This article is part of the Open Web Awards, an open, international contest for the best websites and services.

In the week since kicking off the voting round of The Open Web Awards, there have been nearly 40,000 votes cast across our 26 different categories. In Social News, last year’s winner Digg is seeing strong competition from upstarts HubDub and HARO (Help a Reporter Out). Most of the other nominees are still within striking distance too, making voting and stumping for your favorite especially important. Here’s a quick look at the competitors:

VOTE OFTEN: One Vote Per Category Per Day

Now it's time to vote for your favorite social news site in the first of two voting rounds. You can vote for one company per day until midnight on November 30th.

Feel free to embed this widget on your own blog or website by clicking the "Grab This" button! For a timeline, rules and information on our 100 blog partners, please visit the Open Web Awards site.

Top Tip For Nominees

You got through? Congratulations! Did you know you can create a custom version of our voting widget above to post to your company blog or website? Just visit the Open Web Awards Widget Creator and check the box to preset a category or company. This means your fans only need to enter an email address to vote - simple!

Start Canvassing for YOUR Candidate!

Want others to vote for your favorite site? Of course you do! Why not leave a comment here and on any of our international partner blogs encouraging other readers to add their support? The more you promote your candidate across these blogs, the more likely it is for your site to proceed to the finals!

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The Open Web Awards is made possible by our sponsors. By supporting the Open Web Awards, these companies reward and encourage innovative web technologies. We can't thank them enough for sharing our passion: building great web companies.

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