You know, around here we love to communicate with you out there on “The Internets”. This blog has grown into a communications channel that offers customers advice on running a small business, events that are coming to their town, coverage of events they might not make it to or be aware of and most of all information about the state of things here at Network Solutions.

We have been recognized for this and we not just talking “happy about it and cheering in our cubicle” proud, but like “bouncing off the walls, giving hi-fives to complete strangers” proud.

This is all because you like us, you really, really like us.

We have been notified that Network Solutions is a finalist for the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) 2008 Excellence in New Communications Awards program. Our entry is in the ‘Online Reputation Management’ category.

What this basically means to the non-PR buzzword people (which is about 99.98% of you) is that not only have we provided a resource for our current and future customers, we have used this blog and social media services like Twitter to communicate with people about issues that are crucial to their use of Network Solutions as your service provider. When it comes to reputation management in today’s environment, bad rumors or news can circulate fast so there must be a way to quickly communicate news and/or responses to customers.

In 2008, Roy Dunbar took the helm as CEO of Network Solutions and put a premium on communicating more clearly and openly with stakeholders.

As a result, the social media team at Network Solutions was given the important task of building a bridge with an ever-growing net-savvy audience is an important goal. A plan has been put into place to communicate with customers & work towards changing this perception. This is being accomplished in a number of ways including providing excellent customer service on Twitter & elsewhere on the web.

Society for New Communications Research is dedicated to creating a bridge between the academic and theoretical pursuit of these topics and the pragmatic implementation of new media and communications tools and methodologies. They offer research, education, events & information on best practices.

The Society’s Symposium & Awards Gala will be held on Friday, November 14th at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, MA. This event will feature the presentation of the Society’s Fellows’ latest research projects and winning case studies from around the world through the Society’s awards program. Attendees will hear about the latest research on new media and communications, social media, ICT and mobile media. Later that evening, the Society will hold a gala dinner to honor the winners of the 2008 Excellence in New Communications Awards. Each year SNCR presents these prestigious awards to honor corporations, governmental and nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, media outlets, and individuals who are innovating the use of social media, ICT, mobile media, online communities and virtual worlds and collaborative technologies in the areas of business, media, and professional communications, including advertising, marketing, public relations and corporate communications, as well as entertainment, education, politics, and social initiatives. In addition, the SNCR Fellows will honor their choices for the SNCR Visionary of the Year, Innovator of the Year and Brand of the Year.

Detailed program agenda information & online registration is available at: http://sncr.org/symposium08/

In mid August Steve blogged about the redesigned Network Solutions Website. Having a presence online is one thing, but Network Solutions not only relies on it’s website, but also provides it’s customers with the resources to create their own. So it’s only natural that our website should set a high standard & serve as an exceptional example.

The Web Marketing Association has done just that by announcing that they have given Network Solutions the 2008 Outstanding Website Award for it’s innovative and elegant storefront design! There were 2,400 entries from 45 countries around the world competing.

The process for selection was that the site was presented to a panel of three judges who were assuming the role as a customer. After the presentation the site was evaluated based on seven different criteria.

Sophie Shiatis Delpierre, Vice President of Web Sales & Online Marketing for Network Solutions said “Our scores were very high in the areas of content, technology, interactivity and copywriting, which demonstrates that our site achieves its main purpose by providing an excellent experience for our customers.”

This is the twelfth year of the WebAwards & it’s the premier competition that gauges the excellence of sites on the web.

More information can be found in the press release.