UBC journalism professor Alfred Hermida has been nominated as Canada’s top social media maven in the 2011 Digi Awards.
The other two people shortlisted for the social media award are Erica Ehm, who set up the online magazine YummyMummyClub.ca, and Nadine Sykora, a Canadian video content creator and Internet personality.
The winners will be announced on December 6th at the finale of nextMEDIA Toronto, which bills itself as Canada’s premier digital media conference.
The Digi Awards, formerly known as the Canadian New Media Awards, are described as “Canada’s premier showcase of the remarkable digital media companies, projects, products and pioneers that are placing Canada at the forefront of the international mediascape.”
The Canadian New Media Awards were founded in 1998 as Canada’s first nationwide platform recognizing the achievements of the fast-developing digital media landscape. They were rebranded last year as the Digi Awards.
The social media maven award is designed to recognize “medialites that demonstrate innovation in creating and connecting online communities.”
According to the the awards website, “the top Canadian social media mavens will have demonstrated leadership in the field, skillfully using social tools to bring in likes, check-ins, tweets, and more to deliver an unparalleled level of community engagement.”
Since joining UBC in 2006, Prof Hermida has built an international reputation as a new media scholar and practitioner, with a specific focus on social media. As well as co-authoring a book on participatory journalism, he co-authored four reports on changing news habits in Canada, leading the report on the impact of social media.
Prof Hermida strives to offer a considered perspective on novel forms of interpersonal exchanges and interactions enabled by social media. His expertise was recognized by the award of a SSHRC grant in 2011 to write a book on social media’s impact on journalism.
The Digi Awards are organized by Achilles Media.
