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    Twitter Chat With Special Guest J.D. Roth, $150 In Prizes!

    plutuschat-jdroth

    As preparation for a new Plutus Awards year-round initiative, we would like to announce our new monthly Twitter chats! Our new monthly Twitter chats (using #PlutusChat) will feature special guests from around the blogosphere, sharing their expertise to help you create the blog of your dreams, and maybe earn your very own Plutus Award!

    Join us next Wednesday on February 11th, 2pm EST / 11am PST with special guest J.D. Roth, founder of Get Rich Slowly, author of Your Money: The Missing Manual, creator of the Get Rich Slowly course and all around seeker of happiness. J.D. will be talking about the power of community and more specifically, how to build one. The benefits of building a strong community are endless, and J.D. has community members who have followed along on his numerous adventures along the years.

    J.D. has been the recipient of a number of Plutus Awards over the years:

    • 1st Annual Plutus Awards: Lifetime Achievement, Blog of the Year, Best Multiple-Author Blog, Best Written Blog, Best Entrepreneurship
    • 2nd Annual Plutus Awards: Blog of the Year, Best Multiple-Author Blog, Best Written Blog
    • 5th Annual Plutus Awards: Best Educational Resource

    Add this event to your Google Calendar!

    Today’s giveaway is sponsored by The Plutus Awards, and is one $150 gift card for Amazon.com. One lucky winner will be chosen using random.org. In order to qualify, follow these instructions:

    • Make sure you are following @PlutusAwards on Twitter.
    • RSVP using the form below.
      • Under “Link Title,” enter your Twitter ID, like @luke_landes.
      • Under “Email Address,” enter your valid email address.
      • Under “URL,” enter your Twitter profile URL, like http://twitter.com/luke_landes.
    • During the scheduled chat, participate in the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag #plutuschat. A tool like TweetChat could help follow the hashtag.
    • At the end of the scheduled chat, we will announce the winner, chosen at random, from among those who qualify.

    If we choose a winner who RSVPed but did not attend, we will choose a second winner.

    Meet the Plutus Award Executive and Planning Committees

    The Plutus Awards ceremony you see every year at FinCon would not be possible without the hard work of a number of people throughout the year leading up to the event. Behind the scenes, we have a team of several people from within the financial media committee who are essential to presenting a smooth awards season.

    The Plutus Awards Executive Committee

    The Executive Committee is made up of H. Luke Landes, Tom Drake, and Miranda Marquit. Together, the members of the Plutus Awards Executive Committee plan the awards, oversee the voting, and manage sponsors and volunteers.

    Luke Landes

    Luke Landes

    H. Luke Landes is the founder of Consumerism Commentary and the creator of the Plutus Awards. Six years ago, Luke asked fellow bloggers to vote for their favorite blogs, as well as for their favorite financial products and services. Every year, the Plutus Awards ceremony grows in size and spectacle, and the winners consider the prestige increasingly meaningful.

    Luke is the director of the Plutus Awards. He coordinates the Awards, and keeps everything on track.

    Tom Drake

    Tom Drake

    Tom Drake is the founder of Canadian Finance Blog, and is the owner or partner of several other blogging properties. He handles most of the backend portions of the Plutus Awards, working on the code of the web site, and developing voting forms and other forms. Tom also has a program that tabulates votes to help us understand how many nominations each blog has received to help determine finalists (actual winners are determined by the Blogger Panel) and tabulate votes for the People’s Choice Award (which is determined by popular vote).

    Miranda Marquit

    Miranda Marquit

    Miranda Marquit is the writer behind Planting Money Seeds. She writes for several financial web sites and blogs. Miranda is the point of contact for Plutus Awards sponsorships, from coordinating who provides financial support for the ceremony to the companies providing swag for the Plutus Awards Winner Gift Bags. (There are still opportunities to sponsor; email [email protected] for more information.)

    The Plutus Awards Planning Committee

    There are also great volunteers helping to plan the events surrounding the Plutus Awards. Here are more of the people that make the Plutus Awards possible:

    Athena Lent

    Athena Lent

    Athena Lent is the founder of Money Smart Latina, a blog where Latinas and finance meet. Athena is a great events organizer, and is planning the Plutus Awards After-Party and FinCon Closing Party, which will take place following the Plutus Awards ceremony on Saturday, September 19, 2015. In addition to the work required to arrange all aspects of the After-Party, Athena is also managing the Plutus Awards Twitter account and Facebook page, handling all social media for the event.

    Ashley Jacobs

    Ashley Jacobs

    Ashley Jacobs is part of the team at WiseBread. She is in charge of the ceremony itself. After witnessing her rap skillz at the Fourth Annual Plutus Awards ceremony in 2013, we asked her to emcee in 2014. She put together a fantastic show in 2014, including a memorable, sentimental special that brought attention to the personal accomplishments and milestones achieved by many members of our community.

    Matt Giovanisci

    Matt Giovanisci

    Matt Giovanisci recently launched Roast Coffee, a website and community for coffee lovers. He is known for his humor and quick wit — and his ability with technology. He created the community-wide lip sync video for last year’s award ceremony, and surprised everyone with a live performance.

    The Plutus Awards Blogger Panel

    Every year, a panel of Plutus Awards peers reviews the nominations and selects the finalists. This Blogger Panel is essential in the success of the Plutus Awards every year. Find more information or join the Blogger Panel here.

    The Plutus Awards Volunteers

    In addition to those listed above, the Plutus Awards ceremony and everything surrounding the entire season wouldn’t be possible without the help of volunteers throughout the community. At the awards ceremony, a corps of volunteers helps as awards presenters, ushers, stage hands, property managers, stage managers, audio/video technicians, and social media associates, and we all work together to produce a fantastic show that exceeds everyone’s expectations every year.

