Web sensation George Takei, the 75-year-old actor and author who first shot into fame as Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek TV series in the 1960s, accepted a prize Monday night for Distinguished Achievement in Internet Culture at the 5th Shorty Awards.
The annual ceremony honors the best social media users and Internet celebrities.
Takei began to reinvent himself through social media in March 2011, when he launched his now hugely popular Facebook page. His 3.8 million followers react in droves to his daily postings, which include memes and photos that often latch onto current events.
"Social media can be an incredibly powerful tool," Takei said in a recorded speech.
"Thank you for this award; it's just as cool as having an asteroid named after me."
His online presence extends to Twitter and his recently launched Tumblr. Aside from entertaining fans, he has also leveraged the platforms to help people in need.
Takei used Twitter to raise money for disaster relief efforts in Japan following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011. And on Tumblr in 2012, he brought attention to an Indiegogo fundraising campaign to help victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York City.
Other winners included Jimmy Kimmel for Lifetime Achievement, TextsFromHillary.com for Tumblr of the Year, Bravo's Andy Cohen for Best Social Media Manager and @SarcasticRover for Best NonHuman.
Here are some video highlights from Monday's Shorty Awards:
Jimmy Kimmel Wins Lifetime Achievement Award
NASA's Curiosity Rover Tweets With With Seth Green
Wolf Blitzer Exposes Early Poll Results
The Wanted and Dog Benson Accepts Award
Felicia Day Gets Perks From Twitter Followers
Some brands that took home a Shorty were Pepsi for Best Fortune 500 Brand on Social Media, TED Conferences for Best YouTube Channel, National Geographic for Best Overall Brand Presence on Instagram, Old Spice Muscle Music for Best Viral Campaign, The CW for Best Use of Twitter in a Campaign, VH1 for Best Location-Based Marketing, and Watch What Happens Live for Best Integration of Social Media on Live TV (see full winners list below).
Watch the Entire Shorty Awards Here
Web and TV personality Felicia Day hosted the Shorty Awards, which featured presenters Coco Rocha, Chris Hardwick, Hannibal Buress, Carrie Keagan, James Urbaniak, Miss Teen USA Logan West and Kristian Nairn.
Complete List of Shorty Awards Winners
Activism: AgainstSuicide (@AgainstSuicide)
Actor: Misha Collins (@MishaCollins)
Actress (tie): Tara Strong (@TaraStrong); Selena Gomez (@SelenaGomez)
Animated GIF of the Year: Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg: Kiss Me in Paris - Source: Ann Street Studio
Apps: Twitter (@Twitter)
Author: John Green (@RealJohnGreen)
Band: One Direction (@OneDirection)
BNCollege Award: WVU Mountaineers (@WestVirginiaU)
Brazil: Dilma Bolada (@Dilmabr)
Canada: MattG124 (@MattG124)
Celebrity: Justin Bieber (@JustinBieber)
CelebrityFashion (tie): Sophia Abrahao (@SophiaAbrahao); Selena Gomez (@SelenaGomez)
Charity: Random Acts (@TheRandomActOrg)
Comedian: Rafinha Bastos (@RafinhaBastos)
FakeAccount: Prince Charles (@Charles_HRH)
Fansite: Sherlockology (@Sherlockology) and 1D Updates (@1Dneews)
Food (tie): Rosanna Pansino (@RosannaPansino); The Kitchenista (@MissAngelaDavis)
Foursquare Mayor of the Year: Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity)
Gaming (tie): Monark (@RandonsPlays); PieDiePew (@PewDiePie)
GIF Maker (tie): T. Kyle MacMahon (@TKyleMac); Ryan Broderick (@RyanPBroderick)
Government: NASA (@NASA)
Ireland (tie): Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial); BriBry (@BriBryOnTour)
Journalist Award: Tim Pool (@Timcast)
Museum: Emily Graslie (@Ehmee)
Music (tie): Demetria Lovato (@DDLovato); aoi (@Official_aoi)
NonHuman: SarcasticRover (@SarcasticRover)
Photography (tie): Mike Lerner (@MikeTakesStills); Jenna Pope (@BatmanWI)
Quora Answer of the Year: Kenyatta Leal
Real-Time Photo of the Year: Hurricane Sandy - Benjamin Lowy
Science (tie): Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield); AsapSCIENCE (@AsapSCIENCE)
Singer: Greyson Chance (@GreysonChance)
