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The Webby Awards
Webby Awards logo
Awarded for "Excellence on the Internet including Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video and Mobile content."[1]
Presented by International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
First awarded 1996 - Present (International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences)
Official website http://www.webbyawards.com/

The Webby Awards is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile.[2]

Two winners are selected in each category, one by members of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and one by the public who cast their votes during Webby People’s Voice voting.[3]

Contents

History

2008 Webby Awards, Chocolate Rain.

Launched in 1996, The Webby Awards was initially sponsored by The Web Magazine, which was published by IDG. The first ceremony, held in San Francisco in 1997, was produced by Tiffany Shlain. After The Web Magazine closed in 1998, the ceremonies continued as an independent operation.[4]

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which selects the winners of The Webby Awards, was established in 1998. Members of the Academy include David Bowie, Martha Stewart, Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington, Matt Groening, Biz Stone, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson, and R/GA Chairman and CEO Bob Greenberg.[5]

Since 2005, The Webby Awards has been operated and owned by Recognition Media, which also operates the Telly Awards and other awards programs.[6] In 2006, The Webby Awards launched new categories honoring interactive advertising and original film and video that premiered on the Internet.

In 2007, The Webby Awards launched new categories honoring mobile Websites.

In 2009, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries.[7]. That same year, over 500,000 votes were cast in The Webby People's Voice Awards.[8]

Nomination Process

Thousands of entries are submitted during the Call for Entries process, and each is first rated by Associate Members of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. Entries that receive the highest marks during this first round of voting are included on category-specific shortlists and further evaluated by Executive Members of the Academy.

Executive Academy Members with category-specific expertise evaluate the shortlisted entries based on the appropriate Website, Interactive Advertising & Media and Film & Video criteria, and cast ballots to determine Webby Honorees, Nominees and Webby Winners. Price Waterhouse Coopers audits the results.

In addition to the award given in each category by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, another winner is selected in each category as determined by the general public during People’s Voice voting. Winners of both the Academy-selected and People’s Voice-selected awards are invited to the Webbys.[9]

Awards granted

The Webby Awards are presented in over 100 categories among all four types of entries. A website can be entered in multiple categories and receive multiple awards.

In each category, two awards are handed out: a Webby Award selected by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and a People's Voice Award selected by the general public.[10]

Past winners include Amazon.com, eBay, Yahoo!, iTunes, Google, FedEx, BBC News, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, NPR, Salon Magazine, Facebook, Meetup, Wikipedia, Flickr, ESPN, Comedy Central, PBS, The Onion News Network, The Office Webisodes, and My Damn Channel.

Each year, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences also honors individuals with Webby Special Achievement Awards. Past Webby Special Achievement winners include Al Gore, Prince, David Bowie, Meg Whitman, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Lorne Michaels, Craig Newmark, Thomas Friedman, Stephen Colbert, Michel Gondry and the Beastie Boys.[11]

Ceremony

Since 2005, The Webby Awards has been presented in New York City.[12] Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live hosted The Webby Awards in 2008 and 2009. Comedian Rob Corddry hosted the ceremony from 2005 to 2007.

The Webbys are famous for limiting recipients to five-word speeches, which are often humorous. In 2005 when accepting his Lifetime Achievement Award, former Vice President Al Gore's speech was "Please don't recount this vote." He was introduced by Vint Cerf who used the same format to state, "We all invented the Internet."[13] In 2008, Stephen Colbert shouted “Me. Me. Me. Me. Me”[14] when accepting his award for Webby Person of the Year. Accepting the award for Best Political Blog in 2008, Arianna Huffington’s speech was “President Obama ... Sounds good, right?"[15] Other popular speeches include “Can anyone fix my computer?” [16](the Beastie Boys); “Everything you think is true”[17] (Prince); “Thank God Conan got promoted” [18](Jimmy Fallon) and “Free, open... Keep one Web” [19](Sir Tim Berners Lee).

Criticisms

The Webbies have been criticized for their pay-to-enter and pay-to-attend policies (winners and nominees also have to pay to attend the award ceremony), and thus for not taking most websites into consideration before distributing their awards.[20][21][22] Gawker, its Valleywag column, and others, have called the awards a scam, with Valleywag saying, "...somewhere along the way, the organizers figured out that this goofy charade could be milked for profit."[23]

In response, Webby Awards Executive Director David-Michel Davies told the Wall Street Journal that entry fees “provide the best and most sustainable model for ensuring that our judging process remains consistent and rigorous and is not dependent on things like sponsorships that can fluctuate from year to year.”[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About". Webby Awards. http://www.webbyawards.com/about/. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 
  2. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/about/
  3. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/about/
  4. ^ "History". Webby Awards. http://www.webbyawards.com/about/history.php. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
  5. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/about/
  6. ^ "After Winning Advertising Awards, an Invitation to Pay for the Trophies". NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/business/media/10award.html. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 
  7. ^ "Webby Awards to honor David Byrne and Lorne Michaels for lifetime achievement". The Webby Awards. 2008-05-28. http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-release.php?id=156. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 
  8. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-release.php?id=185
  9. ^ http://entries.webbyawards.com/home/judging
  10. ^ "Categories". Webby Awards. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/categories.php. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
  11. ^ "Category definitions". The Webby Awards. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/categories.php. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
  12. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-release.php?id=60
  13. ^ Carr, David (8 June 2005). "Accepting a Webby? Brevity, Please". American Broadcasting Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/arts/08webb.html. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 
  14. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/press/archived-speeches.php#2008
  15. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/press/archived-speeches.php#2008
  16. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/press/archived-speeches.php#2007
  17. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/press/archived-speeches.php#2006
  18. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/press/speeches.php
  19. ^ http://www.webbyawards.com/press/speeches.php
  20. ^ Steve Johnson (2008-05-14). "Critics pour vitriol on Webby Awards". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-hypertext-webbys-0514may14,0,6525152.column. 
  21. ^ Jack Shafer (2008-04-09). "What? You've Not Been Honored by the Webbys?". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2188581/. 
  22. ^ http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/05/07/the-annual-controversy-over-the-webby-awards/
  23. ^ Owen Thomas (2009-04-05). "The Webby Awards Remain the Best Scam Going". Valleywag. http://gawker.com/5240982/the-webby-awards-remain-the-best-scam-going. 
  24. ^ http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/05/07/the-annual-controversy-over-the-webby-awards/

Further reading

External links

Webby Awards
Awards Ceremonies
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