I don't want to labour the point (having already posted my thoughts in the live-blog's comment area), but thanks to everyone who stopped by for my first ever "live-blog" to cover the BAFTA's. There was an average of 160 people watching from around the world, and the vast majority stuck with it from beginning to end.
This being my first attempt to blog in scary real-time, there was certainly room for improvement. The decision to create polls for everyone to vote on (at the exact same time the nom's were being announced) was great fun, but it was a nightmare to type all that out on the fly! Next time, I will prepare those polls beforehand! There were also some facilities I didn't make much use of (audio clips, videos) but BAFTA didn't really lend itself to most of them. A mix of polls and images was about it, really.
If you missed the live-blog -- shame on you! But I do realize it was very last minute. I wasn't sure I'd be around Sunday evening to actually do it, so I only had 24-hours to try and spread the word. Thanks to regular readers who came along, or showed their face to say hello -- especially if you helped promote the event on your own website, blog, Myspace, Facebok or Twitter. It was also amazing to see so many people from around the world -- which in turn effected the live-blog's content, as it almost became text-based TV for everyone without access to the BBC. For better or worse.
Still, while it occasionally turned into a "chat room" (usually when I was scrambling with a poll and pushed through more comments than usual to plug a gap), I enjoyed seeing how it seemed to come alive and evolved, too. Most memorable for me: the Heath Ledger obsessive, a lady called Linda whose son worked on WALL-E's sound, the odd foreign comment (were they rude?), someone clamouring for a Javier Bardem photo, the vocal Amy Adams and Penelope Cruz fans, and the tension from Twitterers over whether host Jonathan Ross would say "salad" like he promised.
And, finally... if you want, you can "replay" the live-blog and spot all my typo's and see each poll's final results. It's actually quite amazing how many of the awards we predicted correctly!
In summation: this was a really good, fun, lively, learning experience. This certainly won't be the last Live Blog from me, but I want to keep it as a special treat for DMD. I'll market and prepare a bit more next time. I've had a few requests to blog the Oscars since the live-blog finished, but that's dependent on being able to stay up so late! It always falls on a Sunday, doesn't it? I have work Monday morning! And would people be as interested in a live-blog -- seeing as it's broadcast around the world, unlike the BAFTA's?
Comments welcome.
