The Best of AC: April & May

Every month, our Best of AC Awards honor some of the most accomplished Contributors in a variety of different categories. Today, we're giving a shout out to the talented winners of our April and May 2010 awards!

Best of AC: April

Beauty – Mimi Bullock

Mimi is a Featured Contributor in three categories, with a library of more than 600 pieces of content (including close to 100 expert Beauty guides).

Green Living – Don A. Shepard

Don, a self-titled Humanist Environmentalist, is a Featured Green Contributor and the author of a thought-provoking series of environmental op-eds and how-tos.

Humor – Frank Mucci
The hot button provocations of this sharp-tongued humorist might make you laugh - or they might make your blood boil - but they're sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Best of AC: May

Book Reviews – Mike Powers
Mike is new to the AC community, but he's already attracted a slew of followers and found a home the Featured A&E program with his detailed and insightful book and movie reviews.

Parenting – Lisa Mason
Long time Contributor and work at home mother Lisa Mason has published more than 100 pieces of unique, practical parenting content on AC, including twenty new articles in May.

Weddings – Bronwyn Timmons
Writer, student and bride-to-be Bronwyn Timmons has turned her engagement into an incredibly productive period as a freelancer, publishing close to 100 helpful (often "alternative") wedding guides on Associated Content.

Be sure to stop by each of their profiles, check out some of their content and say Congrats!

The categories for the June Best of AC Awards are Music, Summer Travel and Web Technology. If you know of any Contributors who deserve to be considered for any of these awards - yourself included - head over to the Forum to log your nomination!

April and May Rising Stars Shine Brightly

We're serving up a double helping of Rising Stars on the blog today! Our Rising Stars for April and May are experts in everything from Chemical Engineering to parenting. They do have a couple of things in common, however: All joined Associated Content recently and they're already seeing lots of success.April's Rising Stars include Casey Adams, Becca Grenier, Lisa McNamara, Tony Payne, and Gina Grace. They're sharing their expertise, making friends throughout the community and racking up pageviews. Stop by their pages and check out their great content. They'd appreciate congratulatory messages, too!

In May, our monthly Rising Stars include Nicole Pellegrini, Jillian McCoy, Melanie Patrick, Tom Bradwell and Hope L. Brock. From their libraries of content, you can learn about the film industry, raising toddlers, teaching at-risk students, classic video games and so much more. Don't forget to leave a "Congrats," too!

We're not quite halfway through June and there are already many new Contributors reaching for the stars... the next Rising Stars awards, that is! If you know of a newbie with great potential, stop by the forums to nominate them as a Rising Star for June.

Associated Content Contributor Showcased on Yahoo! Sports

Patrick Michael, a Featured Sports Contributor with a passion for baseball, got a pleasant surprise yesterday when he became the first Associated Content contributor featured on Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo! Sports, the number one sports destination on the Internet, is where millions of fans turn for the latest scores, commentary and analysis, and fantasy games.

Patrick's article, Top Four Clean Players of Dirty Steroid Generation, was selected by Yahoo! Sports for its informative reporting and Patrick's compelling, fun writing style.

Congratulations to Patrick! Stay tuned for future opportunities in connection with Yahoo! and its many popular web properties. Submit your best content and you just might find it featured on one of the hottest sites on the Internet!

Getting Local with Yahoo! News

Before Yahoo! and Associated Content officially joined forces, our companies collaborated on a local news project that enabled Associated Content Contributors from select cities across the U.S. to create original articles for Yahoo! News.

Veteran newspaper reporter and People's Media Award-winning Contributor Michael Thompson was among those who participated in this special project. For Michael, it was a thrilling opportunity to get back on the local beat, see his byline on the Web's most popular news portal and hone his writing skills through direct contact with Associated Content's editors.

Click here to read Michael Thompson's reflection on the experience of creating content for Yahoo! News.

In the near future, scores of additional Associated Content Contributors will have the same opportunity. Get ready!