    Thanks to last year’s volunteers and awards presenters: Paula Pant, Robert Farrington, Crystal Stemberger, Michelle Schroeder, Sofia, Lance Cothern, Rebecca Stapler, Joshua Sheets, Jacob Wade, Bryan, Shannyn Allan, Kevin, Maria Nedeva, Jim Wang, Mark Gruetman, Jana, Lauren Gruetman, Glen Craig, Abby Perry, Donna Freedman, Kylie Travers, Martin Dasko, David Weliver, Scott Halliwell, Eric Rosenberg, J.D. Roth, Stephanie Cameron, Jeff Rose, Stephanie Halligan, Tom Drake, Kay Bell, Luke Landes, Wendy Poling

    We’re grateful to all of those who help out with the Plutus Awards, since our team is what makes this production possible.

    How Financial Bloggers Have Changed the Industry

    Personal finance blogging has changed the financial media.

    Jonathan of MyMoneyBlog

    Jonathan of MyMoneyBlog

    By 2005, the community of personal finance blogs had started to grow at a quickening pace. Early independent money and investing blogs like Consumerism Commentary, PFBlog, MyMoneyBlog, and SeekingAlpha began drawing the attention of mainstream media. These bootstrapped websites and those like them offered something previously unseen in the media.

    Thanks to the internet, more specifically the World Wide Web and tools like Blogger, Movable Type, and WordPress, independent publishers, almost always working on their own without a writing team or editors, could start to develop an online readership like large publishers with an editorial staff, such as The New York Times. Amateur journalism had a new outlet, and one that allowed the amateurs to reach a wider audience.

    For several years, an average internet user looking for information online about how to manage their money could find an article by an independent publisher as easily — and in some cases, more easily — than they might find an article about the same topic written by a professional money manager with a decade of experience or one by a professional journalist covering the personal finance beat for a newspaper or magazine. And these independent publishers began developing loyal fans and subscribers — far shy of their professional counterparts but significant nonetheless.

    Anybody could start a blog to discuss (or more often, to learn) about personal finance, without a degree in journalism, approval of a hiring manager or a board of directors, or years of experience in the financial industry. Amateur publishing had existed previously, but now it had the potential to reach more readers.

    [Read more…]

    Here’s Your Chance to Partner With the Plutus Awards

    Each year, we strive to make the Plutus Awards bigger and better than the year before. From the ceremony to the closing party, we try to entertain while at the same time honoring what’s best in the personal finance community.

    The Plutus Awards

    We love putting on the Plutus Awards, and we are excited for what we have planned for the coming year. We’re beefing up the site, sharing insights from past Plutus winners, and introducing a monthly tweet chat (#PlutusChat). All of this would be impossible without the help of our sponsors. Each year, our sponsors step up and help us honor our blogging peers and recognize the best in the financial industry.

    Once again, we’re looking for sponsors for the Plutus Awards. If you want to partner with us in honoring the personal finance blogging community, contact me: [email protected].

    Ceremony Sponsor

    The headlining sponsor has a strong presence at the Plutus Awards ceremony, providing a backdrop for images, addressing FinCon attendees, and helping present trophies.

    Past ceremony sponsors have included USAA and Fidelity, and this year Fidelity is stepping up once again to sponsor the ceremony. We’re excited to be working with Fidelity on this again, and grateful for the support, since this is how we put on a great show with hosts like Matt Giovanisci, Ashley Jacobs, and Kevin McKee.

    After-Party Sponsor

    One of the highlights of the evening is the celebration we have following the ceremony. This year, we are joining forces with FinCon, and the after-party will also be the FinCon closing party. Athena Lent has planned our after events the past two years and is already preparing for this year’s event.

    The after-party sponsor will have a presence during the combined FinCon/Plutus event, and will also be able to present trophies during the ceremony. Past sponsors have included Scottrade and Experian, and we’re looking for a great partner to help us close out FinCon in style.

    Digital Sponsor

    With our website upgrade, and the addition of more blogging content and the monthly tweet chats, we are looking for a partner to join us online. Branding on the Plutus Awards website will be included, as well as prominent inclusion on our tweet chats. This is a chance to partner with the Plutus Awards all year long.

    Gift Bag Sponsor

    Every Plutus Awards winner receives a gift bag along with a trophy. Sponsor the bags the gifts come in, and your logo will appear on high-quality bags, and you will also be credited with a high-value gift to some of the most influential bloggers in the personal finance space. Not only that, but the gift bag sponsor can participate on stage, presenting a trophy. Past gift bag sponsors have included Scottrade, State Farm, and Quinstreet.

    Gift Sponsors

    Do you want the chance to provide gifts to some of the most influential personal finance bloggers? Contribute gifts for inclusion in the gift bags. We are looking for gifts worth at least $30 apiece and different to what is offered to the rest of the FinCon attendees. Your gift, included in the bag, is a chance to show your appreciation to the top bloggers in the financial space.

    Trophy Sponsors

    Bloggers recognize their peers in a variety of categories. If you want to show your appreciation to a blogger in a specific category, a trophy sponsorship is a great way to participate. Your brand name will be included on the trophy presented to the category winner, as well as recognized during the Plutus Awards ceremony at FinCon.

    Special Brand Consideration

    Every year, the Plutus Awards also makes it a point to honor financial products and services that help consumers. The bloggers themselves choose the brands that they think have done an excellent job. If you want to present yourself for special consideration, you can submit materials that bloggers can review as they make their decisions.

    For a complete description of sponsorship opportunities, including extra FinCon perks for certain partnerships, contact Miranda Marquit: [email protected]

    Here’s to another great year in personal finance!