Following the TRAFFIC conference awards, I had a brief discussion with a couple of friends about the voting process. The genesis  of the discussion was that some nominees reached out to friends, clients, and others to ask for their support for the awards.

I think this year’s TRAFFIC Award voting process was improved from prior years, and it seems to be a  fair way to conduct voting. Some people may have opined that  it doesn’t seem like a total industry award because you have to be on the TRAFFIC email list to nominate, but I believe anyone can sign up to be on the list. I think it’s smart to do it this way because it cuts down on fraud and lessens the chance that someone can stuff the ballot box. I think having a third party, Escrow.com in this case, review the votes (just like the Domainers Choice Awards used a third party service, too) was also a smart idea.

Some people may feel like industry awards

I’ve never done this before, but I want to share the 2014 TRAFFIC Awards ballot I plan to submit at some point this afternoon, with a bit of commentary. Most of these selections were difficult choices to make because there are many deserving people and companies in the domain space.

The nomination period is open today through this Friday, August 22nd at 6pm (Eastern). A person or company needs to receive at least 3 nominations to be listed on the final ballot. I believe you need to participate in the nomination period in order to cast a final ballot, so if you are the type of person who complains that the nominees are the same each year, you should make your own nominations.

I am sure I will think of someone else (or another company) later on who may be more deserving of recognition. When it comes to the final vote, I won’t reveal my selections because I might realize that I screwed up and omitted a better choice. Having more options rather than a blank slate tends to do that.

My 2014 TRAFFIC Awards Ballot: