Congratulations to all!

We’d like to thank all the finalists, inductees, judges, their friends and followers and everyone else involved for their participation in this First Annual NJ Social Media Hall of Fame. We’d like to get your input for how to improve upon this for next year. Contact us via email: editor@njsocialmedia.com with your ideas, thoughts and suggestions.

Also, please join us on June 18, 2010 to meet some of our inductees, finalists and judges at the NJ Social Media Conference, Crowne Plaza Somerset NJ. We look forward to seeing you there, or at one of our other events, or at a business, event or location in New Jersey, in support of others in NJ who use social media.  ~Eva

———————-

Last few days of voting !

Update: 4/23/10, 3:00pm: Polling via Twtsurvey voting opens today!
Update: 4/20/10, 9:45am : YouTube and BlogTalkRadio voting opens today!

10 Finalists: (alphabetical order by Twitter name)
@AmyVernon, @hhrmediagroup, @jerseybites, @jessicalevin, @leoraw, @lynetteradio, @njfamilymag, @njplaygrounds, @podcaststeve, @tweetamar

Public Voting for #NJSM09 Hall of Fame Inductees will roll out in phases, across multiple platforms, over the next 2 weeks, including:

• Blog Comments Voting begins Tue. April 20. To vote: leave a comment on YouTube #NJSM09 Finalist Video and/or BlogTalkRadio #NJSM09 Episode (must be registered users of each site). Limit one vote on each site, must include reason for vote.
• 
  
• Facebook – Voting begins Mon. April 12. To vote: leave a comment on the#NJSM09 Voting wall post at www.Facebook.com/NJSocialMedia (must be a Fan)
• LinkedIn – Voting begins Tue. April 13. To vote: leave comment on #NJSM09 Event Listing (must have LinkedIn account)
• 
  
• Polling  via Twtsurvey Voting begin Fri. April 23. To vote: choose one Finalist at http://twtsurvey.com/ff01yf. Limit 1 vote per IP address / account.

You are allowed only one vote per each platform above, per user account.

Please explain the reason for your choice when you vote on YouTube, BlogTalkRadio, Facebook and LinkedIn voting platforms.

All voting, across all platforms will remain open until 11:59pm EST Sunday, April 25, 2010. Any votes received after that time will not be counted.

Limit one vote per user account per platform for the duration of the voting period

• i.e. You can only vote once on Facebook, once on Twitter, one Blog Comment, etc., only casting 1 vote for only one Finalist per platform.
• The first eligible vote cast from a user’s account will be counted; additional votes cast from the same account on a specific platform will not be counted and will be disqualified and/or flagged for removal.
• NJSM Hall of Fame Finalists are not eligible to vote.

After voting period ends, all votes, across all platforms, will be reviewed, tallied and recorded. Inductees will be selected based on voting data, voting verification and quality of comments. Originality counts!

• Note: Flame wars, derogatory or defamatory remarks will not be tolerated and comments may be subject to removal without warning. The discovery of bots, auto-generating apps, multiple voting abuse, rigging, intimidation or any other form of vote tampering, including offers of cash, incentives or compensation in exchange for votes may result in immediate disqualification of the votes and/or candidate.

Inductees:

• Three (3) Inductees will be chosen and announced at the NJ Social Media Luncheon in honor of all Finalists on April 30, 2010, 11:30am-1:30pm Crowne Plaza, Somerset NJ (open to the public, $35 per person, RSVP here).

Voting is open to the public, globally.

Thank you for your participation! Any questions, please email: confirm {at} njsocialmedia {dot} com

***

Update: 4/7/10 – After a LONG delay, we’re announcing that public voting will take place starting at 11:59pm EST on Sunday, April 11, 2010 until 11:59pm EST Sunday, April 25, 2010. Winners will be announced at a special NJ Social Media Luncheon in honor of all the NJ Social Media Hall of Fame Finalists on Friday, April 30, 2010, 11:30am-1:30pm at the Crowne Plaza, Somerset NJ (which will take place instead of the full NJ Social Media Conference which has been postponed to June 18, 2010). Voting details to be announced shortly.

