The Shorty Awards, which can be described as the Oscars for Twitter, is back for its fifth year in paying tribute to the best of the best in social media. The ceremony was held last night at Times Center in New York City and hosted by online and TV actress Felicia Day. Fans and finalists alike flew in from around the world to see the most notable personalities and organizations that produce content on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, and other social media platforms receive recognition and praise.
In the same way the Internet is used to communicate all sorts of content, finalists were chosen for a myriad of categories by the public, who voted for their favorites on Twitter. Winners were then selected by prominent figures in technology, journalism, business, and culture who formed The Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences.
Here are some of last night’s winners:
Lifetime Achievement Award – Jimmy Kimmel (@JimmyKimmel)
Jimmy Kimmel is the host of his own show which is gaining quite a following – his YouTube channel has over a million subscribers and has received over 500 million video views. The talk show host accepted his award via a YouTube video featuring some of the kids that made his win possible:
Distinguished Achievement in Internet Culture Award – George Takei (@GeorgeTakei)
Best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the television series Star Trek, George Takei beat others slated for this award – including Grumpy Cat – for his efforts in using social media for all things funny and good. His Facebook page is peppered with hilarious content sourced from fans on a daily basis and has garnered over 3.8 million likes.
#GIFStar Special Shorty Award – First Lady Michelle Obama (@FLOTUS)
The First Lady received this special award for her appearance in numerous animated GIFs used to increase awareness for Let’s Move!, a campaign to combat obesity in children.
She tweeted her acceptance speech for this prestigious award:
Thank you @shortyawards! Being a #GIFStar is about getting active. Hula hoop, #momdance & @letsmove to help our kids grow up healthy! -mo
— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) April 9, 2013
Tumblr of the Year – Texts From Hilary
This funny blog contains memes featuring Hillary Clinton – the beloved 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 and former First Lady to President Bill Clinton – texting on different situations, submitted by fans all over the World Wide Web. The first Texts From Hillary Tumblr blog has been discontinued, but since it first hit the Internet back in April 2012, it has garnered so much popularity online that the duo who began this sensation (@ASmith83 and @Sllambe) started a follow-up site. They even received a submission from Hillary Clinton herself:
Animated GIF of the Year – Kiss Me in Paris
This award presented by A&E Duck Dynasty was awarded to Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg for their picturesque creation for Ann Street Studio. When the animated GIF was displayed during the ceremony, it became the world’s largest, as determined by RecordSetter.
Best Viral Campaign: Old Spice – Old Spice Muscle Music
This video that achieved great heights online features American actor and former NFL player Terry Crews behind the drums, playing it using only his sheer muscle control. Well done, Old Spice!
Best Use of Video in a Social Media Campaign: Maybelline New York
The leading cosmetics brand produced a YouTube video announcing Charlotte Free as the new face of Maybelline New York. They used the hashtags #TopChicret and #DidYouHear to propagate the news on the Internet and cleverly incorporated them in the video itself.
A complete list of this year’s Shorty Awards winners is listed here. Congratulations on another banner year, Internet!
