In the tech space, one year is a long time -- companies emerge, others get acquired, some pivot, a few close shop. New gadgets are released to replace yesterday's cutting-edge devices, and startups dream up gizmos and apps we never knew we wanted or needed til we laid our hands on them.
At Mashable, we're embedded in the digital and tech sphere all day, every day. So we thought it appropriate to step back and admire some of the best innovations of the past year. We created Mashable's Innovation Index to celebrate recent tech, digital and social innovations that have redefined your world.
The Innovation Index is comprised of 15 categories, each of which is curated by an expert Mashable selected because of their work in the space. Each curator selected five nominees -- companies, products, events or technologies -- that are pushing the boundaries in an ever-evolving digital landscape. We announced the nominees two weeks ago, and the Mashable community has voted since them to determine the best innovations of 2012.
The winners -- based on thousands of votes from the Mashable community -- are listed below.
Media: HuffPost Live
Nominees selected by Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer of Columbia University
Home: Sonos Sound System
KitchenAid 7-Quart Stand Mixer
Nominees selected by Martha Stewart, Entrepreneur
Gadgets: Google Glass
Nominees selected by Lance Ulanoff, Editor-in-Chief of Mashable
Shopping: PlanYourRoom.com
Nominees selected by Stacy London, Host of What Not To Wear and Founder, Style for Hire
Social Good: DoSomething.org
Half the Sky's Transmedia Initiative
PlanetRead's Same-Language Subtitling
Nominees selected by Adam Braun, Founder of Pencils of Promise
Art & Design: Crowdfunding Platforms
Nominees selected by Jess Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Polyvore
Politics & Government: Obama for America’s Quick Donate
Nominees selected by Chris Hughes, Editor-in-Chief of The New Republic
Food: Envirofit Clean Cookstoves
Nominees selected by Lorena Garcia, Chef
Business: ScanLife
Nominees selected by Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Co-Founder of Gilt Groupe
Entertainment: Tablets
Nominees selected by Jon M. Chu, Filmmaker & Founder of DS2DIO
Travel: High-Tech Airports
Digital Detox Vacations
Nominees selected by Rafat Ali, Founder of Skift
Productivity: Mindmeister
Nominees selected by Brett Terpstra, Podcaster and Life Hacker
Fashion: Instagram
Diane von Furstenberg's Google Glass Fashion Week Video
Nominees selected by Coco Rocha, Model
Health & Fitness: Fitocracy
Nominees selected by Sarah Robb O'Hagan, President, Equinox
Sports: FanDuel
Nominees selected by Jon Dube, GM of CBS Fantasy Sports
*Chris Hughes is an investor in the companies noted with an asterisk
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, SimmiSimons, terminalu