The first Shorty Awards ceremony was held on February 11, 2009, at the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, New York. Approximately 300 people attended the event.Otterman, Sharon: "The Scene at the Shorty Twitter Awards: Chatter", The New York Times The event was hosted by CNN anchor Rick Sanchez and featured appearances by prominent Twitter users MC Hammer and Gary Vaynerchuk and a video appearance by Shaquille O'Neal.Vilensky, Mike: "The Media Is Twittering Away Its Short Time on Earth" , New York MagazineCapistrano, Daniela: "MC Hammer, AFI's Hunter Burgan Celebrate Twitter Mania At Shorty Awards" , MTV News The awards, in 26 categories, were voted on by Twitter users.Holmes, Elizabeth: "Surviving the Drama of the Twitter Awards", The Wall Street JournalTurnquist, Kristi: "Portland's Carri Bugbee plays Peggy Olson of 'Mad Men' on Twitter", The Oregonian
History The Shorty Awards were created in 2008 by tech entrepreneurs Greg Galant, Adam Varga, and Lee Semel of Sawhorse Media.Neisser, Drew: "How the Shorty Awards Became the Oscars of Social Media", Fast Company They invited Twitter account holders to nominate the best Twitter users in general categories such as humor, news, food, and design.Stone, Brad: "From the Twittersphere: Trophies for the Best Tweets", The New York Times Bits Blog Winners were chosen by more than 30,000 Twitter users during the voting period. The founders of Twitter first heard about the awards after the contest had gotten underway and expressed support for it.
Winners The first annual winners by category: CategoryWinnerBest in AdvertisingPeggy Olson, @PeggyOlsonBest in Appsbrightkit, @brightkitBest BrandAction Wipes, @MarthaVanBest in BusinessPaw Luxury, @PawLuxuryBest in DesignYiying Lu, @yiyingluBest in EducationRubyLearning, @RubyLearningBest in EntertainmentFlashlight Worthy Books, @FLWBooksBest in FinanceStockTwits, @StockTwitsBest in FoodFoodimentary, @foodimentaryBest in Greengreen jaden @greenjaden on twitterBest in HealthDebra Wendler, @ADHDParentingBest in HumorCharles Trippy, @charlestrippyBest in MusicHunter Burgan, @tranquilmammothBest in NewsBNO News, @BreakingNewsOnBest in NonprofitsAthletes for a Cure, @athletes4acureBest PersonalArleen Boyd, @AlohaArleenBest in PhotographyKyle Reese, @TwipphotoBest in PoliticsJustin Hart, @justin_hartBest in ScienceNASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, @MarsPhoenixBest in Social MediaDan Zarrella, @danzarrellaBest in SportsJackie, @girlwithnonameBest in StartupsHanniversary, @hanniversaryBest in TechTwitter Tips, @Twitter_TipsBest in TravelCruise Source, @cruisesourceBest in Video GamesJustin McElroy, @justinmcelroyBest in WeirdMartin Sargent, @martinsargent
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