Celebrating the best of the (local) web: the Frebby Awards

Category: Paprika Projects   |  Tags: events frebby awards

Fresno smells great (metaphorically speaking).¹

(Awkward pause.)

There's energy downtown (we're here, after all). A new crop of creatives has taken root (ag reference FTW!), and is doing cool stuff. Let's face it: this town is starting to smell pretty darn good.

Earlier this summer, we celebrated geeky-ness with 59 Days of Code. And there have been a few knowledge-work-inspired awards presentations sprinkled throughout the community, but none (to date) that focus on the web. Since that's our playground, we at Paprika Studios have been busy organizing an annual event to celebrate the best of the web, locally. It's called the Frebby Awards.

The Frebbys (it's okay to call them that) are a recognition of individuals, businesses and organizations utilizing the web in innovative, effective ways. The inaugural event will take place next month on September 23—save the date!

Here's the thing: we need you to tell us who's doing what well, and why. (If that doesn't make sense, check out the categories below. We've focused them on what people do online.)

We'll be launching the full Frebbys site soon, and you'll be able to nominate then. For now, we're asking you to start thinking, and to let us know if you have questions or comments. Oh, one last thing: If you feel particularly fond of a specific category and want to sponsor it for $150, now is your chance! Email Alisa for further information. Other partnership ideas are welcome, as well.

Footnotes
¹ This opening sentence was brought to you by Conlan. He's a copywriter, and he encourages you to pay him to write things for you.

Frebby Awards - Categories

The following categories outline actions—things that can be done using the web. Nominations will tell a story of individuals, teams and creative firms who have set a standard for providing services that enable others to do one of the following:

• Inspiring (Inspiration)
  The web allows for sharing, and it's often used to gather ideas. It can also be used to tug on the heartstrings, and appeal to our emotions. This award highlights a person or business that inspires others—through a website, or portfolio, or perhaps through the content they publish.

• Selling (Commerce)
  Businesses need to sell, whether they provide a product, service, or combination of the two. This award acknowledges those who've either found creative ways to use the web in order to loosen customers' wallets, or who have followed best practices and realized exceptional results.

• Communicating (Communication)
  The web is a communication channel—we're communicating every time we publish, or email, or tweet, or google. This award acknowledges a person, organization or business that does this extremely well. Maybe their blog tells a unique story. Or their email campaigns keep you connected to a product. Or…well, they know how to talk.

• Eliciting action (Action)
  Having a web presence is great, but a test of influence is action. This award highlights an organization or individual that is really good at getting people to do something—attend an event or support a cause, for example.

• Connecting (Connection)
  Many of us use the web to connect to others, but often that's facilitated by a product—or website—that provides the introduction. This award celebrates community, and highlights a person or business that uses the web to bring others together.

• Educating and informing (Informational)
  If you're online regularly, you've likely looked for sources of news and information to keep you up to speed on current affairs (defined loosely). This award acknowledges that source of information—an individual or organization that provides something new and noteworthy, using the web.

Sometimes, we don't know how something is used, we just know we like it. For that reason, we've also created an award for a Frebby Favorite.

Questions?

Leave them in the comments, and we'll make sure the answers are clear when the full Frebbys site launches!

Posted Friday, August 13, 2010

James Collier is chief strategist for Paprika Studios, exploring ways to utilize emerging technologies. He writes about community, social media, and random observations.