It was 2012 when Shorty Awards co-founder Natan Edelsurg reached out on social media and asked our very own Maz Nadjm to become the first-non-US based juror of what have become known as the ‘Oscars of Social Media’.
Six years in, the excitement for this celebration of all things social is still going strong!
Over the years, the Shorty Awards have changed to include new and exciting categories, but their core mission has stayed the same: honour the best of social media by recognising the most innovative influencers, brands and organisations on all our favourite social media channels. Current categories span from GIF of the Year, best web series, virtual reality, and everything in between.
Some names you may recognise among past winners include Taylor Swift, Malala Yousafzai and J.K. Rowling. All categories are judged by a panel of experts called ‘Real Time Academy’, comprised of luminaries from advertising, media, entertainment and technology, including, together with Maz, co-founder of Apple Computer Steve Wozniak, president of The Huffington Post Arianna Huffington and Founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales.
What’s exciting about the Shorty Awards is that they are an incredibly fun celebration of the world we live in. Facebook was created 13 years ago and people have been using Twitter for 11 years now! There is no doubt that social media has become an intrinsic part of our lives, it has completely revolutionised the way we communicate with each other, both on a personal and professional level.
Even the serendipitous encounter that brought Maz to become a Shorty Awards’ juror happened on Twitter. In the same way, millions of conversations start online every day, connecting people from each corner of the world, sparking ideas and bringing down barriers. In this always-on landscape, being in control of your social media presence and develop a strong personal brand is essential to START CONVERSATIONS and connect with the world.
SoAmpli was built to help individuals source and share highly relevant content to engage their audiences and expand their network while gaining unique insights into what their connections like to interact with. On social media, people reward timely and relevant messages, whether it is with sales teams sharing helpful and innovative industry content or Shorty Awards nominees spreading exciting and creative ideas with the world.
As we look forward to April 23rd, when all the winners will be revealed during the awards ceremony in New York, we want to wish good luck to all this year’s nominees!
