See someone you know? Congratulate them with the official hashtag #SMAnominee 

Excellence in Customer Service (Sponsored by – McAllister Media)

• Overwaitea Food Group  |  @SaveOnFoods & @UrbanFare
• Westjet  |  @Westjet & @greghounslow
•  Shaw Help  |  @shawhelp
• London Drugs  |  @LondonDrugs
• Mark Collins - MAC5 Web Design  |   @MAC5WebDesign

Derek K. Miller Award (Formerly known as the “Most Inspiring Social Media User”)

• Darren, Beth and Brandon Laur, Personal Protection Systems Inc  |  @crimefighterguy
• Scott McDonald  |  @ScottinVictoria
• Brenons Social Media/Mike Kelly  |  @brenons
• Laureano Ralon - Figure/Ground Communication  |  @figure_ground
• That Social Media Guy   |   @rantingincr

Excellence in Engagement – Corporate (Sponsored by – bWEST Interactive)

• Transition Marketing Services  |  @MarketingTMS
• That Social Media Guy   |   @rantingincr
• Scotty Fishing and Outdoor Products | @ScottyProducts
• Mat Wright | @matvic
• Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver | @fsvancouver
• Mole-Richardson Co. | @MoleRichardson
• Michele | @SocMedGirlYYJ
• TicTalking.com | @tictalking
• Brenons Social Media | @Brenons
• Tradex Foods | @TradexFoods
• Angelique Picanco for Nadia G’s Bitchin’ Kitchen | @bitchinkitchen
• idar jewellers | @idarjewellers
• victoriawave.ca/#yyjchat | @yyjchat
• Vancity | @vancity
• The Bay Centre / Eclipse Creative Inc. | @baycentrevic & @eclipsecreative
• YYJchat | @yyjchat
• Victoria Police Department | @vicpdcanada
• NORTH | @NORTH
• The Magnolia Hotel & Spa | @Magnoliahtl
• ChatterHigh | @ChatterHigh
• Oakridge Centre | @Oakridgestyle
• AVG Technologies | @AVGFree
• CHEK Point hosted by Dana Hutchings | @DanaHutchings

Best Personal Blog 

• BC Buzz |  @bcbuzztv
• Leland Dieno  |  @lelanddieno
• Blonde on a Budget | @blondeonabudget
• ariane c design | @arianecdesign
• bubblegum@rage | @bubblegum_rage
• Arianna Merritt – Arianna’s Random Thoughts | @arandomthoughts
• Darren Howarth | @chapelquest
• Elizabeth Nyland | @guiltykitchen
• Gold Zebra | @theg0ldzebra (0 is a zero)
• Grocery Alerts Canada | @groceryalerts
• Victoria Explorer | @VicExplorer
• Gillian Cornwall – Gillian’s Art Blog | @KilaNalu

Best Business Blog  

• JTM Games  |  @JTMGames
• Kryton International Inc.  |  @KrytonIntl
• Sprout Social – Sprout Insights | @sproutinsights
• Victoria Explorer | @VicExplorer
• Grocery Alerts Canada | @groceryalerts

Social Workplace Award (Sponsored by – HR.com)

• DIALOG | @dialog
• HootSuite Media | @hoothr

Excellence in Engagement – Non-Profit (Sponsored by – ConstantContact)

• Figure/Ground Communication | @figure_ground
• YYJChat Susan Jones and Mat Wright | @YYJchat
• Thompson Rivers University – TRU World | @mobilesherri & @truworld
• Mustardland | NA
• Open Cinema | @opencinema
• Love Global Foundation | @dariankovacs & @loveglobal
• PLOS, Public Library of Science | @PLOS
• Music Heals | @MusicHeals_ca
• Heritage Tourism Association | @TimeTravelBC
• Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia LTABC | @landtrustbc

Excellence in Engagement – Individual 

• Klein Group, Royal LePage City Centre | @Ashley_Realtor
• Josh Rimer | @JoshRimer
• Mommy Kat and Kids | @mommykatandkids
• The Gold Zebra | @theg0ldzebra (0 is a zero)
• Brenda Burch Dumont | @smissimple
• Juhli Selby, Juhli Selby Social Media | @JUHLiSELBy
• Victoria Explorer | @VicExplorer
• Jordan Keats – Q College | @Jordan_Keats
• Impact Digital Photography | NA
• That Social Media Guy | @rantingincr
• Dana Hutchings | @DanaHutchings

Excellence in Social Media by a Student (or student group)

• Figure/Ground Communication | @figure_ground
• Jeremy Flewelling – Ethos Communications | @j_flew
• Brianna Belzile | @briannabelzile
• Dustin Miller | @dustymcmusty
• Rider Nation | @riderprideYYC
• Golf Vancouver Island / Student at Royal Roads University | @kylak & @VIGOLFTRAIL
• Mark Woo / Social Media Network | @makukiko & @SMNVAN

Good luck to all the nominees. See you on May 7th. 

