Celebs are all a Twitter for awards
No, it’s not an Irish general election campaign, but the 2010 Golden Twits Awards, which will garland the best and the brightest users of the micro-blogging social networking site Twitter.
Now in their second year, the Golden Twits, which take place in London on November 25, will name the champions of the 140-character message in 15 categories, including business, charity, corporate individual, private individual, humour, celebrity and (my personal favourite) fake celebrity.
Every field has eight to nine nominees, and there will be two winners from each one: those who pick up the most public votes, and those selected by a special panel of judges — known as the BRATS (British Academy of Twits) — that this year includes TV presenter Eamonn Holmes and UK Dragon’s Den star and multi-millionaire entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne (other members and honorary members include Sarah Brown, wife of former British prime minister Gordon Brown, Alan Carr, Eddie Izzard and Jonathan Ross).
Last year’s awards saw prizes given to heavy-hitters like Channel 4 and The Guardian, but interest in this year’s gongs has grown exponentially.
“Last year we had 200-300 entries; this year we had about 10,000,” says Gordon Young from Scottish communications firm Carnyx, which is organising the awards. “That’s a reflection of how Twitter has grown in the last year.
“The initial idea behind the awards was to reflect the fact that Twitter was becoming a more mainstream phenomenon, as well as a more commercial one.
“We also wanted to head up an event that recognises the craft that goes into Twitter, because it is a craft. Twitter is quite a specialist medium in that it’s personal, so it’s more difficult to hide behind a corporate brand.”
This, Gordon argues, is changing the way business is being done, and if there are specialist awards in other professional arenas, why not for Twitter? “Advertisers and businesses have to be more personal, and have to respond rapidly to compete in the Twitterverse without often times having to go through the usual checks and balances that would be part of a normal communications strategy,” Gordon explains.
Some professional Twitter users can learn the hard way that there is a certain art to navigating the social networking rapids.
“You’re in for a lot of abuse if you get it wrong,” he laughs. “The Twitterverse is quick to reply with insults and ribbing if you miss the mark, but it’s too late to take it down or remove it from Twitter at that stage. It’s out there. It’s important to get it right.
“The thing to remember about Twitter is that businesses are going to be a part of it whether they want to be or not. Their customers are likely to be using it, so if the customers get either good service or bad service, they’re likely to take to Twitter to express that. It’s astonishing how quick word can spread through Twitter.”
Though its only four years old, Twitter has fast become one of the world’s most successful social networking mediums. There are estimated to be around 175m account users, and, perhaps even more so than the all-conquering Facebook, Twitter is increasingly the go-to place for real-time updates and commentary on just about anything that’s happening in a given time or place.
For example, for many Twitter users, the network is a crucial component in enjoying television shows and events like The Apprentice and The X Factor, where the commentaries on Twitter are often more entertaining than what’s actually on screen.
“It’s called ‘lap-glancing’,” explains Gordon, “where you have one eye on the TV screen and one on the laptop. I saw a husband and wife whom I know on my Twitterfeed the other night, and they were talking to each other online even through they were sitting beside each other on the couch.”
The range of categories in the Golden Twits drive home the number of diverse ways that Twitter is being used, but some of the most popular outlets belong to celebrities like this year’s nominees Stephen Fry, Davina McCall and Jimmy Carr.
However, a growing offshoot from that — and one with its own category this year — is the fake celebrity account, where someone posts satirical Tweets on behalf of a well-known person.
“A lot of people don’t seem to realise that these accounts are fake,” Gordon laughs. “Most of them are tongue-in-cheek, but others can be hard to tell which are real and which are fake. It’s a big trend though, and there are some brilliant users out there. Just look at some of our nominees like @DianaInHeaven, which are Tweets from Princess Diana from the afterlife.”
As for this year’s bash, Gordon is expecting around 500 people to turn up, perhaps even some of the more high-profile celebrity contenders. However, given the nature of the ceremony, Gordon is concerned that the party might be a little slow getting off the ground.
“We’ll all be standing there updating Twitter on our phones,” he laughs. “What better way to socialise then to be a bit anti-social? We’ll have to turn off the Wi-Fi connection to have any interaction.”
* To vote, go to www.goldentwits.com. Voting closes this Sunday, November 14.
Stephen Fry
(@stephenfry, 1,930,991 followers): “So some f**king paper misquotes a humorous interview I gave, which itself misquoted me and now I’m the Antichrist. I give up.”
“What with the absurd comfort of the Savoy bed and the absurd discomfort of the Savoy hangover I am somewhat behindhand with the day.”
(@jimmycarr, 534,135 followers): “I’m Roasting Davina McCall tonight C4 9pm. If it’s half as much fun to watch as it was to make, it wont be half as funny as I remember.”
“Bonfire Night, celebrating a failed terrorist attack with lots of little explosions. I’m not sure it’s in the best of taste.”
Charlie Brooker
(@charltonbrooker, 178,865 followers): “If I could create a virus that’d make readers’ monitors spit glass in their ungrateful eyes the moment they click ‘post comment’, I would.”
“My brain is so thuddingly empty it’s thick with air. There’s not even an echo.”
(@DianainHeaven, 20,964 followers): “Tiring day spent having sex with a series of strangers in public toilets.”
“There’s a lot of that sort of thing up here. Did I miss much? New Queen Of Hearts? The Cole woman and me have got NOTHING in common. Apart from bullsh*t marriages obviously....”
(@katieweasel, 16,189 followers): “Hope TreyC enjoys the signed photo and the itunes voucher I’ve given her. Susan Boyle likes Mary Byrne. Susan Boyle also likes ladybirds, catnip and keeping rodents in cages. Not the most reliant of sources.”
