[img src="" caption="" credit="" alt=""]
We've been getting a high volume of mail over the past week inquiring about whether we're holding the Social Networking Awards again this year, a contest to find the hottest new social sites and applications of the past year. After a massively successful contest in 2006, the answer is of course an emphatic "Yes!", with a possible name change to the "Mashable Awards". I say "possible" because we are happy to partner with other bloggers to make this the best it can be - sharing attention, resources and more. Community awards should be a community event, no?
Our community director Adam Hirsch is running the Awards this year, with further details to follow very soon. In the meantime, please get in touch with him (not me!) about sponsorships and partnerships - there are lots of opportunities large and small. The contest is a much larger undertaking this time, with the usual online element backed by a real-world awards ceremony in San Francisco. Sponsorship and partnership opportunities include, but are not limited to:
--Media sponsorships (for bloggers and news organizations) - VIP entry to event, exclusive early access to shortlists and other info, inclusion on promotional materials, promotion of your blog/news site on Mashable and more
--Public relations sponsor - be the official PR company of the awards
--Venture Capital sponsor - official venture capital partner for the awards
--Online sponsorships - inclusion in every post on the topic
--Event, food and drinks sponsorships - for the ceremony
Nominations are not yet open, so no need to mail about that yet - just watch our RSS feed for alerts. Remember that sponsors are not eligible to win. Sponsors and partners, however, can start getting in touch with Adam.