In an effort to streamline and improve this year’s Plutus Awards before the awards season began, the Plutus Awards Planning Committee made some changes to the structure of the Awards. To eliminate predictability and the effect of the popular vote, the voting process was changed to start all categories with a popular vote. A panel of bloggers would be selected to choose the finalists, and eventually the winners, from among the top vote-getters in each blog-related category. This is similar to the format used by the Academy Awards.

To compensate for the smaller focus on a blog’s popularity, the Committee created the People’s Choice Plutus Award. This will be awarded to the blogger with the highest number of votes, and more details about this award will be forthcoming.

Here is this year’s blogger panel as of today. There may be a few additions within the next week.

Afford Anything
Bargaineering
Bible Money Matters
Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
Canadian Finance Blog *
Cash Money Life
The Centsible Life
Consumerism Commentary *
Eventual Millionaire
Free From Broke
Free Money Finance
Good Financial Cents
How’s Married Life (formerly 20 and Engaged)
Len Penzo Dot Com
Money Crush *
Moolanomy
Planting Money Seeds *
So Over This (formerly So Over Debt)
Thirty Six Months *
Thousandaire *
Wise Bread (Ashley Jacobs)

* Also on the Plutus Awards Planning Committee

Contact Flexo for more information about participating in next year’s Plutus Awards Planning Committee or Blogger Panel.

I’m happy to announce Kevin McKee, creator ofThousandaire, will be the host and master of ceremonies for the Third Annual Plutus Awards to be held in Denver, Colorado. The award ceremonies will take place on September 6, 2012 to kick off this year’s Financial Blogger Conference.

Kevin McKee is the founder of Thousandaire.com and a pioneer in the personal finance entertainment world. He won the 2011 Get Rich Slowly video contest with his Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap parody and has released many other personal finance songs including “Get a Prenup” and “Haven’t Made a Budget.” Kevin is an accomplished performer and host, having landed the lead role in his first grade Halloween play “The Pumpkin Patch Kids” and most recently hosting Kevin McKee’s College Graduation Extravaganza.

Those who attended the Second Annual Plutus Awards at the 2011 Financial Blogger Conference will be happy to see the changes and improvements in the event this year. We’ve streamlined the awards for blogs and bloggers, and will not be presenting the winners of the non-blog categories (such as Best Savings Account and Best Overall Bank) as part of the ceremony itself. This year’s ceremony will feature more entertainment and multimedia.

If you’re attending the Financial Blogger Conference, be sure to arrive before 8:30 PM Thursday evening to be able to grab a seat for this year’s Plutus Awards ceremony. The Welcome Reception starts immediately prior to the Plutus Awards ceremony, at 7:00 PM. Join us as we celebrate the best in personal finance, led by one of the most entertaining bloggers in the personal finance niche.

For a sampling of Kevin McKee, be sure to check out his videos below. There’s more of Kevin at his own website, Thousandaire.com.

 

The Third Annual Plutus Awards season will begin on August 1, 2012. From the launch on that date through the month of August and into September, bloggers and their audiences will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite money-related blogs, while bloggers will have the opportunity to have a say in selecting their favorite financial products and services. The winners in all categories will be announced at an event — an awards ceremony sure to be like no other — at the Financial Blogger Conference, on Thursday, September 6, 2012.

The Plutus Awards are designed to reflect the personal finance blogosphere. From August 1 through August 14, bloggers will be encouraged to vote and solicit votes from their readers, friends, and fellow bloggers across a number of categories, such as “Best Frugality Blog” and “Best Personal Finance Blog for Students.” On August 22, we will announce five finalists in each category, with each blog being limited to becoming a finalist in a maximum of two categories. A committee of fifteen personal finance bloggers are being selected to represent the personal finance blogosphere at large, and a secret ballot will be used to determine the winner in each category. At the same time, public voting will begin for the People’s Choice Plutus Award.

Voting for the People’s Choice Plutus Award will end the morning of Thursday, September 6, and all winners will be announced live at the Financial Blogger Conference that evening. Authors representing winning blogs will receive a small prize package, though they are not required to attend the conference in order to win an award or to receive a prize.

This process is a little different than last year’s to ensure that the community is well-represented in the Plutus Awards results while still allowing for a popular vote.

Keep watching plutusawards.com for further announcements about the Third Annual Plutus Awards. For last year’s awards, visit the Second Annual Plutus Awards at www.theplutusawards.com.