Bring on the Social Oscars (The Shorty Awards)

I made it! Or rather, we made it! After a hard fought campaign, I reached the final of the Shorty Awards 'Apps' category at midnight on Tuesday. I'm still pinching myself as I thought I'd never fight my way past the One Directions and Justin Biebers of the world – the human hurdles in the social sausage machine. Here's my campaign video...

I have put myself through the pain of the chase for the past three years and always fallen at those aforementioned human hurdles. This year, that all changed as the organisers culled the irrelevant and banished the bands in categories where their presence wasn't welcome. Having said that, I'm still sharing the top tier of the Apps category with Cristiano Ronaldo's social network and Chay Suede, a Brazilian Idol 2010 finalist. I'm hoping the judges will take all our app credentials into consideration...

Speaking of which, as if the frantic nomination process wasn't stressful enough, the next phase of the Shorty Awards gets really exciting. The winner of each category is decided by the great and the good of the social media world. This doesn't mean they're all 'social experts' (beware of those), they are real people, albeit famous, that actually use Twitter, Facebook, Vine, etc to communicate with their audience rather than hold a one-way conversation with a random group of followers. The winners are announced at a glittering awards ceremony in New York on April 7th!

I don't base social achievement on the number of followers or 'friends' I've collected across my many networks. I have been on LinkedIn since the very early days, steadily adding depth and relevance to my profile yet my connections amount to a little over 600. I have exercised restraint and avoided connecting to my postman, my dentist or 100s of recruiters looking to plunder my network.

A similar approach applies to Facebook, where I reserve connections to friends for, well, friends – not someone I met once on a drunken night out, although I've shared a drink with most friends. There's also the Activrightbrain Facebook page, where the content relevant to this site lives.

Finally, Twitter and Vine illustrate my levels of restraint. I rarely follow back automatically as I either get to know or have a genuine interest in those I follow. When I dip into Twitter and Vine, I read every post, look at every video and hold actual conversations. Of course, I broadcast a lot but this tends to be relevant to my audience – and to be fair, I'm proud of what I and my Brandwidth team do so have plenty to say.

I'm not a fan of mass broadcast across all social networks, one message does not fit all and the language (and often content) needs to suit the audience. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn may well share network members but we're usually in a different state of mind when trawling each website or app. A scattergun approach with the wrong message can have the same effect as showing up to a job interview in a mankini.

Thanks again to my fantastic friends spread across many social networks and the Dadsaster audience. I touch on the Shorties in passing in episode 46 (Everything is Awesome) alongside LEGO Mindstorms and the new BleepBleeps range on Kickstarter.

If you're still confused about the Shorty Awards, I'll leave the last words to Ricky Gervais, Kiefer Sutherland, William Shatner, Conan O'Brien, George Takei and Grover...

The 2014 Shorty Awards: The Short Story

Every year I take advantage of my loyal Twitter followers – a mixture of friends, colleagues, clients, industry peers and generally a bunch of great people, then bombard you all with requests for votes in the Shorty Awards. This year, it all got too much for Apptain America...

If you've never heard of the Shorty Awards (and this is possible), they were set up to recognise excellence in social media by allowing leading Twitterati to canvas for votes... and ultimately acclaim. This resulted in an unfortunate number of award wins for Justin Bieber and One Direction and this annoys me every year when they finish ahead of me in the Design, Technology and Apps categories. I'd love to turn this around in 2014 so please consider my plight and release me from Apptain America's evil clutches. I love an iPad, but wouldn't want to spend too much time in here!

All good campaigns offer one main reason to vote so I'm hoping a hostage situation helps. If not, then my mix of industry news, design, tech, publishing and innovation insight and general irreverence keeps you entertained. My audiences at numerous conferences, on Nikki Bedi's BBC show and the amazing Dadsaster podcast add some extra spice.

Go on, you know it makes sense. Just follow the link, sign in with your Twitter or Facebook account, then add one more vote for @activrightbrain in #Apps, with one simple reason I should grab the award (good, bad or ugly).

Vote for @activrightbrain

Thanks

Twitter: We are the news

My writing doesn't often stray from design, tech or publishing-related news but as I find myself so deeply immersed in social media throughout my work and personal life, recent news events have forced my hand.

The awful attack on a British serviceman in Woolwich, South-east London yesterday was relayed to the world as the tragedy unfolded via Twitter. ​Through a combination of words, photos and videos, the terrorists, murderers (or whatever title they eventually fall under) were not only caught in the violent act but their admission of guilt and their misguided view of the people of this great country were recorded. Their fates were sealed.

​I say misguided as they clearly haven't observed our resolve under previous threats and atrocities by mindless terrorist organisations. We don't bow to pressure, we don't like being told what to do and we certainly don't give in to fanaticism.

​I have been critical of news organisations in the past for responding too slowly to major events. I'm not unreasonably expecting camera teams and reporters to rush to every false alarm, I'm just suggesting they give more power to the people. In much the same way a sherif deputises any number of law enforcement helpers, so the news networks should be quicker to jump on social networks and deputise the men and women on the street to open channels before they arrive on the scene.

​The hunting of the Boston Marathon suspects was the perfect example of Twitter providing not only the up-to-the-minute coverage of the hunt for the Tsarnaev brothers but also the background and names of the suspects before any news networks. I was viewing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's social network profile page before many 'official' organisations had even identified him.

​Understandably, criticism can be levelled at social reporting when this coverage lacks the filtering mechanism of good journalism. Fact-checking and the immediate threat of legal action are disregarded in favour of apparent sensationalism and personal opinion – in many cases inflammatory and counter-productive. However, Following the right people at the right time can make a real difference. As an event unfolds, take a (virtual) step backwards and try not to be swept up it the moment. Find the person on the scene, not the loudest voice.

Coverage via social ​channels not only uncovers the gruesome details but also highlights the incredible spontaneous bravery of the individuals we live amongst. Cub Scout leader Ingrid Loyau-Kennett approached the Woolwich murderers and kept them distracted as the time approached when local school children would begin to file into the crowds on the high street. This took incredible courage and this one act highlights the resolve these senselessly violent acts, from Woolwich to Boston, face – and why they achieve nothing more that strengthen our resolve.