The 9th Annual Shorty Awards, honoring the best in social media, took place on April 23, 2017, at the PlayStation Theater (also referred to as The Times Center) in New York City. The ceremony was hosted by two-time Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian Tony Hale, with a musical performance by Lizzo.
Background
The Shorty Awards (also known as "The Shortys") are awards for outstanding and innovative work in digital and social media content by brands, advertising agencies, and creators. The 9th edition recognized achievements across platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Periscope, Snapchat, and Musical.ly.
Nominations were announced on January 17, 2017, with public voting closing on February 16, 2017. Finalists were announced on March 2, 2017. Winners were determined by rankings from The Real Time Academy, as well as votes from fans via social media.
New categories introduced at the 9th Shorty Awards included Muser of the Year (recognizing Musical.ly influencers), Breakout YouTuber, Vlogger of the Year, House & Home, and Twitch Streamer of the Year.
Influencer Winners (Selected Categories)
Arts & Entertainment:
- Best Actor: Ryan Reynolds
- Best Actress: Kristen Bell
- Best Celebrity: Chrissy Teigen
- Best Comedian: Elijah Daniel & Christine Sydelko
- Best in Dance: 1Million Dance Studio
- Best in Music: (not specified in available sources)
- Best TV Show: Orange Is the New Black
Content:
- Emoji of the Year: Middle Finger 🖕
- GIF of the Year: Mr. Peanut's Dab
- Instagram of the Year: Same But Different
- Tumblr Blog of the Year: The Blackout
- Vine of the Year: The Laughing Fox
Creative & Media:
- Animal: Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund
- Art: Timmy Ham
- Fashion: (not specified in available sources)
- Food: (not specified in available sources)
- Health & Wellness: Dana Falsetti
- House & Home: Mr. Kate
- Instagrammer of the Year: Doug the Pug
- Journalist: (not specified in available sources)
- Lifestyle: Kyle Krieger
- Meme/Parody Account: Girl With No Job
- Parenting: Nev Schulman & Laura Perlongo
- Sports: (not specified in available sources)
Team Internet:
- Breakout YouTuber: James Charles
- Muser of the Year: Lisa and Lena
- Snapchatter of the Year: Atlas Acopian
- Viner of the Year: Aaron Chewning (noted as "Last One Ever")
- YouNower of the Year: Absofcourse
- YouTube Comedian: Andrew Lowe
- YouTube Ensemble: Jenna Marbles & Julien Solomita
- YouTube Guru: Carli Bybel (nominee); Nikkie Tutorials (winner per Tubefilter)
- YouTube Musician: Dodie Clark
- YouTuber of the Year: Gigi Gorgeous
Tech & Innovation:
- Activism: (not specified in available sources)
- Gaming: Markiplier
- LGBTQ+ YouTube Channel: Shannon Beveridge
- Periscoper of the Year: Darius Arya
- Podcast: Anna Faris is Unqualified
- STEM: (not specified in available sources)
- Twitch Streamer of the Year: Bob Ross (posthumous)
- Vlogger of the Year: David Dobrik
- Web Series: (not specified in available sources)
- Weird: The Hydraulic Press channel
Special Awards
Vlogging luminary Casey Neistat presented the inaugural Shorty Phenom Award to Karlie Kloss, honoring an individual who used social media to share a resonant story on a global scale.
Brand & Organization Winners
The 9th Shorty Awards also recognized brands and organizations across numerous categories including Integrated Campaign (HBO's Westworld Season 1), Multi-Platform Campaign (Mr. Robot Season 2), Social Good Campaign, Real Time Response (The Sound of Priceless by McCann New York and MasterCard), and many others spanning industries such as entertainment, food & beverage, technology, sports, fashion, and non-profit.
References
- Spangler, Todd. "Shorty Awards 2017: Finalists." Variety, March 2, 2017.
- "Shorty Awards 2017 Nominees Include Ryan Reynolds, Kristen Bell." The Hollywood Reporter, January 17, 2017.
- "Nikkie Tutorials, David Dobrik, Others Honored At Ninth Annual Shorty Awards." Tubefilter, April 24, 2017.
- Wikipedia: Shorty Awards; 9th Shorty Awards.
- Official Shorty Awards website (shortyawards.com).
