Social Network for Cancer to Crowdsource Webby Award Speech
If you could send cancer a message in 5 words, what would you say?
NEW YORK, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- When IHadCancer.com won the Best Community Website from The Webby Awards in 2012, it was a shock to their small team. They were a brand new social networking site, run by a group of people that could be counted on one hand, up against industry giants like Google and Tumblr. As the only cancer community nominated, winning the award was not only a huge win for them, but also for the cancer community as a whole.
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Upon winning the award, IHadCancer channeled their excitement into a campaign called #5Words2Cancer, inspired by The Webby Award's famous five-word acceptance speeches. They asked their community what they would say to cancer if they only had five words. The response was huge, and for the two years since, they have received hundreds upon hundreds of #5words2cancer submissions. The site and its community has grown significantly and powerfully since 2012, but with 1.5 million people diagnosed each year, there are still millions more who need to be reached.
That's why this year, in honor of their third Webby Award nomination, IHadCancer has decided to turn the campaign into something bigger. If they win "Best Community Website" again, not only will they will use the Grand Prize winner's #5words2cancer as their acceptance speech, but they will also fly the winner to NYC to join them in celebrating this great honor for the cancer community. By crowdsourcing their acceptance speech, they hope to bring a whole new meaning to the word "community." Regardless of whether or not IHadCancer wins the award, four finalists will receive Misfit Wearable Shine physical activity trackers, one winner will win an iPad, and more importantly, hundreds of messages to cancer will be broadcasted to the world.
The founder of IHadCancer, Mailet Lopez, hopes to be able to give others a voice through this contest and to show the world just how strong the cancer community is.
"When you're diagnosed with cancer, you feel like you lose control of your life and especially your voice," Lopez said. "The goal of this contest is to give every survivor, fighter and supporter that control back. It's an opportunity to spread the message that no one is alone. Five words can be a lot more powerful than you'd expect."
Lopez built the website after her own bout with breast cancer in 2008, to alleviate the fear of not knowing what's next. She leveraged the resources of her agency, Squeaky Wheel Media, to design and develop the revolutionary website in New York City.
Anthony Del Monte, the co-founder of IHadCancer and founder of Squeaky Wheel Media, never expected to be nominated for a Webby award once, let alone three times. "We're a very small team up against some really big dogs, so to be nominated three years in a row is a great honor, but this isn't about IHadCancer or Squeaky," Del Monte said. "It's about the people who IHadCancer touches on a daily basis. All that we hope to get out of this is a collection of powerful images and messages that make people think twice about what it means to be a cancer survivor and encourages others to share their story with the world – whether they do so in five words or 5,000."
Entering the contest is easy. From now until April 22nd, anyone can share their five words on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #5words2cancer. The IHadCancer team will pick four finalists on April 23rd and then open up the final voting to the public on Facebook. The Grand Prize winner will be announced on April 28th, the day before the IHadCancer team finds out if they won this year's Webby award. For full rules and regulations, please visit www.ihadcancer.com/contest.
To vote for IHadCancer as Best Community Website, please visit http://wbby.co/a1HC.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Emily Giegerich at (212) 994-5270 or [email protected].
About IHadCancer.com
IHadCancer.com is a cancer support community that empowers people to take control of life before, during and after cancer. Cancer can be isolating and scary, and IHadCancer.com allows cancer fighters, survivors and their supporters to find real support and real answers from those who have been there. Members can search the community by diagnosis, age, gender, location, year of diagnosis, and type of user. Because with 1.5 million people diagnosed each year, there is no reason for anyone to have to feel alone.
About Squeaky Wheel Media
Squeaky Wheel Media is a digital interactive agency specializing in web-based ideas, design, and development. Located in New York City, Squeaky is an independent minority-owned company committed to assisting clients with their business and communication objectives by creating award-winning designs and developing interactive user experiences.
RELATED LINKS
http://www.ihadcancer.com/5words2cancer
SOURCE IHadCancer.com
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