2011 Social Security Awards

I am so behind on my blogging it’s not funny.  I was supposed to say something about the 2011 Social Security Awards a couple of weeks ago, but between running around the country and writing long, boring reports on PCI compliance, something had to fall off the to-do list, and blogging was it.  Which is why it’s a little ironic to break the silence with a post honoring some of the best writers in our business.  After which I’ll probably be going back to radio silence as I try to create a small bubble of calm in my work schedule that will allow me to attend the RSA Conference with minimal interference.  Or at least that’s the theory.

This is the third annual Social Security Blogger Awards, and once again the committee putting it together, led by the incomparable Alan Shimel, has worked hard to improve both the process for deciding the categories and the process for voting.  There were a number of categorizations in last year’s awards that had many of us laughing and shaking our heads in confusion, but by that time it was too late to make changes.  So this year Alan and his team of judges, who are all professional writers who cover the security field, revamped the categories and I think everyone involved will agree that they’ve done a great job of it.  The judges picked the cream of the the blogs and podcasts from all the great people we have writing, now it’s up to you to decide who the real winners are.

As always, I look forward to the night of the Security Bloggers Meetup at RSA.  This year, my influence on the whole process has been minimal, and as always, Jennifer Leggio has been shouldering far more than her fair share of the work.  Not to say I haven’t done anything… well, actually, I haven’t.  We’ve been doing this for a number of years now and it’s clear that Jennifer has a handle on everything and if I try to get further involved I’ll slow things down more than help.  Which goes back to my original point that I’m already too busy with the day job to help much.  But the SBM has become the central event of the RSA Conference, at least for me, and the pivot that all my other plans revolve around for the week.  The few hours we take out of an evening to connect and reconnect with the people in our community who distinguish themselves by trying to express the problems and solutions for our industry is worth more than almost anything else that goes on at RSA, at least for me.  People who are passionate about what we do are always exciting to be around.

Who are your favorites for this year’s Social Security Awards?  I especially like the new category “The single best security blog post of the year”.  Not everyone can write regularly, in fact some people may only put out one or two blog posts a month.  But the thought and quality of writing that goes into those infrequent posts is exceptional and deserves to be recognized.  And the folks who continue to put out exceptional content day after day just blow my mind. 

Go now, vote on the Social Security Awards.  Vote for your favorite, vote for the person you think is most deserving or vote in an utterly random fashion, as long as you vote.  While the awards are for bloggers and by bloggers, the reason we write is for the readers and listeners in the real world.  And this is your chance to help recognize the people you think have had the most impact and influence on our community.  Or at least amused you the most.