1. Excellence in Customer Service  

This award recognizes the company or organization that has demonstrated excellence in providing customer service via social media channel(s). The winning entry should clearly demonstrate customer service excellence and show clear results.

2. Derek K. Miller Award (Formerly known as the Most Inspiring Social Media User)

This award is in honour of its first winner, Derek K. Miller, and recognizes a social media user (organization or individual) that has truly inspired those around them with their use of social media, whether it be for personal or philanthropic.

3. Excellence in Engagement – Corporate  

This award is about building community and is not specific to any particular platform. The winning entry should demonstrate the best use of social media to engage and build community in a relevant way.

4. Best Personal Blog  

Who has the best personal blog? It doesn’t have to be about any particular topic. Tell us which blog is best and why! The judges will consider creativity, community (comments etc) and overall awesomeness.

5. Best Business Blog   

Who has the best business blog? It can be in any industry, any size for micro-biz to corporate behemoth. The winning entry should demonstrate the best use of benefits of blogs and show clear results of the interest generated by the readers.

6. Social Workplace Award  

This award is about demonstrating social media excellence in the workplace and is not specific to any particular platform. The winning entry should demonstrate excellent use of social media to in the workplace whether that’s HR, recruiting, collaboration, employee engagement or building corporate culture. 

7. Excellence in Engagement – Non-Profit  

This award is about building community and is not specific to any particular platform. The winning entry should demonstrate the best use of social media to engage and build community in a relevant way.

8. Excellence in Engagement – Individual  

This award is about building community and is not specific to any particular platform. The winning entry should demonstrate the best use of social media to engage and build community in a relevant way.

9. Excellence in Social Media by a Student (or student group)

This award is for work that is done by a student or group of students s in the context of a class in an accredited educational institution. The work is not judged on commercial results. Student work will be evaluated more on innovation, passion and ambition. Students push the boundaries  of what is acceptable in the professional world. The work will be judged more on the idea than its execution.

Nominations close on April 1, 2013.

The co-founders of Social Media Camp, Chris Burdge and Paul Holmes, are pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 West Coast Social Media Awards, also known as “Coasties”.

The judges panel included: Jay Baer, Convince and Convert; Sean Moffitt, Wikibrands; Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD., hummingbird604.com; Simon Salt, The IncSlingers; Scott Stratten, UnMarketing; and Angela Crocker, Beachcomber Communications.

“We are really excited to announce the winners of the West Coast Social Media Awards,” said Paul Holmes, co-founder of Social Media Camp. “The awards showcase some of the amazing work created by members of our online community.”

The winners were revealed on Friday, June 8, 2012 at an awards dinner, emceed by Erica Ehm, founder/publisher of www.YummyMummyClub.ca.

Winners for the 2012 West Coast Social Media Awards include:

