Webby Awards

Last updated

The Webby Awards
Webby Awards.svg
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 awarded1996;28 years ago (1996)
Website webbyawards.com

The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include websites, advertising and media, online film and video, mobile sites and apps, and social. [1]

Contents

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. [1] Each winner presents a five-word acceptance speech, a trademark of the annual awards show. [2]

In its early years, the award was hailed as the "Internet’s highest honor" and was associated with the phrase "The Oscars of the Internet." [3] [4] [5] [6]

History

2008 Webby Awards, Chocolate Rain. WebbyAwards-2008-ChocolateRain.jpg
2008 Webby Awards, Chocolate Rain.

In its early years, the organization was one of several vying to be the premiere internet awards show. [7] Both shows would compare themselves to the Oscars, as did media outlets such as The New York Times to Canada's Globe & Mail . [8]

The winners of the First Annual Webby Awards in 1995 were presented by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, writers for Columbia Pictures. [9] It was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. [10] The televised Webby Awards were sponsored by the Academy of Web Design and Cool Site of the Day. The first Webby Awards were produced by Kay Dangaard at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel as a nod to the first site of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars). That first year, they were called "Webbie" Awards. The first "Site of the Year" winner was the pioneer webisodic serial The Spot.

The modern Webby Awards were co-founded by Tiffany Shlain, a filmmaker, [11] when she was hired by The Web Magazine to re-establish them, [12] and were first held in San Francisco in 1997. [13] They quickly became known for its requirement that winners give their acceptance speeches in five words. [14] After this, the awards became more successful than the magazine and IDG closed the publication. Shlain and co-founder Maya Draisin Farrah continued to run The Webby Awards until 2004. [15] [16]

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which selects the winners of The Webby Awards, was established in 1998 by co-founders Tiffany Shlain, Spencer Ante and Maya Draisin. [17] Members of the Academy include Kevin Spacey, Grimes, Questlove, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, Instagram’s Head of Fashion Partnerships Eva Chen, comedian Jimmy Kimmel, Twitter founder Biz Stone, Vice Media co-founder and CEO Shane Smith, Tumblr’s David Karp, Director of Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society Susan P. Crawford, Refinery29’s Executive Creative Director Piera Gelardi, and CEO and co-founder of Gimlet Media Alex Blumberg. [18]

The Webby Awards is owned and operated by the Webby Media Group, a division of Recognition Media, which also owns and produces the Lovie Awards in Europe and Netted by the Webbys, a daily email publication launched in 2009. David-Michel Davies, CEO of Webby Media Group, current Executive Director of the Webby Awards and co-founder of Internet Week New York, was named Executive Director of the Webby Awards in 2005. [19]

In 2009, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 US states and over 60 countries. [20] That same year, more than 500,000 votes were cast in The Webby People's Voice Awards. [21] In 2012, the 16th Annual Webby awards received 1.5 million votes from more than 200 countries for the People's Voice awards. [22] In 2015, the 19th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 13,000 entries from all 50 U.S. states and over 60 countries worldwide. [23]

Nomination process

The 2000 awards began the transition to nominee submissions. [24] Previously, nominees had been selected by an internal committee. [24]

As early as 2017, organizations wanting to nominate themselves were charged $395 for a single entry. An "ad campaign entry" would cost $595. [25] By 2024, those fees had risen to $495 and $675, respectively. [26]

Executive Academy Members with category-specific expertise evaluate the shortlisted entries based on the appropriate Website, Advertising & Media, Online Film & Video, Mobile Sites & Apps, and Social category criteria, and cast ballots to determine Webby Honorees, Nominees and Webby Winners. Deloitte provides vote tabulation consulting for the Webby Awards. [27]

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. [28]

Awards granted

The Webby Awards are presented in over a hundred 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. [29]

Ceremony

Between 2005 and 2019, the Webby Awards were presented in New York City. [30] Many of the ceremony hosts are comedians and comedic actors. Comedian Rob Corddry hosted the ceremony from 2005 to 2007. Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live hosted in 2008 and 2009, B.J. Novak of the sitcom The Office in 2010, and Lisa Kudrow in 2011. [31] Comedian, actor, and writer Patton Oswalt hosted from 2012 to 2014. [32] Comedian Hannibal Buress hosted in 2015. [33]

The Webbys are famous for limiting recipients to five-word speeches, which are often humorous, although some exceed the limit. 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." [34] In 2013, the creator of the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), Steve Wilhite, accepted his Webby and delivered his now famous five-word speech, "It's pronounced 'Jif' not 'Gif'." [35]

