TechCrunch recently announced the nominees for The Europas, the awards ceremony celebrating technology innovation in European companies, to be held in London on July 9th.  I was excited to learn that one of my clients, ShoZu, was nominated for the Best Mobile Application in EMEA (shameless plug: you can vote for them in this category here).

While browsing the list of The Europas nominees, I noticed TechCrunch doesn’t provide company descriptions or links to each company’s website or page on CrunchBase.  I can’t imagine anyone besides the guys from TechCrunch and maybe a few VCs being intimately familiar with all of these companies (and I can’t imagine anyone besides me being interested enough to research such a long list).  So, to help you make a semi-informed decision before voting, I’ve done some company research for you.  Below you’ll find URLs, descriptions and CrunchBase listings for The Europas tech company nominees (Note: I have not included descriptions for the VC or founder awards). (more…)

I’m helping get the word out about a contest that the MOTODEV team at Motorola (one of my clients) is running.

If you’re a widget developer, give mobile a whirl and join the MOTODEV Widget Developer Challenge for the opportunity to win up to $200,000 in great prizes and gain unprecedented global exposure.

SUBMIT your widget NOW –  Be one of the first 100 unique submissions received by December 18, 2008, and win a $250 gift card to Amazon.com.  Click here to learn more.

Treemo is a social networking site that’s all about digital expression – “sharing digital media, empowering self-expression, and transforming creativity into action” by creating and sharing video, audio, photography, words, and visual art.  I like Treemo because there is an emphasis not only on creativity but also on mobile

Yesterday, Treemo launched the “Alicia Keys – As I Am” contest, benefiting the charity, “Keep a Child Alive.”

Keep a Child Alive is an urgent response to the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa. With more than 28 million dead and 15 million orphaned, the disease continues, wiping out whole societies, threatening economic infrastructure and creating tragic family devastation. Keep a Child Alive provides life-saving medication, support, and orphan care, to keep these children and families alive. Keep a Child Alive gives 100% of public donations to it’s cause.

For every contest entry, Treemo will donate $1 (up to $10,000) to Keep a Child Alive.  To enter, upload a photo, video, image or text message to the site that explains why you or one of your friends is a “Superworman.”  If you’re a Treemo user, go to the registration page, or text an explanation to: 873366. Click here to sign up for a Treemo account.

The grand prize winner will receive a VIP All Access Trip for 2 to an Alicia Keys concert.  And, one finalist will receive an iPod Touch, an Autographed “As I Am” Alicia Keys album, and a Alicia Keys poster.

My client, ShoZu, has been nominated in the Crunchies Award as Best Mobile Start-up.

This award is co-produced by TechCrunch, Read/Write Web, VentureBeat and GigaOm.  Major sponsors include: Adobe, Microsoft, Sun and a few venture funds.

Please head to the voting link, http://vote.crunchies.techcrunch.com/ scroll to the mobile category and vote for ShoZu.  You can vote once and day, so please take the time to vote as many times as you can!

Voting ends January 10. The awards will be announced January 18.

Mashable in conjunction with PhotoBucket is hosting “The Social Networking Awards” and is asking you to vote on your favorite mainstream social networking site. The nominees are:

• MySpace
• Friendster
• Multiply
• hi5
• Piczo
• Tagworld
• Bebo
• Tagged
• Orkut
• Xanga
• Facebook
• Facebox
• LinkedIn
• Vox

To vote, click HERE.

I voted for Vox because I use it so often, but each of the nominees has its strengths.  As I look at the list, I keep thinking that the old phrase “It’s not where you are but who you’re with” is as true in social networking as it is in life.  While I’ve experimented with a lot of the above sites, I’ve wound up using Vox and LinkedIn because these are the two sites that I find the most useful for interacting with people who share similar interests.

On a different note – I’m looking for new material for this blog – including new social media sites/services to review.  If you have ideas (topics of interest, products, services, etc.), I’d love to hear them. Email me.

Coming up in next week’s socialmedia blog a review of Brent Hoberman’s new baby – a social networking site for world travelers.