• Best Business Blog: SeaChange Canadian Gifts The blog is noted as having several contributors and yet has a unified voice that seems to come from corporate culture. For more information, visit http://seachangecanadiangifts.ca/blog/.
• Best Facebook Page: Keep a Breast Canada The Facebook page is noted as having links to multiple channels including a fundraising applications and links to Pinterest and Instagram. The site actively seeks and encourages interaction with its friends. For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/KABCAN. 
• Best Personal Blog: Blonde on a Budget, Cait Flanders Cait Flanders’ blog is deeply personal, but manages to be engaging with interesting topics and an approachable tone. For more information, visit http://blondeonabudget.ca/. 
• Best Social Media Customer Service Award: Kelly DeJong, London Drugs London Drugs uses twitter to keep in touch with clients by following and commenting on their activities, not just broadcasting sales. They build loyalty through relationships. For more information, visit https://twitter.com/#!/LondonDrugs. 
• Best Student Work: Miguel Strother, Tree Communication Strother combined new media in an attempt to inform, educate and preserve the Haisla language. His innovative use of emerging social media platforms combines ancient First Nations storytelling techniques and modern technology in an exceptional example of the powerful teaching and storytelling capabilities of social media. For more information, visit http://storify.com/TreeComm1/sasquatch-and-the-snake-a-story-in-two-languages. 
• Best Use of Location-Based Marketing: Matt Mazur, Steamworks Brewing Company Steamworks Brewing uses Four Square to reward its friends with samples of their product – - after checkin, the participant receives a note asking what they had to drink. Steamworks then responds via email with a coupon. The push into email keeps the customer in the conversation and refreshes the marketing opportunities. For more information, visit https://foursquare.com/v/steamworks-brewing-company/4aa6bc27f964a520df4a20e3. 
• Best Use of Twitter: Janni Aragon, University of Victoria Janni is funny, authentic and uses her Twitter account to help speak with students and the general community. She promotes her blog via twitter as well. As a professor at the University of Victoria, Janni is a fresh and needed voice in the community. For more information, visit https://twitter.com/#!/janniaragon. 
• Community Builder Award: VibrantVictoria.ca, Mike Kozakowski Vibrant Victoria is a community forum and information hub that uses its social media klout to lead to civic policy changes, real-estate development amendments and the formation of various social media groups across the capital region. For more information, visit http://vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/. 
• Derek K. Miller Award (Formerly “Most Inspiring Social Media User” Award): Kris Krug. Kris Krug is a photographer by profession and a prolific tweeter and social media user who uses his network to discuss serious issues and also speak to friends down the block. Kris’ art inspires and delights. Even though he has more than 17,000 followers online, Kris makes followers feel like he is there for each one of them. For more information, visit https://twitter.com/#!/kk. 
• KOOL FM – Koolest Social Media: Dylan Benson KOOL FM used their social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, to invite their followers and listeners to cast votes for the “koolest” use of social media. This year’s winner was Dylan Benson. To connect with the “koolest” winner, visit https://twitter.com/#!/dylanbenson 
• Most Innovative Social Media Product or Technology: Hashcaster Hashcaster is a social media dashboard that aggregates information across media. A judge commented that Hashcaster has the chance to become the breakout industry standard product. For more information, visit http://www.hashcaster.com/ or view the dashboard in action at http://smc.hashcaster.com/home

Finalists in each category will now be evaluated by the judges panel that includes: Jay Baer, Convince and Convert; Sean Moffitt, Wikibrands; Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD., hummingbird604.com; Simon Salt, The IncSlingers; Scott Stratten, UnMarketing; and Angela Crocker, Beachcomber Communications

“We are really excited to announce a strong list of finalists for the West Coast Social Media Awards,” said Paul Holmes, co-founder of Social Media Camp. “The awards showcase some of the most engaging and involved members of our online community.”

One winner in each category will be revealed on Friday, June 8, 2012 at the awards dinner at the Victoria Conference Centre, emceed by Erica Ehm, and as part of a plated dinner and musical entertainment with the Doug Farr Quartet.

Finalists for the 2012 West Coast Social Media Awards include:

• Best Business Blog:  Small Business Success – Blue Beetle Books Inc.; Genumark; Redbird Communications; SeaChange Canadian Gifts; ClariceCoty.com
• Best Facebook Page: Arbutus Ridge Golf Club; Keep a Breast Canada; SweetArt Supplies; I ❤ Downtown Victoria
• Best Personal Blog: Blonde on a Budget; Play In Victoria; Delicious Juice Dot Com; BC BuzZ; Figure/Ground Communication
• Best Social Media Customer Service Award: Scott McDonald, Rocky Mountain Soap Co.; Tatiana Chabeaux-Smith, Consumer Protection BC; Erin Kelly, Pacific Culinary Institute; Kelly DeJong, London Drugs; Dane Low, Cactus Club Café
• Best Student Work: Britny McGInnis, Creative Plume; Geoff Sharpe, University of Victoria; Miguel Strother, Tree Communication;
• Best Use of Location-Based Marketing: Matt Mazur, Steamworks Brewing Company; Sam Jones, 2% Jazz
• Best Use of Twitter: Breathe Now; Sean Dhillon, Mortgage Advisor; Andrew Gage, West Coast Environmental Law; Janni Aragon, University of Victoria
• Community Builder Award: HarbourLiving.ca, Mindi Pettitt; VibrantVictoria.ca, Mike Kozakowski; Social Media Is Simple, Brenda Burch Dumont; Figure/Ground Communication, Laureano Ralon; theorem.ca, Dan Pollock;
• Derek K. Miller Award (Formerly “Most Inspiring Social Media User” Award): Nikki Thibodeau; Terri Daviesl; Bif Naked; Dave Reynolds; Kris Krug. For more info on Derek K. Miller, visit http://www.penmachine.com/.
• Kool FM – Koolest Social Media: Kimli Welsh; Hudson Mack; Scott McDonald; Dan Parks; Dylan Benson
• Most Innovative Social Media Product or Technology: Hashcaster; 1stView; YUPIQ; MeetMeme; CornerSign
• Social Media Campaign of the Year: RevenueWire; Saanich Dental Group; Dave Reynolds

See the full list here. 

