Social Media SEMMYs

Let’s skip the corny, canned jokes and the awkward moments at the podium and just open the envelope, shall we? Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the 2008 SEMMY Award in the Social Media category is … drum-roll, please …

The Social Media Manual: Read Before You Play
Muhammad Saleem, Search Engine Land | 11/20/07

Congratulations to our winner! Here’s a choice bit from the winning post:

Too many people look at the popularity of a Digg or a StumbleUpon and they think that they absolutely have to sign up for them to succeed. But if you plan on using a site strictly to promote your site or content or that of your clients, don’t sign up, because the social web is certainly not for you. You might be able to call in enough favors or spam enough people to get a few stories popular at first, but you’re going to lose in the long-run.

Runners-Up

The top two runners-up in public voting were:

1. Social Media’s Direct Influence on Search Engine Ranking
   Loren Baker, Search Engine Journal | 8/31/07
2. The Future of Communications – A Manifesto for Integrating Social Media into Marketing
   Brian Solis, PR 2.0 | 6/11/07

The winner and runners-up are welcome to grab the appropriate badge — we have a badge for both winners and runners-up.

How the Voting Ended

Here’s a look at how each finalist fared in the public voting:

Thanks to all who voted, and congrats again to the winner, runners-up, finalists, and all nominees. We look forward to reading your acceptance speech soon!

The judges have made their choices, and the finalists in the Social Media category for the 2008 SEMMY Awards are:

The Finalists

• Strategies for organizing your Corporate Social Media Program (Starting internally first)
  Jeremiah Owyang, Web Strategy by Jeremiah | 4/23/07
• The Future of Communications – A Manifesto for Integrating Social Media into Marketing
  Brian Solis, PR 2.0 | 6/11/07
• Social Media’s Direct Influence on Search Engine Ranking
  Loren Baker, Search Engine Journal | 8/31/07
• The Social Media Manual: Read Before You Play
  Muhammad Saleem, Search Engine Land | 11/20/07
• It’s The (Other) Algorithm, Stupid! Understanding DiggRank
  Muhammad Saleem, Search Engine Land | 11/28/07

Congratulations to each finalist! Please grab a finalist badge and let your readers know that public voting on the finalists has begun.

Here’s How to Vote

Now it’s your turn to choose a winner! Please read each article above and decide which one you feel is the best. When you click below, you’ll be able to vote in this category only. To vote in other categories, please visit the pages listing those finalists. Voting is open now, and will close at end-of-day on January 30, 2008.

VOTE NOW IN THIS CATEGORY (link will open in a new window)

The following are the nominees in the Social Media category for the 2008 SEMMY Awards. Our judge(s) will narrow this group down to 5-6 finalists. Congratulations to all nominees! Please grab a nominee badge and let your readers know that public voting on the finalists is coming soon.

• Why Online Video is good for your Corporate Executives and How to Deploy
  Jeremiah Owyang, Web Strategy by Jeremiah | 1/20/07
• Social Media - Under the Microscope
  Matt Bailey, SiteLogic | 1/24/07
• How to Use StumbleUpon for Your Business: The Definitive Guide
  Tamar Weinberg, 10e20 | 2/23/07
• Social Media Sites: A Handy Reference Guide
  Li Evans, Search Marketing Gurus | 3/4/07
• Rules for Adding/Editing Content and Links at Wikipedia
  Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz | 3/28/07
• 10 Secrets to Marketing with Social News Sites - Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and more
  Mike Volpe, HubSpot | 4/17/07
• Strategies for organizing your Corporate Social Media Program (Starting internally first)
  Jeremiah Owyang, Web Strategy by Jeremiah | 4/23/07
• YouTube Video Marketing: Ten Ways You Can Use YouTube To Promote Your Online Content
  Robin Good | 5/3/07
• Social Traffic: Useless Gossip or Powerful Word of Mouth
  Matt Bailey, SiteLogic | 5/7/07
• The Future of Communications – A Manifesto for Integrating Social Media into Marketing
  Brian Solis, PR 2.0 | 6/11/07
• Why Facebook Is Not A Viable Marketing Platform
  Muhammad Saleem, Pronet Advertising | 7/3/07
• Inside Facebook, NFO (News Feed Optimization) is the new SEO
  Justin Smith, Inside Facebook | 7/16/07
• Your Stories Never Go Popular Because Your Personal Marketing Plan Sucks
  Michael Gray, Graywolf | 7/26/07
• Web Strategy: What the Web Strategist should know about Facebook
  Jeremiah Owyang, Web Strategy by Jeremiah | 8/11/07
• Run a StumbleUpon Advertising Campaign For Your Blog
  Darren Rowse, ProBlogger | 8/17/07
• Social Media’s Direct Influence on Search Engine Ranking
  Loren Baker, Search Engine Journal | 8/31/07
• Writing for StumbleUpon: High Impact Content “Above the Scroll” in Four Easy Steps
  Muhammad Saleem, Copyblogger | 9/13/07
• Hide and Speak: Recovering from a Social Media Disaster
  Jennifer Laycock, Search Engine Guide | 9/20/07
• How to Encourage Clients to Engage In Social Media
  Lisa Barone, Bruce Clay Blog | 9/21/07
• 11 Guidelines to Social Media Success
  Eric Enge, Search Engine Watch Blog | 10/18/07
• Facebook Flyers Pro Taking Off
  Jon Mendez, Optimize & Prophesize | 10/22/07
• Facebook Expands Targeting Opportunities for Advertisers
  Sugarrae | 10/26/07
• Starting Small with Social Media: Georgia Aquarium Flickr Photogroup
  Josh Hallett, hyku | 11/9/07
• Where Do Forums Fit on a Social Network Driven Internet?
  Kim Krause-Berg, Cre8pc | 11/13/07
• 7 Ideas For Social Media And Business
  Patrick Schaber, Lonely Marketer | 11/15/07
• How Do You Value Social Media?
  Jennifer Laycock, Search Engine Guide | 11/19/07
• The Social Media Manual: Read Before You Play
  Muhammad Saleem, Search Engine Land | 11/20/07
• It’s The (Other) Algorithm, Stupid! Understanding DiggRank
  Muhammad Saleem, Search Engine Land | 11/28/07
• 50 Top Niche Social Media Sites, and Their Power Accounts
  Tanya Ferrell, Kolbrener | 12/4/07
• Using Social Profile Pages To Your Advantage
  Donna Fontenot, SEO Scoop | 12/5/07
• How to Add Content to Wikipedia the ‘White Hat’ Way?
  Carsten Cumbrowski, Search Engine Journal | 12/6/07
• The Facebook Viral Marketing Bible: 24 Ways to Market Your Brand, Company, Product, or Service Inside Facebook
  Justin Smith, Inside Facebook | 12/9/07
• A Visual Tour Through the Basics of Social Media Marketing
  Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz | 12/10/07
• Hide and Speak: Letting the Spiders Back in to Bento Yum
  Jennifer Laycock, Search Engine Guide | 12/11/07
• What Social Media Isn’t - 10 Misconceptions
  Li Evans, Search Marketing Gurus | 12/13/07
• Social Media for Your Career
  Chris Brogan | 12/19/07
• Top 3 Problems of Social Media
  Bryan Eisenberg, Grokdotcom | 12/28/07