ScratchBack is reporting that Splashpress Media, a blog network with more than one hundred blogs and blogging-related services, will be adding the ScratchBack/Top Spots widget to most of its blogs.

For people that haven’t heard of the ScratchBack widget or are unfamiliar with it, it is a widget that you can add to your blog for “tipping” other blogs, with the opportunity to receive visitors, similar to buying links, except that it is using a JavaScript element, making it Google-friendly.

The widgets on most of the Splashpress blogs will run for about $5, which is a huge savings compared to conventional advertising such as banner and link advertising on those blogs. Currently, a few of the top trafficked blogs on the network including Blog Herald, BloggingPro, and Blog Search Engine have the widget enabled.

With the addition of the ScratchBack widget to a network that has hundreds of thousands of pageviews each month, the growth of the widget will grow and people that didn’t have the chance to advertise on the above mentioned large blogs now can.

Performancing has announced the winners of blogs within twenty-eight different categories.

In one week of voting, more than 61,000 votes were tallied, and the process of selecting the winners was daunting - as the Readers and Editors selected the same winners.

Without further ado, I congratulate the winners and wish the best of luck to those of you hoping for a win next year!

Listed below are the Readers’ Choice and Editors’ Choice winners in each category. View the full results here.

Best Overall Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Zen Habits
• Editors’ Choice: TechCrunch

Most Influential Blogger

• Readers’ Choice: Darren Rowse (ProBlogger)
• Editors’ Choice: Brian Clark (CopyBlogger)

Best Blog Design

• Readers’ Choice: CopyBlogger (Designed by Chris Pearson)
• Editors’ Choice: Pearsonified

Best Blog Typography

• Readers’ Choice: Freelance Switch
• Editors’ Choice: Freelance Switch

Best Blog Name

• Readers’ Choice: John Cow
• Editors’ Choice: Velveteen Rabbi

Best New Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Freelance Switch
• Editors’ Choice: Snarfd

Best Blog Community

• Readers’ Choice: Freelance Writing Jobs
• Editors’ Choice: Metafilter

Most Improved Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Mashable
• Editors’ Choice: DoshDosh

Best Blogs You’ve Never Heard Of

• Readers’ Choice: The Astonishing Adventures of Lord Likely
• Editors’ Choice: Dear Rockers

Best Use of a Corporate Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Prosper’s Official Blog
• Editors’ Choice: Matt Cutts/Google Guy

Best Blog Podcast

• Readers’ Choice: Freelance Switch
• Editors’ Choice: On The Pod

Best Video Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Daily Idea
• Editors’ Choice: 1938 Media

Best Writing/Blogging Blog

• Readers’ Choice: CopyBlogger
• Editors’ Choice: Daily Blog TIps

Best Science/Technology Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Pharyngula
• Editors’ Choice: Ars Technica

Most Controversial Blog

• Readers’ Choice: John Chow
• Editors’ Choice: 1938 Media

Best SEO Blog

• Readers’ Choice: SEOmoz Blog
• Editors’ Choice: SEO Book Blog

Best Celeb/Style Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Go Fug Yourself
• Editors’ Choice: Oh No They Didn’t

Best Business/Money Blog

• Readers’ Choice: The Simple Dollar
• Editors’ Choice: The Simple Dollar

Best Photo Blog

• Readers’ Choice: I Can Has Cheezburger?
• Editors’ Choice: Photopreneur

Best Sports Blog

• Readers’ Choice: True Hoop
• Editors’ Choice: Joe Posnanski’s Blog

Best Blog WebHost

• Readers’ Choice: WordPress.com
• Editors’ Choice: Mosso

Best Family and Parenting Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Parent Hacks
• Editors’ Choice: Dooce

Best Political Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Daily Kos
• Editors’ Choice: Huffington Post

Best Food/Health Blog

• Readers’ Choice: The Girl Who Ate Everything and 101 Cookbooks (tie)
• Editors’ Choice: 101 Cookbooks

Funniest Blog

• Readers’ Choice: The Sneeze
• Editors’ Choice: Violent Acres

Best Travel Blog

• Readers’ Choice: The Cranky Flier
• Editors’ Choice: Gridskipper

Best Education Blog

• Readers’ Choice: Study Hacks
• Editors’ Choice: Eduwonk

Best Entertainment Blog

• Readers’ Choice: /Film
• Editors’ Choice: Firstshowing.net

Don’t forget to add a image designating that you won the ‘best blog’ in your niche category. The Performancing Blog Awards has proven to be one of the largest and most popular blog voting events.

You may now vote for your favorite blogs at the 2007 Performancing Blog Awards.
Select your favorite blog from a narrowed down list of six candidates in each category. Encourage your blog readers to vote for your blog. A write-in option is available if you feel your favorite blog deserves winning and isn’t listed.

Dates: January 3rd until January 10th voting is open, with winner announced from readers and judges on January 11th.

2008 (Eighth Annual) Weblog Awards 

One of the biggest awards as blog can receive is from the Weblog Awards, now in its eighth year. It is an annual non-profit competition that determines which blogs are the best of the best. Categories include, but are not limited to: best blog about music, best gossip blog, best food blog, best (regional) blog, and best blog application. The awards ceremony will be held in Austin, Texas, USA. Winners in the final four categories will receive US $20.07.

Dates:

• Now until 10:00 PM EST Friday, January 11, 2008 nominations will be accepted for favorite blogs.
• January 13 until Friday, January 18 at 10:00 PM EST - Three panels of fifty voters will privately submit five favorites (six for Weblog of the Year) in each category, from a list of weblogs receiving the most nominations in ten total categories. The five (or six for Weblog of the Year) receiving the most votes will become finalists.
• January 22 until 10:00 PM EST on Thursday, January 31- Finalists will be announced, voting will reopen to choose the winners.
• March 9 to Tuesday, March 11 - Winners will be announced sometime in this period.

Support your favorite blogs by nominating them and casting your vote.

Details: You may nominate your own blog, but it is encouraged that you nominate other bloggers - those that provide inspiration and motivation, those that you truly believe in.

Performancing wants you to spread the word about the awards, so they allow you to hotlink the image (shown above) and tell others to nominate your blog.

Each of the categories listed blow will have one winner, two runners up, and possibly some honorable mentions. Their key objective is to highlight the best bloggers around.

Here are the official categories:

1. The Best Overall Blog

2. The Most Influential Blogger

3. The Best Blog Design

4. The Best Blog Typography

5. The Best Blog Name

6. The Best New Blog

7. The Best Blog Community

8. The Most Improved Blog of 2007

9. The Best Blogs You’ve Never Heard Of

10. The Best Blog Podcast

11. The Best Use of a Corporate Blog

12. The Best Video Blog

13. The Best Writing/Blogging Blog

14. The Best Science/Technology Blog

15. The Most Controversial Blog

16. The Best SEO Blog

17. The Best Celeb/Style Blog

18. The Best Business/Money Blogs

19. The Best Photo Blog

20. The Best Sports Blog

21. The Best Blog WebHost

22. The Best Family and Parenting Blog

23. The Best Political Blog

24. The Best Food/Health Blog

25. The Funniest Blog

It’s the people’s awards after all…

26. The Best Travel Blog

27. The Best Education Blog

28. The Best Entertainment Blog (Music, TV, Movies)