There are 34 categories in a total of 14 languages in The Bobs. Submissions to the contest can be in the any of the following languages: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian.

Each of the 14 languages has a Best Blog category and Best Person to Follow category of its own. The remaining six categories are multilingual, which means nominees in different languages are evaluated against each other.

One Jury Award and one Users’ Choice Prize are awarded in each of the six multilingual categories – both awards can go to the same blog. There will be no Jury Awards in the 28 categories reserved for each language; only the Users’ Choice Prize, decided by online voting, will be awarded in these categories.

The six main, multilingual categories
(Jury Award & Users’ Choice Prize)

• Best Blog
  This is the place for the blogs whose content and design do an exemplary job of promoting and protecting human rights as well as initiating and fostering open discussion of topics that are of social and public importance.

• Best Innovation
  The search is on for software solutions, applications or Internet platforms that dedicate themselves to providing the technology that enables people to improve society and democratic social integration.

• Best Social Activism
  The winner here will be an initiative that makes exemplary use of social media, networks and other forms of digital communication to bolster democracy, freedom and human rights. Corporate advertising and marketing campaigns run by companies or organizations are excluded from this category.

• Reporters Without Borders Award
  In cooperation with Reporters Without  Borders, this special award honors blogs that take a strong stance for freedom of information and expression around the world. It also honors bloggers who dare to spread information under daunting circumstances.

• Global Media Forum Award
  Each year the BOBs choose a particular topic for special recognition. The focus for the 2013 award will be sites that examine the challenges of the global economy. The Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum will also cast a spotlight on “The Future of Growth – Economic Values and the Media” during its annual conference, which runs from June 17 – 19 in Bonn.

• Most Creative and Original
  This is the category for sites that take a creative and entertaining approach to serious topics. The focus here is on the innovative and surprising way socially relevant topics are handled and presented. Special attention will also be given to the visual and artistic presentation.

Language-specific categories

Best Blog / Language
(Users’ Choice Prize only)
Here we’re looking for the best blogs in each of the contest’s 14 languages. Winners here will initiate discussions and provide top-quality analysis and commentary on current events.

• Best Blog / Arabic
• Best Blog / Bengali
• Best Blog / Chinese
• Best Blog / English
• Best Blog / French
• Best Blog / German
• Best Blog / Hindi
• Best Blog / Indonesian
• Best Blog / Persian
• Best Blog / Portuguese
• Best Blog / Russian
• Best Blog / Spanish
• Best Blog / Turkish
• Best Blog / Ukrainian

Best Person to Follow / Language
(Users’ Choice Prize only)
Here we are looking for the best microblogs in each of the The Bobs’ 14 languages. We’ll be narrowing the field down to the best microblogs dealing with current events. Important criteria are relevance, influence, interconnectedness and original content. This category is open to individuals as well as accounts run by companies or fictitious figures.

• Best Person to Follow / Arabic
• Best Person to Follow / Bengali
• Best Person to Follow / Chinese
• Best Person to Follow / English
• Best Person to Follow / French
• Best Person to Follow / German
• Best Person to Follow / Hindi
• Best Person to Follow / Indonesian
• Best Person to Follow / Persian
• Best Person to Follow / Portuguese
• Best Person to Follow / Russian
• Best Person to Follow / Spanish
• Best Person to Follow / Turkish
• Best Person to Follow / Ukrainian