The Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences announced its Shorty Award finalists Wednesday morning for its sixth-annual social media-themed awards, with big names such as Lena Dunham, Albert Brooks and Sir Ian McKellen making the cut.
The awards recognize the best of social media in categories ranging from entertainment to technology and innovation, all complete with a hashtag, of course. Getting in the spirit of the awards, McKellen even retweeted his award’s announcement:
@aaronpaul_8, @ianmckellen & @levarburton Congrats on being chosen by the Shorty Awards nominating board! http://t.co/53ryen1z1N
— Shorty Awards (@shortyawards) February 5, 2014
The nominating board, which is comprised of journalists, announces three finalists per each of the 44 categories. Another four for each category are determined by popular vote — i.e. via tweets. Although the nominating board has made its announcements, popular voting continues until Feb. 18.
Two people have been nominated for multiple categories: Questlove for both #singer & #music and Aaron Paul for #actor & #celebrity. But new to the show this year are the categories best Instagram video of the year and #Vineographer.
The Shorty Awards take place on April 7 at the TimesCenter in New York.
Here is the full list of nominees:
ENTERTAINMENT
#Actor
Aaron Paul
Joshua Malina
Orlando Jones
#Actress
Felicia Day
Lena Dunham
Retta Sirleaf
#Celebrity
Aaron Paul
Sir Ian McKellen
LeVar Burton
#Comedian
Albert Brooks
Julie Klausner
Patton Oswalt
#Director
Edgar Wright
Paul Feig
Rian Johnson
#FakeAccount
Fake AP Stylebook
Kim Kierkegaardashian
Modern Seinfeld
#Fansite
News For TV Majors
Pottermore
Supernatural Wiki
#Music
Amanda Palmer
Questlove Jenkins
Yoko Ono
#NonHuman
Cancellation Bear
Cute Emergency
Self Aware ROOMBA
#Singer
Ben Folds
Josh Groban
Questlove Jenkins
#TVShow
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Orphan Black
Scandal
NEWS & MEDIA
#Athlete
Billie Jean King
Brandon McCarthy
Tom Daley
#Food
David Lebovitz
Food 52
J. Kenji López-Alt
Newsworthy Photo of the Year
Roberto Luigi
Fabio M. Ragona
Tyler Wakstein
#SocialFitness
Gretchen Reynolds
Leslie Barker
Tyler Graham
#SportsTeam
Los Angeles Dodgers
New York Mets
San Diego Chargers
#Weird
Biorhythmist
Darth
The Iron Sheik
TECH & INNOVATION
#Apps
Around the Way App
Digg
Magic Recs
#Blogger
Emily Willingham
Maryn McKenna
Terrance Gaines
#Gaming
Chelsea Stark
The Escapist
Polygon
#Maker
Becky Stern
DIY
Adafruit Industries
#Podcaster
This American Life
Night Vale
RadioLab
#Science
Black Girls Code
I F*cking Love Science
Neil deGrasse Tyson
#SmallBusiness
The Brooklyn Circus
The Hay Merchant
She’s the First
Tumblr of the Year
Smart Girls at the Party
Quantified Breakup
The Worst Room
#WebShow
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Derek Muller
Henry Reich
ARTS & DESIGN
#Art:
Artsy
Molly Crabapple
Rachel Ryle
#Author
Anne Lamott
Margaret Atwood
Neil Gaiman
#Fashion
Bill Cunningham
Claire Sulmers
Leandra Medine
#GIFMaker
Ann Friedman
Tim Burke
Trent Nelson
GIF of the Year
Pizza Cat by GIFAK.net
Matrix Cat by Prannisment
Boston Blizzard GIF via ThisIsUnique
Instagram Video of the Year
Burberry’s Slow-Motion Fashion Walk
Liviasala
Starbucks Drake Hands
#Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
Museum Nerd
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)
#Photography
David Guttenfelder
Liz Eswein
Pete Souza
#VideoBlogger
Chris Pirillo
Jullien Gordon
Ryan Higa
#Vineographer
Cody Johns
Cupcake Dude
Pinot
#YouTubeStar
Harley Morenstein
Jenna Marbles
Kid Fury
GLOBAL ISSUES
#Activism
Brady Campaign
The Elders
Smart Gun Laws
#Charity
Charity Water
The Nature Conservancy
Oxfam International
#Education
ESL Library
Ron Clark
StudyMode
#Government
Cory Booker
David Cameron
NASA Goddard
#Green
350 Dot Org
Green For You
Sustainable Cities
COUNTRIES
#Brazil
Midia Ninja
Porta dos Fundos
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
#UK
Caitlin Moran
Empire of the Kop
Liverpool FC