For an award to mean something, it has to be awarded by a group that means something to those receiving the award. It also needs to be chosen by those with some claim to having some expertise. As it stands, getting a best in the art show staff award at a major convention probably means a lot more than getting an Ursa Major award would. They are people who've seen a LOT of art and are maybe not so likely to let relationships or self promotion sway them. An award based on a fairly small number of randos on the internet who may well vote for friends without ever even seeing the other entries is not going to be seen as having much value. One possibility would be to change the way nominations work. Instead of being an open vote, have a panel of those who've been in the fandom a while chose the pieces up for nomination. Perhaps best in show pieces from the major cons would get an automatic entry. At least that would stop some of the self promoting to get pieces nominated. Look at the Oscars. They aren't chosen by random people on the street. They are chosen by those with a great deal of knowledge and love of the motion picture medium. Often films many of us haven't even heard of get nominated because they were well done even if they didn't get a lot of hype.
For an award to mean something, it has to be awarded by a group that means something to those receiving the award. It also needs to be chosen by those with some claim to having some expertise. As it stands, getting a best in the art show staff award at a major convention probably means a lot more than getting an Ursa Major award would. They are people who've seen a LOT of art and are maybe not so likely to let relationships or self promotion sway them. An award based on a fairly small number of randos on the internet who may well vote for friends without ever even seeing the other entries is not going to be seen as having much value. One possibility would be to change the way nominations work. Instead of being an open vote, have a panel of those who've been in the fandom a while chose the pieces up for nomination. Perhaps best in show pieces from the major cons would get an automatic entry. At least that would stop some of the self promoting to get pieces nominated. Look at the Oscars. They aren't chosen by random people on the street. They are chosen by those with a great deal of knowledge and love of the motion picture medium. Often films many of us haven't even heard of get nominated because they were well done even if they didn't get a lot of hype.