One of the city’s major news and entertainment weekly, the Houston press,  had it’s first-ever Houston Web Awards, on June 30 at Momentum Audi . As a way to honor those web-savvy “folks who are playing the social media game in Houston correctly, the ones who are helping steer the ship, one Facebook status update and 140-character tweet at a time.” And I’m proud to say we made the cut! The AIGA Houston chapter accepted the “Best Arts Blog” award.

John Luu, April Guzik, Monica Yael Garcia, Nurit Avni

According to Houston Press  the “AIGA’s Houston bloggers find the beauty in everything: QR codes, animal shelters, Houston’s haphazard attempts at architectural preservation. The result is a blog that’s as entertaining to read as it is pleasant to look at.” Truly a blushing moment for all of us who humbly contribute our thoughts and perspectives to all of you in cyberspace.

At first I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean Houston Press is known for it’s brash and carefree attitude, but hosting an awards ceremony at a car dealership? Driving down Richmond towards Kirby on the day of the event  I couldn’t help but wonder what we all were about to experience.  But as I stepped through those sleek glass doors was taken aback. This definitely personified the Houston Press and the direction our city is taking — a mish-mash of high tech and creativity.

Ooh La La Desserts cake pops

From cupcake pops to a large screen streaming real-time tweets about the event (#HWA) Houston Press successfully united online friends and all those award-winning movers and shakers under one roof. “Awards were presented by the Houston Press staff, special guest Fat Tony, High Tech Texan Michael Garfield, the Geek Radio guys of Technology Bytes, and a tag team of Houston Roller Derby girls.”  A summer night to remember.

April, John, Nurit, Jessica and myself really appreciate all the love and recognition, so thanks for reading and following the AIGA Houston Blog. Looking forward to next year’s #HoustonWebAwards!

Click on the “Read more” link to check out the rest of the winners and some more pic of the event (courtesy of the Marco Torres and houstonpress.com).

Fat Tony

THE WINNERS

Best Local Activism Site
SaveKTRU.org www.savektru.org

Best Start-Up Blog
Do713.com
www.do713.com

Best Sports Blog
Crawfish Boxes
www.crawfishboxes.com

Best Sex Bloggers
Mr. and Mrs. Gentlenibbles
www.gentlenibbles.com

Best Flickr Pool
Houston Museum of Natural Science
www.flickr.com/groups/hmns

Best Use of Video in Entertainment
Keep Houston Rich
keephoustonrich.com/khr

Best Wi-Fi Spot
Bungalow Coffee
1219 Marconi, Houston
www.facebook.com/bungalowjava

Best Real Estate Blog
Swamplot
swamplot.com

Best-Designed Site
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts
www.mitchellcenterforarts.org
Best Use of Facebook to Promote a Business

MMM Cupcake
www.facebook.com/MMMCupcakeTruck

Best Twitterer
Merritt Beck
@merrittbeck

Best Breaking News/Bloodhound Twitterer
Kyle Nielsen
@kylejack

Best Use of Twitter by a Restaurant
Hubcap Grill
@hubcap_grill

Best Food Blog
Blue Jean Gourmet
bluejeangourmet.com

Best Use of Video in Food
I Love Flavor
iloveflavor.com

Best Restaurant Web Site
Hugo’s
www.hugosrestaurant.net

Best Use of Twitter by a Bartender
Justin Burrow
@beardandbitters

Best Use of Twitter by a Food Truck
Eatsie Boys
@eatsieboys

Best Use of Twitter by a Chef
Carlos Rodriguez
@c_e_rodriguez

Best Use of Facebook by a Restaurant
Moon Tower Inn
www.facebook.com/moontowerinn

Best Hashtag
#hounews

Best Personal Blog
Juan Alanis
www.juanofwords.com

Best Use of Facebook by a Band or Musician
the last place you look
www.facebook.com/thelastplaceyoulook

Best Locally Built App
MoneyWell for iPhone by No Thirst Software
nothirst.com/moneywell

Best Neighborhood Blog
The Heights Life
theheightslifehouston.blogspot.com

Best Arts Blog
AIGA Houston
aigahouston.net

Best Politics Blog
Brewtiful
www.brewtiful.com

Best Rush-Hour Traffic Twitterer
Houston TranStar
@houstontranstar

Best Use of Facebook to Promote a Personal Brand
BrandExtract
www.facebook.com/brandextract

Best Houston Music Blog
Houston Calling/David Cobb
houstoncalling.net

Best Late Night Twitterer
Allison Matsu
@allisonhiromi

Best Rapper Twitterer
Slim Thug
@slimthugga

Best Use of Twitter to Promote a Personal Brand
Andrew Karnavas
@andrewkarnavas

Best Tweet of the Year
Jay Rascoe
@gunsandtacos
“Houston is the greatest city on Earth, if you know what you’re doing.”

Best Photo of the Year
Phosphorescence by OneEighteen on Flickr