We’ve all read the stats on the number of users on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. Even in a place like South Dakota, vibrant online communities have sprung up and have yielded some fine social media personas. Two Sioux Falls companies have teamed up to recognize South Dakota’s finest online with the first annual South Dakota Socie Awards (left, image from thesocies.com).
The two companies collaborating on this project are an interesting blend between traditional media, The Argus Leader (South Dakota’s largest newspaper), and an online marketing firm, Click Rain. The Socies is really just a fun event but as the website states:
The Socie Awards are dedicated to the brightest, best, wittiest, and most addicted users of social media in South Dakota. The only requirement to win is that you have some South Dakota connection – either live, work, or tweet from our great state.
Voting for the Socie Awards has been open for a couple weeks and will wrap up this Thursday, January 20th. Award winners will then be announced across the social networks and at a party this Thursday at Click Rain at 5 p.m. The Argus Leader will also be publishing the list of Socie Award winners in a future publication.
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I got a chance to ask Cory Myers (left, photo from twitter.com/sigepcory), digital media manager at The Argus Leader, about The Socie Awards and how this fun project came to be.
Silicon Prairie News: Where did the idea for the Socies come from?
Cory Myers: Paul Ten Haken from Click Rain came up with the concept and floated the idea to me about Click Rain and Argus Leader Media partnering to give out the awards. I loved the idea, got buy-in from folks here, set up a meeting with Paul and Randell Beck and we just did it.
Silicon Prairie News: What was the discussion like with a tradition medium like The Argus Leader to help create the Socies and print results in the paper?
Myers: There really wasn’t much discussion about that so much. Being that these awards are for online acts and personas, we knew the main interest was going to from people in that space. So while we will certainly print the winners of the awards, the main focus has been on using our company websites and social networking to drive the contest.
Silicon Prairie News: What does the Socies mean for the South Dakota online community?
Myers: I hope it doesn’t mean anything other than trying to have fun and recognizing the people that make our days better because of their use of social media. It’s a pretty light, fun thing we’re trying to do. You can tell by the categories and descriptions, and you’ll certainly be able to tell from the awards and prizes we’re giving out on Thursday!
Silicon Prairie News: How does the Argus Leader see social media and online technology in the future of their platform?
Myers: I see it less as a part of our future, and more of a now opportunity. Whether you’re talking about online, mobile, apps, print, magazines, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, etc., etc., they are all tools. There are certainly more tools than ever before; how they work slightly different. But what is exciting is we now have infinitely more opportunity to publish news and information, to tell stories, to listen, to communicate, than we ever have. And that’s now. Not five years from now, but today.
