The Crunchies, after two successful years, are back to celebrate the entrepreneurs and startups that make technology such an exciting industry. As always, we will be co-hosting the awards — for which nominations are now being accepted — with VentureBeat and TechCrunch. (Check out the photos from last year.)

Details of the event can be found here. The awards ceremony will be held Friday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 pm at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco and will be followed by an after-party across the street in City Hall’s Grand Rotunda. The nominations for the third annual awards ceremony honoring the best technology achievements of 2009 will remain open through midnight PST on Friday, Dec. 4th. The Crunchies Committee will select five finalists for each of the 18 award categories; final votes will be cast between Dec. 12th and midnight PST on Jan. 6th.