I had the privledge of serving on the blogger’s choice awards for Mashable. The votes are in and here are your winners.

Blogger’s Choice Winners

Mainstream & Large Scale Social Networks

Winner: Twitter
Runner-up: Facebook

---

Embeddable Widgets

Winner:
Clearspring
Runner-up: Sprout

---

Blog Plugins

Winner: ShareThis
Runner-up: AddThis

---

Social News

Winner: Digg
Runner-up: Mixx

---

Social Networking Applications

Winner: Ping.fm
Runner-up: Twitterfeed

---

Social Bookmarking

Winner: Delicious
Runner-up: StumbleUpon

---

Search & Social Search

Winner: Google
Runner-up: Scour

---

Sports & Fitness

Winner: Gyminee
Runner-up: Oneseason

---

Photo Sharing

Winner: Flickr
Runner-up: Picasa

---

Video Sharing

Winner: YouTube
Runner-up: Vimeo

---

Start Pages

Winner: iGoogle
Runner-up: Netvibes

---

Places & Events

Winner: Doodle
Runner-up: Eventbrite

---

Travel

Winner: TripIt
Runner-up: GeckoGo

---

Music

Winner: Last.fm
Runner-up: Pandora

---

Social Shopping

Winner: Wishpot
Runner-up(s): Tigerbow/Pikaba (tie)

---

Fashion

Winner: Coolspotters
Runner-up: Gift Girl

---

Celebrity & Gossip

Winner: Perez Hilton
Runner-up: Popvine

---

Mobile Applications

Winner: Evernote
Runner-up: Qik

---

Dating & Romance

Winner: SpeedDate
Runner-up: OKCupid

---

Wiki

Winner: Wikipedia
Runner-up: PBWiki

---

Politics

Winner: Huffington Post
Runner-up: CreateDebate

---

How-to

Winner: eHow
Runner-up: Howcast

---

Environmental

Winner: ThinkGreen
Runner-up: SocialVibe

---

Non-Profit Causes

Winner: SocialVibe
Runner-up: Kiva

---

Online Games

Winner: Playfish
Runner-up: Kongregate

---

Niche Social Networks

Winner: Wadja
Runner-up: Lifeblob

I was reading http://www.searchenginepeople.com and I am a big fan of Paul Teitelman’s blog and he posted some amazing web directories that any webmaster should know about, so I am spreading the love. All credit to  http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/top-25-most-powerful-web-directories-list.html

1.) Family Friendly Sites
2.) Incrawler
3.) Kahuki
4.) Greenstalk
5.) Rakcha
6.) Joeant
7.) Splash Directory
8.) Goguides
9.) Enquira
10.) ALS Links
11.) Clush
12.) Octopedia
13.) Info Listings
14.) Skaffe
15.) Global Weblinks
16.) Links 2 Go
17.) Dmoz Zilla
18.) Gimpsy
19.) Global Link Networks
20.) Business Directory
21.) Zorg Directory
22.) TWD
23.) Data Spear
24.) World Site Index
25.) Most Popular Sites

Was browsing on the internet this evening and came across this great blog post by http://colorburned.com on the top design blogs anyone should sign up for. Check these design blogs out. Definately sign up for feedburner.com in order to quickly add these to your now hundreds of feeds you subscribe too.

http://colorburned.com/2008/11/110-rss-feeds-that-all-designe.html

Looking for the best free wordpress themes seems like a simple task, but with the huge amounts of websites dedicated to listing wordpress themes, its hard to distinguish the quality ones from the bland ones. Over the course of this year I have setup 10 wordpress websites (yes, i love wordpress). To save startup time, I spent hours upon hours looking through hundreds of wordpress themes in order to find unique ones that have a sense of style and flair. Even the wordpress theme I am currently using was found at one of these sites. My Wordpress theme credits go out to Blue Grace 1.0 by Vladimir Prelovac

Here are the best free wordpress theme websites I have found. Enjoy!

http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/08/100-excellent-free-high-quality-wordpress-themes/

http://www.wpthemespot.com/

If you are an owner of a free wordpress theme site or feel I am missing one, post a comment and I will add it.