I felt pretty silly going to collect an award for looking goofy, but when I attended the award ceremony and heard heart warming stories, and learned of the amazing and interesting ways that the other winners use social media, I felt honored to be on the same list as the other winners. “

West Coast Social Media Awards

• Jay Baer, author of the NOW Revolution along with co-author; 
• Sean Moffitt, co-author and managing director of Wikibrands; 
• Raul Pacheco-Vega, Vancouver-based researcher, educator and consultant also known on-line by the moniker Hummingbird604; and 
• Simon Salt, founder and CEO of International IncSlingers and author ofSocial Location Marketing
• And two additional judges to be announced soon. 

The only award that won’t go to the judging panel is ‘The Koolest Use of Social Media,‘ which will be judged entirely by the public as a listener’s choice award coordinated by Victoria, BC radio station 107.3 KOOL FM.

On Friday, June 8, 2012, the award winners will be revealed at an evening event moderated by former rock and roll TV host turned digital publisher, Erica Ehm. The second annual West Coast Social Media Awards are held in conjunction with Social Media Camp, one of the leading social media learning events in North America.  

I pushed hard for best blog – George McGovern at the Miami Convention-hard – and more or less forgot about my Twitter nomination; mostly because a great deal of time and effort goes into my blog posts whereas I regard my tweets as you might cigarette butts. When the votes were counted, despite (or perhaps because of, if my Catholic grandmother is to be believed) my stuffing the ballot box more than a 15-year-old does his trousers “Best Blog” went to Culture Vulture Victoria and I won the award which I had ignored entirely except to vote for someone else.

Standing in front of the crowd at the Victoria Convention Centre on awards night I was struck by a funny notion – as much as I disdained Twitter it was the only reason I’d had the opportunity to stand in front of a crowd and accept something without a stern voice saying, “the jury is dismissed” afterward. Taking that thought further, it’s not a stretch to say that social media is the only reason my site has the readership it does. That realization makes the Westie on my shelf mean a whole lot more.

If you’re looking to increase the readership on your site, expand your social media skills or just network with other people enthusiastic to get their message out there then check out this year’s Social Media Camp.

Since I work from home, I am on social media ALL THE TIME. My name is Yukari Peerless and I am aware that some people consider me an over-share in social media.

So for me, it was extremely humbling to receive a Coastie award last year. Wow! Soon it’ll be a year since I won the Coastie for Most Likely to Become a Social Media Celebrity at Victoria’s 2011 Social Media Camp! The award is proudly sitting right in front of my desk, a place where I see it every day.

Since winning the Coastie, I have been chosen to be the Brand Ambassador for All Nippon Airways (ANA)’s Inspiration of Japan service. In fact, I just got back from a trip to Japan with some real social media celebrities like Neal Schaffer, Cali Lewis and John Pozadzides.

I wear many, many hats. I write a blog at yukaripeerless.ca. I’m the owner of Lucid Communication.  I’m a busy single mom of two boys. I am one of the co-founders of Breathe Now—a conference to celebrate women, coming up on April 14th and 15th, 2012. Additionally, I am a co-host of the YouTube show, Getting Engaged-Online, In Life, and At Work. My “Social Media Husband,” Russel Lolacher and I have been doing the show for about a year and a half.

Lucid Communication, among other services, helps Japanese international students find language schools and place to live. I offer Japanese/English translation. I plan events such as weddings for people coming to Victoria to get married. I’m a production assistant for Japanese TV/Film crews coming to BC.

The pleasant surprise that came with this award was being able to connect with Sean Moffitt, who is one of the judges from last year. I had no idea that the judges were monitoring my—I’m assuming—my Twitter account. He was very kind to tell me that he liked what he saw. Of course, I am not on social media to sell something or to get a good score per se, but still, it was very kind of him to mention that. We’ve been good friends ever since and catching up over FB chat has become our routine.

Thank you Coastie for the honor, and best of luck to all the nominees for 2012! I can’t wait to see you all at Social Media Camp.

A born multi-tasker, Ehm will host the awards Friday night, and then takes a turn at the podium as keynote speaker on Saturday at the Social Media Camp conference which is held concurrently.

“I went from rock’n roll to rocking a cradle” says Ehm, who has created an online community for mothers struggling with the reality of being a modern parent. “As the site grew I immersed myself in social media when I realized there was a digital audience craving lessons on how to keep the woman in the mom.”  The YummyMummyClub.ca website has multiple bloggers and is a powerful resource for women who see the world through the prism of motherhood.

With her well known cheeky and playful nature, award ceremony attendees can expect to hear about Ehm’s personal experiences with starting and running a successful digital media company.