On Sunday, March 15, an overall winner will be announced at an awards show and party at Ballet Austin downtown. It’s open to the public, and I hope that some of my friends who will be in Austin for SXSW will be able to join the celebration. Tickets are on sale now for the event, which will include a cocktail party and an awards show: https://www.tickets.balletaustin.org/public/

I’d like to thank the people who nominated me, and those who took the time to add a comment to my nominations page. Reading the words of my social media peers has been humbling and gratifying. You always like to think you’re making a positive impact; seldom, however, do you have the opportunity to know that first-hand.

I’d also like to thank the Statesman for not turning this into a popularity contest. While the judges will take the comments into consideration when choosing the overall winner, that person will be selected solely on merit and not on how many votes they can garner or how much traffic they drive to the Statesman’s Web site. That’s very refreshing.

To view the profiles of all 25 winners, click here: Texas Social Media Award Winners

Connie Reece and and I joined the Blog Talk Radio program Tech in Twenty to talk about how we are using social media tools….

• for good, like the Frozen Pea Fund for cancer research and
• for business, like our client’s HomeAway Getaway contest for bloggers, photographers and video bloggers.

Here’s the link if you’d like to listen on Blog Talk Radio, or download the podcast:  Tech in Twenty – Using Social Media

There’s further discussion on Daily Slackr as well.

More from Every Dot Connects

• Our Team
• Our Advisors
• Connie Reece interview on FIR

Congratulations to reader Alexis….

Random.org chose his comment as the winning number, so he’ll get a copy of Age of Conversation 2 – Why Don’t They Get It? autographed by both Connie Reece and me.

Thanks for playing!

Our client Homeaway is sponsoring a Getaway contest, a dream vacation worth up to $5,000, to the blogger, videographer or photographer who creates the most compelling answer to this question: Why do you need a getaway, and where would you like to spend it?

Oy, I wish I could enter this contest. The whole time Sheila Scarborough and I have been helping the HomeAway team put this contest together, my imagination has run wild. Travel is something I rarely get to do–for pleasure, that is; I’ve done a fair bit of travel this year to speak at conferences.

But a real vacation? The kind without succumbing to the tuneful ring of a cell phone or squelching the urge to check email every hour? Haven’t had one of those in five long years. A day off here and there, maybe a long weekend, that’s it.

Oh, and sick days. Had quite a few of those. 2008 has been a year of struggle health-wise: I’ve battled an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, undiagnosed autoimmune disorder, and a back injury. Then there was selling the family homestead and moving my mom out of the house where she’d lived for 38 years into a house with me and my sister. Combining 3 households took 2 estate sales, 2 garage sales, and trips to auction houses and consignment stores as well as donations to the Salvation Army.

How’s that for a sob story for why I need a getaway? Well, at least you can understand why I’ve been daydreaming about where I’d go for my dream vacation.

First choice: a sweet little château in the south of France.

I studied at the Université de Clermont-Ferrand the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college, and I have always wanted to go back to France someday. Here’s a lovely place I found on the HomeAway site–a charming little castle (in fact, that’s its name) with 7 bedrooms and 5 baths. (Not too big; I wouldn’t want to appear pretentious!)

The Chateau de Charme is a 12th-century castle. Totally restored and modernized, it offers luxury accomodation, inlcuding a private swimming pool. Situated in a rural hilly area where the famous ‘Charolais beef’ is bred and offering panoramic views, the château is 5 minutes away from the medieval village of Charlieu. Many vineyards are nearby–the Beaujolais region is just 30 minutes by car. The local wine is Les Côtes Roannaises.

Second choice: a stylish San Francisco house with panoramic views

A U.S. city I’ve always wanted to visit is San Francisco. HomeAway’s site features vacation rentals from Nob Hill homes to Victorian apartments in Pacific Heights and even a Sausalito houseboat. But the one that captured my eye was this stylish, 3-story, architect-designed house with two killer features: panoramic views of downtown San Francisco as well as the Bay, and a Steinway grand piano in the living room. A Steinway grand–hello!

This home, high on Potrero Hill, would be a perfect spot for a writer’s retreat. I feel creative just looking at the photos! The owner, who lives here when not traveling, says: “There are sweeping views of downtown San Francisco and the Bay from almost every room. The large, open living room has a dramatic marble fireplace, an award-winning staircase, antique Japanese furniture, original art and sculpture, a Steinway grand piano, and a soaring cathedral ceiling with sunlight streaming through the two double French doors, and a huge skylight. The master bedroom, which occupies the entire third floor, has a Japanese-style bath, a wall of glass framing a magnificent view of San Francisco, and a private redwood deck.”

It even has wireless Internet throughout the house. And, this vacation rental is under $3,000 per week–which means that HomeAway would give me $2,000 cash to cover travel expenses!

Oh, wait. I can’t enter the contest. *big sigh*

But you can. Where do you want to go on your dream vacation? You’ve got 120,000+ vacation rental properties to choose from.

I hope you’ll give it a try with a blog post (350 words); a YouTube video (two minutes); or a set of photos on Flickr (up to 10 photos w/ captions of less than 20 words each). You can find more information here: How to Enter the Contest. Just tell us (and the world) why you need a getaway, and where you’d like to spend it. Entries will be accepted through January 7 and voting begins January 8.

If you win, all I ask is that you send me a postcard so I can live vicariously.

More from Every Dot Connects

• Blogging Basics: How to start a blog, and whether you’ll ever make money from it
• 6 ways to improve your destination marketing (and why you’re toast if you don’t)
• Why this travel writer is going on a tech tour in China