Update: 1/14/10 Our apologies–have been working out technical+copyright issues. Will be updating very shortly… Thanks for your patience! ~Eva

Updated 12/7/09: We’re pleased to announce our Top 10 Finalists!

(Here are all 10 Finalists, in alphabetical order)

@AmyVernon

@hhrmediagroup

@jerseybites

@jessicalevin

@leoraw

@lynetteradio

@njfamilymag

@njplaygrounds

@podcaststeve

@tweetamar

Congratulations to our Finalists! We’ll be posting their photos and profiles shortly, plus feature exclusive interviews with each Finalist. They will advance to Phase 2 of our Public Voting Process , along with Judge’s Choice Finalists (to be announced). We’ll ask for your help to determine who will be voted in as Inductees to the NJ Social Media 2009 Hall of Fame!

Thank you to all of our Nominees, Finalists, Judges, Advisory Panel, Voters, Friends and Supporters for your participation in the first round. We look forward to your participation in Phase 2, which will be announced shortly.

Updated 12/5/09:
All Top 10 Finalists have now been contacted via Twitter Direct Message or Email. We will announce their names after we receive their Acceptance. They will advance to Phase 2 of the Public Voting Process for consideration as Inductees into the NJ Social Media Hall of Fame! Congratulations to our Top 10 Finalists and thanks to all of our Nominees and voters for participating!

Updated 12/2/09: Finalists have been chosen! We will contact them individually before we release their names publicly.
Finalists will have the opportunity to move on to the next phase, which will take place by public vote, to determine who will be Inducted into #NJSM09 Hall of Fame. Every vote counts! More details to be announced shortly….

NOMINATIONS are now closed for NJ Social Media 2009 Hall of Fame!
#NJSM09 Hall of Fame

Updated:  11/29/09
The NJ Social Media 2009 Hall of Fame was created to recognize the influence and contributions of NJ-based individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations in their exemplary use of Social Media.

Added 11/30/09:
Ten Finalists will be selected by our Panel of Judges from the list of eligible Nominees, based on the following Criteria:

• Quality of Nomination Tweets
• Social Media Presence
• Quality of Online Postings and Social Media Conversations
• Use of Social Media to Represent a Unique Personality or Brand

Announcing our Panel of Judges:

• Eva Abreu
• Deirdre Breakenridge
• Brian Donohue (added 12/2/09)
  
• Chris Kieff

Advisory Panel:

• Liz Pullen

I invited a diverse group of individuals from different backgrounds, career and life experiences to participate as members of the Panel of Judges or Advisory Panel, who I felt were fair, objective and had a strong understanding of Social Media who could share their expert opinions. In addition to the list of Judges above, also invited were Gary Vaynerchuk and Mayor Cory Booker, but they were unable to participate due to their schedules. ~EA

Nomination Period:
Starts at 01:00 am EST on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009.
Ends at 11:59 pm EST on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009

Quick Rules: (see Full Rules below for details)

• Vote via Twitter-only
• Use hashtag #NJSM09
• Explain in your tweet WHY this user should be included in NJSM Hall of Fame.
  
• Limit one vote per day
• Anyone can vote
• Nominees (winners) must be NJ-based
• Do NOT nominate: @NJSocialMedia or @Eva_Abreu @dbreakenridge @ckieff @nwjerseyliz (they are Administrators/Judges and not eligible)

Full Rules: (updated 11/24/09 at 9:30am EST)

1. You can nominate yourself or any individual, business, or non-profit organization based in New Jersey. Anyone can nominate; but all Nominees must be NJ-based (currently living or working in NJ or located in NJ for at least 30 consecutive days during 2009).

