We won! Tribewanted beats MySpace to pick up 'Best Social Network' at London's Broadcast Digital Media Awards
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Let’s get things straight here. We live on an island in Fiji. We (spear) fish, grow fruit and veg, compost our crap and drink a muddy narcotic and play guitars under the stars. We live the island dream alongside our Fijian family. That’s what we like to do.
And yet last night something very strange happened. We – us islanders – won an award at a posh ceremony in one of London’s most prestigious hotels (its on the home straight of the monopoly board) for ‘best social networking site’. Its a big shiney silver wedge of a trophy, and its got our name on it. To win we had not only to get past a ‘record number of nominations’ to reach the final, we then had to convince the judges (very esteemed lot they were too) that Tribewanted was a more innovative and impactful social networking site than Skins on E4, and hold your breath….MySpace. Yes, we beat MySpace, the world’s biggest online network, in a social networking competition. Bloody hell – how did that happen?
I think its hard to see it from the inside looking out – but here are the reasons the tribe members gave when we entered . I think it happened because we’re trying something different. And its starting to work. Very simply its about using a new and exciting way of communicating to make life better. And we’re not the only ones doing it either.
I’ll be taking the award back to Fiji at the end of the month and presenting it as part of my ‘sevusevu’ to Tui Mali on Vorovoro. I am not sure what he’ll think, but I’m guessing when he was told by Tevita that one day the world would come to his island, even he didn’t imagine it would look like this.
Vinaka’s…
MJ for vision, Liz, Sara, John, Simon, Nics and all at Shine for support, tribe for joining and Fiji for welcoming us home. What a result! Babasiga never felt so good.
Comments
What a fantastic night. There’ll be a write-up on the Forum shortly. Up until the point they said “The winner…. BBC2 Tribewanted”, not one of us thought we were going to win. We all thought myspace had it wrapped up.Just shows – 16 hundred committed tribies and an island of Fijians can do anything when we set our mind to it!
YEAH!!!
And a very loud YEAH!!! to you and MJ Ben without whom this would never have happened!!!
AMAZING and brilliant and a just reward for everything this project has become.
we beat myspace, that’s awesome, this project never ceases to surprise me, shows what a few thousand people can make happen in this world, good things all around :)
WOW Well done everyone . What a fantastic result. To beat Myspace is something special. Onwards and upwards.
So so good!! Just reading the write-up in Broadcast Magazine, and thought I should post some of it here:
“A social network with depth, Tribewanted has become more than your typical online Facebook experience in the two years since its launch…..........In additional to the usual trappings of social networks…...the Tribewanted site has also led to the forging of strong friendships and six engagements. “From its grassroots beginning, it has grown into a huge and long-term idea that shows lives changing through social networking.” The panel’s views have been born out by Tribewanted members themselves. “Unlike other social networks, Tribewanted has a specific goal – provision of a real life environment within which members are able to directly participate at their own comfort level”“
we rock!
love it!
few celebratory bilos in Naqai tonight me thinks….
Mariel- Thanks for posting some of the write up here- Awesome.
Would love to read the whole article, I wonder if we can get it on the site?
Sj
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