Hello everyone! Today’s post is going to be more on the PR and media side. How many of you have heard of the Shorty Awards? Well for those of you who haven’t get excited because if you love social media, then you will love this!
The Shorty Awards:
- Created by Sawhorse Media – a New York based technology start-up company.
- Focuses on giving awards out for different social media categories
- Votes are placed via tweets on Twitter
- These votes help get people nominated in the different categories. Each tweet must have the hashtag (#) of the category you want the person nominated for and why you think they deserve it. If you do not include a reason why, the vote will not count. This helps stop spam and generates real public opinion.
- Some categories included are: Youtube Music Star, TV Show, Podcaster, and Instagram
- Brands can also compete in the Shorty Awards in separate categories.
- Some of the brand categories include: Best Use of a Twitter Campaign, Best Use of Facebook Advertising, and Best Celebrity Campaign on Social Media
- Millions of people each year take part in voting in the Shorty Awards
- Takes place on April 8th, 2013
A major contributor to the Shorty Awards is Natan Edelsburg. When he visited my PR class I knew absolutely nothing about the Shorty Awards. Literally nothing. I had no idea they even existed. After learning about it I am pretty upset I missed out on my chance to vote but I am definitely going to tune in to see who wins. But anyway, back to Natan. Natan started off at Sawhorse Media while it was a young company. Even though the Shorty Awards main night is on April 8th, Natan says that he does not get a break once it is over. There are videos from the awards that need to be posted right away especially the ones of the winners. It is very tedious and a lot of work to keep up with fans on social media and making sure they receive any news as soon as possible. Natan said, “it’s extremely draining. We don’t have funding we are based off revenue. Certain stuff has to get done so sometimes that means for a month straight I’m working every weekend”. Even though the awards show is very stressful and Natan does not get to sleep until a month after it is over, he still has a positive attitude and offered very helpful tips. “If you see an internship or job you’re looking for, don’t just apply through the general application but also send the person who is hiring a short email. It shows that you are very interested” said Natan. He also proceeded to tell the class that it is great to start off interning for a new company because they will have the most work to give you, which will ultimately give you more experience.
The Shorty Awards are a great way to unify people via social media. We watch the Grammy Awards and the Oscars on television and while they are entertaining we aren’t as engulfed in that “world”. The Shorty’s focuses directly on social media and the websites we all use very often. I know I am always on Facebook and a decent amount on Twitter. Social media most definitely consumes my life. I think the Shorty’s is important to get involved in because it lets you see what and who else is out there that might fit your interests. There are plenty of Youtube sensations that I have never seen before that I have now subscribed to. And who knows, maybe one day you will get nominated for an award if you have a website or Youtube channel.
Fun Facts about the Shorty Awards:
- The Twitter Fail Whale Designer won an award (the whale you see when Twitter has a complete overload and basically says “oh hey, you might need to refresh a million times before you can access your account..overload bro”.
- Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York won an award for Foursquare Mayor (of City Hall). Pretty funny since he is a mayor in real life.
- There is an executive board of judges that stop Justin Bieber from winning every single category (those Beliebers are not to be messed with).
xoxo,
Cali Ann
