De Suriyani

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