2. Nominees must be on Twitter and have a Twitter user_name.

3. Nominations accepted only via Twitter, posted as a public Twitter post (i.e. Tweet), in 140 characters or less, and must include hashtag #NJSM09 at the beginning of the Tweet.
–#Note about hashtag: Make sure to enter “09″ as numbers, as in the numbers zero-nine; don’t enter the letter “O” because if you do, your Nomination Tweet won’t show up in the #hashtag search)

4. Nomination Tweets should be in this format: (do not include quotation marks)
“   #NJSM09 @user_name because he/she/they are  { __fill in the blank why you nominate this user___}  ”

5. URLs, including shortened URLs, may be permitted in the Nomination Tweet, just as long as it links to something related to the Nominee and why they should be included in the #NJSM09 Hall of Fame. Examples of acceptable links include original blog posts talking about the virtues of the Nominee, or original videos, audio podcasts, pictures, or articles on the same subject. If the URL has nothing to do with that specific Nominee or the #NJSM09 Hall of Fame Awards, or could be considered spam, then that specific Nomination Tweet will become void and will be disqualified. *Note: Negative campaigning and flame wars will not be tolerated: any Nomination Tweet that is derogatory or defames another Nominee will be void and disqualified. Play nicely please.

6. Ten (10) Finalists will be chosen from all the Nominees and will be announced on Wed. Dec. 2, 2009.

7. Every Nomination Tweet will be reviewed, just as long as it contains the hashtag #NJSM09 at the beginning of the Tweet. Finalists will be chosen based on quality of Nomination Tweets received (emphasis on QUALITY, not quantity). In other words, this is not going to be a popularity contest. The total number of Nomination Tweets received for a user will NOT be the deciding factor on who gets chosen as a Finalist.  What we’re looking for in quality Nomination Tweets are thoughtful, well-worded Tweets about why you think this Twitter user deserves to be included in the NJ Social Media Hall of Fame.  What this means is that a Twitter user who receives just 1 meaningful Nomination Tweet may have a better chance of becoming a Finalist, as compared to the user who receives 10,000 Nomination Tweets that all say, “pick me!” or “because they deserve it”. Sure, maybe they DO deserve it, but explain to us in your Tweet exactly WHY they deserve it.

8. Only one (1) Nomination Tweet per day will be accepted from one Twitter account. In other words, you can only vote once per day. If more than 1 Nomination Tweet is submitted by the same Twitter account on the same day, we’ll only count the first one of the day. The Nominee can receive unlimited Nomination Tweets in one day, just as long as each Nomination Vote is an original, single vote of the day from a specific individual Twitter account. Updated 11/29/09: Hint — Originality counts! Judges may choose not to include a Nomination Tweet if it contains the same exact wording repeated in a previous Nomination Tweet. In other words, tell us something new and different about the Nominee in each Nominee Tweet and why we should consider this user.

9. Re-tweets (RTs) will NOT be counted. All Nomination Tweets must begin with #NJSM09 and must be an originally written Tweet.

10. The following Twitter users will NOT be eligible for Nomination: @NJSocialMedia @Eva_Abreu @dbreakenridge @ckieff @nwjerseyliz (additional names may be added). These individuals cannot be included in the Nomination for NJ Social Media Hall of Fame, due to their direct affiliation.

11. Finalists will have their name, photo, contact information and bio/description posted on the NJ Social Media website and also included in written promotional materials and publications related to the “NJ Social Media 2009 Hall of Fame”, and will receive a “NJ Social Media 2009 Hall of Fame” certificate. Additional prizes may be announced. Sponsorship inquiries are welcome.

For additional Questions or Sponsorship Opportunities:
Send a Tweet or DM to @NJSocialMedia or leave a comment below, or email: editor {at} njsocialmedia {dot} com.

Best wishes and have fun nominating!

Regards,
Eva Abreu, Publisher
NJ Social Media

Photo credit: bpende

Added 11/30/09:
Background:
I created the NJ Social Media 2009 Hall of Fame concept, loosely based on a variety of different awards, contests and ceremonies that I’ve observed in the past (both web-based and offline too), such as:

140conf/NOW Awards (Jeff Pulver): http://140conf.com/blog

Mashable’s Open Web Awards: http://mashable.com/owa/pages/rules

PRSarahEvans Top 50 Tweeple: http://prsarahevans.com/2009/08/the-top-50-tweeples-to-follow-2009-edition/