WebShow: Bravest Warriors (@BravestWarriors)
SocialFitness Award: Cassey Ho (@Blogilates)
SportsTeam: Pittsburgh Steelers (@Steelers)
KeepGoodGoing Award: Kathy Zucker (@KathyZucker)
Parenting: Carlos Pena (@CarlosPenaSr)
SmallBusiness Award: Jawbreaking (@ShopJawbreaking)
Tumblr of the Year: Texts from Hillary
TVShow: Pretty Little Liars (@ABCFpll)
UK: Charlie McDonnell (@coollike)
VideoBlogger: PC Siqueira (@pecesiqueira)
YouTubeStar: Cauê Moura (@CaueMoura)
Complete List of Industry Award Winners
Best Use of Social Media for News: CNN Worldwide - Election 2012: CNN Worldwide Won the Social Media Battle
Best Overall Brand Presence on Instagram: National Geographic - In the Field with National Geographic
Best Viral Campaign: Old Spice - Old Spice Muscle Music
Best Branded YouTube Channel: TED - TED Conferences LLC
Best Use of Video in a Social Media Campaign: Maybelline - TopChicret - Announcing Charlotte Free as New Face of #1 Cosmetic Brand in the World
Best Overall Brand Presence on Twitter: Comedy Central - @TheDailyShow
Best Overall Brand Presence on Tumblr: Comedy Central - The Daily Show Election Center on Tumblr
Best Use of Social Media for Auto Industry: Dodge - Dodge Dart Registry
Best Use of Animated GIFs: Wilson Sporting Goods Co. - Where Football is Born
Best Use of Social Media In Real Life (IRL): Temple University - "Temple Made" Campaign
Best Social Media Agency - Large (over 100): 360i
Best Overall Brand Presence on Facebook: Maybelline - New York Digital Strategy 2012
Best Use of Social Media for Customer Service: SquareTrade, Inc
Best Use of Game Mechanics (Gamification) in a Social Media Campaign: USA Network - Suits Recruits
Best Use of Facebook Advertising: Chengdu Municipal Government and Chengdu Panda Base - PandaQuest: Be the Next Chengdu Pambassador
Best Use of a Mobile App in a Campaign: Turner Entertainment Networks - CONAN Sync App - it's techno-magic
Best Overall Brand Presence on Pinterest: Birchbox
Best Use of Social Media for Financial Services: Citi - Citi's Connect: Professional Women's Network on LinkedIn
Best Use of Social Media for a Consumer Brand: Food Lion - Food Lion's Operation Grocery Drop
Best Use of Twitter in a Campaign: The CW - Live Twitter Feed in a Magazine
Best Use of Facebook in a Campaign: Chengdu Municipal Government and Chengdu Panda Base - PandaQuest: Be the Next Chengdu Pambassador
Best Use of Social Media for Fashion: Banana Republic - Banana Republic In Flight Fashion Show
Best Use of Social Media for Sports: Nike - Nike #maketherules
Best Fortune 500 Brand on Social Media: Pepsi - Pepsi: Live For Now
Best Location-Based Marketing: VH1 - Save The Music Foursquare Partnership
Best Use of a Hashtag on Twitter: Nike - CountonKobe
Best Social Media Campaign for Film: Universal Pictures - Ted
Best Social Media Manager Award: Bravo - Andy Cohen for WWHL
Best Use of a Promoted Tweet, Promoted Trend, or Promoted Account: Maker's Mark - #CocktailParty2012
Best Use of Social Media for Retail or E-Commerce: Chobani - Nothing But Good, One Fan at a Time
Best Social Media Agency - Small (1 -20): neoco
Best Social Media Agency - Mid-Sized (21 - 100) (three-way tie): Deep Focus; Suite Spot - JetBlue Getaways Presents, "Get Away With It!"; Carrot Creative
Best Celebrity Campaign on Social Media: Intel - David Blaine's ELECTRIFIED
Best Social Media Presence of a CEO: Deep Focus - Ian Schafer
Best Use of Social Media for Television: Beam Inc. - Skinnygirl Cocktails #WinningTheOscars
Best Use of Social Media for Television: ABC Family - Pretty Little Liars #TheBetrAyal campaign
Best Integration of Social Media with Live Television: Fox News Digital - Fox News Election Night 2012
Best Integration of Social Media with Live Television: Bravo - Play Live on Watch What Happens Live
Best Use of Social Media for Video Games: neoco / 2K - Borderlands 2: A Work Of Art
Best Use of Social Media for the London 2012 Olympics: Nike - Nike Greatness
Best Use of Social Media For Music: Intel and MTV Iggy - Intel Presents The Music Experiment Powered By MTV Iggy
Best Use of Social Media For Music: Spotify and OMD - Music Apps Hack Weekend