The 2013 Be2Awards are coming soon. Nominations for categories, including best AEC collaboration application, close on 6 September
It’s that time of year again. In August last year, I wrote about the second running of the Be2awards: the world’s first awards for social media in the built environment (which I organise). The third Be2Awards are being held as part of the 2013 London Social Media Week, where this year’s theme is Open & Connected – reflecting on the global impact of social media and its role as a catalyst in driving cultural, political, economic and social change.
Nominations for the 2013 BeAwards are now being collated via an open blog platform, and with more than two weeks to go to deadline day (midnight BST, Friday 6 September), we’ve already had over 50 nominations and supporting comments.
As in previous years, the categories include one for best AEC collaboration application. In 2011, this was won by BIW Technologies (which polled just over half of the online vote); last year, it was won by by the same company, now known as Conject (when competition was a little stiffer, including some BIM products, and it earned 39% of the votes). Maybe Conject will be looking to make it a hat-trick? Or will one of its rivals make a stronger case to its online audience?
Other award categories include:
- The Be2 media award
- Best AEC community, network or application
- Best AEC marketing campaign
- Best AEC PR campaign
- Best AEC social media blog
- Best AEC use of Twitter
- Best charity / third sector use of social media
- Best education and learning project
- Best ‘internet of things’ application
- Best location-based AEC application
- Best mobile AEC application – an area where collaboration vendors are increasingly active, of course
- Best sustainability blog
- Best use of photo or video-sharing
- Best use of Web 2.0 for construction products or materials
- Best virtual or hybrid event – won in 2012 by collaboration vendor Asite, for this BIM webinars
- Built environment blogger of the year
Once nominations close, shortlists will be compiled and online voting will then take place, before the awards are announced at a Be2camp ‘unawards’ event in London on Wednesday 25 September. We remain at the Be2camp ‘spiritual home’, the Building Centre (we held our first ‘unconference’ event there in October 2008), and the awards event will include Be2Talks, a learning event featuring some thought-provoking industry speakers on the interfaces between construction and technology, social media and business.
Again, throughout the planning and implementation process, we have been keen to show the power of social media in spreading word of the Be2Awards. There is, of course, a Be2Awards blog (with RSS feed), and you can follow @Be2Awards on Twitter (hashtags: #smwbe2 or #be2awards). If you are interested in helping, please let me know. For example, you can help by tweeting or blogging about the awards, by sponsoring an award, or by nominating someone for an award (yourself, your company, a client, a blogger, a Twitter feed you enjoy, an application that you can’t do without, etc). Of course, awards are great for marketing and public relations, and there are also two categories for PR and marketing professionals. If you work in these fields, this is your chance to be highlighted for your successful use of social media as part of an AEC industry campaign.
(This is an edited version of a blog post first published on my pwcom.co.uk blog.)