Shorty Awards: http://shortyawards.com/about/

Webby Awards: http://www.webbyawards.com/about/

NJ Hall of Fame: http://www.njhalloffame.org/factsheet.htm

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/induction-process/

I’ve also worked behind the scenes on large scale awards ceremonies such as Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, MTV Music Awards, etc. and wanted to bring a little bit of that excitement to this process and to NJ as well. So, that’s my motivation : ) ~EA

Join us for a NJ Social Media Luncheon in honor of the Finalists –

Date: Friday, April 30, 2010
Time: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Location: Crowne Plaza – Somerset, Kennedy Suite, 110 Davidson Avenue, Somerset NJ

Tickets: $35 per person
Includes: Hot Buffet Lunch, Networking, Roundtable Discussions
Music by DJ Fatha Ramzee
RSVP Facebook or Twitter or email: confirm at njsocialmedia dot com

Menu: Taste of Tuscany Buffet

• Assorted Breads, Caesar Salad, Antipasto
• Fusilli Provencal, Chicken Tuscany, Eggplant Rollatini
• Italian Vegetables, Risotto
• Assorted Italian Desserts, Soft Drinks, Coffee, Tea

Hope you can join us! Thank you for participating in the voting and congratulations to all the Finalists!

Questions? Contact us:
Tel. 973-610-5571 or email: confirm at njsocialmedia dot com

Creative Commons Photos: ‘out to lunch’ by Jenny Downing and social media icons by webtreats via Flickr

I asked the following question to the ten Finalists of the NJ Social Media Hall of Fame Awards:

What is your favorite social media tool or site?

Here are their replies:

Lucy Banta, @njfamilymag, Mountainside: Twitter is my favorite social media tool as it lets you connect instantly to people discussing a wide range of topics.

Itamar Kestenbaum, @tweetamar, Montclair: Of all the innovative monitoring tools out there, plain-old Twitter Search http://search.twitter.com, if used correctly, can be turned into your “mission control” for both monitoring your brand (at least on Twitter) and finding new people who’d be interested in your brand.

Jessica Levin, @jessicalevin, Edison: My favorite social media tool is the one that leads to the most real-life, face-to-face connections because for me it’s not about the tool, but about the people.

Steven Lubetkin, @podcaststeve, Cherry Hill: My favorite social media tool is TweetDeck http://www.tweetdeck.com — I use it for my regular activities in Twitter, including following live-tweeted events via hashtag searches; it also includes a customizable URL shortening utility that I use to shorten URLs even when I’m not using the shortened reference in a Tweet.

Don Povia, @hhrmediagroup, Mercer County: Twitter has become my favorite social media tool in that it provides an instant forum, focus group, soap box or support system to thousands of self-selecting individuals who care enough to not only follow, but respond to statements and inquiries I may randomly throw out in public.

Sheila Sayah, @njplaygrounds, Springfield: I love Facebook, because it has connected me with so many great people; it’s very easy to get a quick answer/opinion on something for my site or an article I’m writing and allows me to keep connected even if it isn’t one-on-one.

Deborah Smith, @jerseybites, Point Pleasant: My favorite App is Hootsuite http://hootsuite.com which allows me to manage multiple Twitter accounts, set up search feeds and columns with key contacts, schedule tweets and track click through’s.

Amy Vernon, @amyvernon, Union County: Digg http://digg.com, because it was the first social media site I got involved in; I can be kind of sentimental that way – and I still get a bit of a thrill when I hit the front page.

Leora Wenger, @leoraw, Highland Park: Twitter is my favorite — I find it so easy to meet others, share info, and connect; you can tweet a catchy phrase, add a link, and it’s so easy to RT (retweet) what others say, to let them know you find their knowledge useful.

Lynette Young, @lynetteradio, Princeton: My favorite tool is HootSuite because it allows me to access multiple social technology platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Fan pages, LinkedIn, Ping.fm, WordPress, MySpace & Foursquare) from one dashboard as well as manage multiple client team accounts.

What is your favorite social media tool, app or site? Let me know what you think.

(Leave a comment below –very sorry, comments are now closed due to spam issues). Please send a tweet to @NJSocialMedia or leave a comment on Facebook NJ.Social.Media or email: editor at njsocialmedia dot com.

Thanks!
@NJSocialMedia