Agency is Global Media Partner and Category Sponsor of Twitter Awards

The finalists have been selected and the Tweets are being counted for the Second Annual Shorty Awards, held at the TheTimesCenter in New York. The awards, dubbed the Oscars of Twitter, honor the best producers of short, real-time content across 26 separate categories, including advertising, customer service, journalism, politics and entertainment. Porter Novelli—an early champion of both the awards and Twitter’s potential to revolutionize communications—sponsored this year’s Advertising category and will provide global media communications for the event.

Out of more than 250,000 nominations—a marked increase from 50,000 last year—six finalists have been selected in each category. Winners will be selected by the Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences, a group of leaders in technology, journalism, business and culture, which includes actress and philanthropist Alyssa Milano, novelist and public radio host Kurt Andersen, Flickr and Hunch co-founder Caterina Fake, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, entertainer and entrepreneur MC Hammer, and New York Times columnist David Pogue, among others.

Notable finalists include Haiti resident and TV presenter Carel Pedre @carelpedre; actor Steven Fry @stevenfry; Grammy Award-winning Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo @ivetesangalo; personal finance TV host and author Suze Orman @SuzeOrmanShow; actor and comedian Marlon Wayans @marlonwayans; and MythBuster co-host Adam Savage @donttrythis. Notable organizations that are finalists include NASA @NASA, Whole Foods @WholeFoods and Sesame Street @sesamestreet.

“Twitter has quickly established itself as the standard in today’s new world order in which real-time communication is no longer the exception but the rule,” said Stephanie Agresta, executive vice president, global director of digital strategy and social media, Porter Novelli. “Brands that want to ensure an authentic and immediate dialogue with their stakeholders must ensure Twitter is an integral part of their communications mix.”

To learn more about the Shorty Awards, visit shortyawards.com.

To learn more about Porter Novelli, go to porternovelli.com.