Jointly sponsored by online small-business magazine, Small Business Trends, and growing-business technology educator, Small Business Technology, and brought to you by BlackBerry®, the 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards honor individuals, organizations and products that have made a positive and lasting impact on the U.S. small-business market this year. Nominations will be accepted now through July 15, 2012.

Nominees are eligible for inclusion in one of six categories:

1. Leaders, including executives, academics, government officials or key employees

2. Corporations, including non-profits, educational institutions and advocacy/support organizations

3. Journalists of all kinds

4. News outlets of all types

5. Apps, including software, SaaS (software as a service), mobile and tablet

6. Experts from a wide range of relevant fields

Upon completion of the nomination period, online voting will take place from July 16 to August 5 at midnight PST. Anyone may vote at a rate of one vote per nominee per day. The Top 100 Small Business Influencers will be announced in mid-August and honored at an Awards Gala in New York City in October of this year.

For more information on this exciting contest and how you can nominate your favorite candidate(s) for this year’s awards, go to “2012 Small Business Influencer Award Nominations” now!