I have been designing websites for over 10 years, and it seems there is a growing epidemic forming in the web design world. This epidemic is called flaky web designers.

When people ask me, do you know a good web designer, I always start with the precursor that you may be able to find a great web designer, and they may be able to sell you on their skills and talent, but the proof is in the pudding. That is, to find a web designer who can be true to their word and stick to the age old saying: “do what you say you are going to do” and create something that is profound that will wow people and make them say, “I want my website to look like this”. This seems harder and harder to find as the demand for web design grows faster than quality web designers to fill the positions.

As I progressed in my career in the last years, it has been an illuminating process to evolve from a web designer, to an internet marketer to an internet business owner. Making this transition is not just changing titles, its upgrading your state of mind.

More than a state of mind, it’s an ability to rise above your own doubts and issues of finding a web designer that is better than you and embracing their skills and talents without having an ego or feeling competitive.

It’s about embracing change and accepting that there are better web designers and better internet marketers then yourself. As evolution will teach us, there will always come along someone who can do it better, faster and for cheaper. The trick is to realize this early on and use the tools out there to locate this talent, procure them and persuade them to join your team in a professional and honest manner.

I call this the awakening. It’s when you can put your ego in the drawer and accept the responsibility and the job duties that come with your new title. It’s when you start to use your experience and empower your new team with your wisdom and skill so they can produce the best work possible while you do what you lead the pack.

In order to do this, you need to learn from your mistakes, become one with your strengths and weaknesses and understand the industry, the culture, and most importantly the plague that diseases the web design industry. I call this “flaky designers” or designers who cannot produce what you are looking for. Either one can of these can kill your business, but most importantly these soul drainers drain your energy and motivation toward the project.

I think many people rely on their relationships or a referral in order to find what they think will be a web designer who can produce what they are looking for. I believe that finding the right web designer for a project is as hard as finding a diamond in the rough.

Rather than asking a web designer, Can you do my website? You should find a web designer who has done work similar to that you are looking for, so you can be sure that the web designer you choose has the skill set and proven track record necessary to execut upon your needs.

The days of being a “yes man” are over. Clients and website owners are evolving and so should you. I offer the following websites as a starting point in order to find the right designer who has already designed something in the realm you are looking for.

I use the following websites in order to find, cultivate and hire new talent. Talent that is usually international (outside the United States) cannot be found by asking a friend. This type of fresh talent can only be found if you know what you are looking for. Before visiting these sites, I recommend you get a sense of what you want, so you are not overwhelmed with the quality and juiciness of these great web designers.

Best Web Gallery - Flash + CSS Gallery
Best Web Gallery is a showcase gallery that features all the best design Flash and CSS websites on the web.
www.bestwebgallery.com

CSSelite.com - CSS Gallery » Showcasing the best in CSS web design …
CSS Showcase : CSSelite.com is an inspirational gallery site that collects a wide range of quality design websites (Flash & CSS).
www.csselite.com

Urban Trash CSS Gallery - Best sites in the world
Showcasing the best in CSS web design and development. Gallery of Css Design Website. Best css website. Submit your site.
www.urbantrash.net/cssgallery

CSS Hereos
CSS Heroes is a gallery of the best standards-compliant web designs, we hand-pick the sites and only accept the highest-quality code and visual design.
www.cssheroes.com/

So take a look at these sites, find what you like and contact the web designer of the website. Do not give up. Right a compelling offer letter that establishes value, purpose and most importantly an opportunity for future work with you. You are building a relationship. If you find a quality web designer for your project and it is a success, it usually means you are in business and will start to build a lasting relationship with a great web designer.

If you feel another website should be listed here, please comment below and I will add it to the list.