Criticism

The Webbys have been criticized for their pay-to-enter and pay-to-attend policy (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. [36] [37] [38] 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." [39]

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.” [38]

Anthem Awards

In 2021, the Webby organization started a new line of awards, the Anthem Awards, to honor the purpose and mission-driven work of people, companies and organizations worldwide. [40] [41] The finalists and winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. [42]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences</span> American commercial media company

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) is an organization that was founded in 1998 in New York City to recognize and acknowledge excellence in interactive content across emerging technologies. According to the organization, the academy was founded to help drive the creative, technical, and professional progress of the Internet and evolving forms of interactive and new media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epicurious</span> American digital brand focused on cuisine

Epicurious is an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics. Created by Condé Nast in 1995, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, where it is part of the publisher's Food Innovation Group that also includes Bon Appétit, with significant overlap in staff between the two companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiffany Shlain</span> American filmmaker and author (1970)

Tiffany Shlain is an American filmmaker, artist, and author. Described by the public radio program On Being as "an internet pioneer", Shlain is the co-founder of the Webby Awards and the founder of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

NPG Music Club was the official website for Prince from 2001 to 2006, and was named after Prince's New Power Generation band. Based on being one of the first mainstream artists to use the internet as an independent music distribution hub, Prince won a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for the site in 2006.

The 1999 Webby Awards were held on March 18, 1999, at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, California. IDG, which still owned the awards organization, continued to retain Tiffany Shlain to produce the awards even though the magazine division she had been working for had been shut down. Mayor Rudy Giuliani had lobbied to move the ceremony to New York City, but San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown interceded with Schlain by promising the city's support, including hosting a post-award party at the newly remodeled City Hall.

The 1997 Webby Awards were the first of the annual Webby Awards, and also the first-ever nationally televised awards ceremony devoted to the Internet. 700 people attended the event on March 6, 1997, at Bimbo's Night Club in San Francisco, California.

The 1998 Webby Awards were held on March 6, 1998, at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, and were the first event ever to be broadcast live via the Web in 3D. The "People's Voice" awards, chosen by online poll, received 100,000 cumulative votes that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streamy Awards</span> Excellence in online video production

The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are an awards show presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented takes place in Los Angeles, California. They were the first ever awards show dedicated entirely to web series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shorty Awards</span> Annual awards show for short-form social web media content

The Shorty Awards are awards for outstanding and innovative work in digital and social media content by brands, advertising agencies, and creators. The awards, which generally focus on short-term content, honor achievements in content creation on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and other social networking sites. The Shorty Awards began in 2008 and initially recognized achievements by independent creators on Twitter, with the first formal awards ceremony occurring in February 2009. Since then, the awards, which are now awarded each spring, have shifted their focus to recognize content across numerous platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Webby Awards</span>

The 11th annual 2007 Webby Awards were held in New York City on June 3, 2007. They were hosted by comedian Rob Corddry and were judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The ceremony saw 8,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 United States. Lifetime achievement awards were given to David Bowie and YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. This award ceremony for the first time introduced category awards beyond Websites in the three new super-categories: Interactive Advertising, Mobile & Apps, and Online Film & Video.

The 10th annual 2006 Webby Awards were held on June 12, 2006, at the Cipriani Hotel in New York City and were hosted by the comedian Jon Stewart. Judging was provided by the 500-person International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and winners were selected from among 5,500 entries from around 40 countries worldwide. This award ceremony saw the creation of a new award category, "Best Viral Video".

<i>Sonicsgate</i> 2009 American film

Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team is a 2009 American documentary film chronicling the history of the Seattle SuperSonics. The SuperSonics were a professional basketball franchise based in Seattle, Washington, that was a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Sonics played from 1967 until 2008, but relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and were renamed as the Thunder. 

The 6th Annual Webby Awards was held on June 21, 2002, at San Francisco's Legion of Honor auditorium. It was presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and was hosted by Tiffany Shlain, the Webby Awards' founder, and Maya Draisin. Coming on the heels of the dot-com bubble, a 2002 Internet bubble forced cutbacks in the event budget for this ceremony as well.

The 13th annual 2009 Webby Awards were held in New York City on June 8, 2009. They were hosted by SNL head writer Seth Meyers, and the lifetime achievement award was given to Jimmy Fallon. The awards were judged by the 650-person International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and winners were selected from among nearly 10,000 entries from 60 countries and all 50 United States. Voting by the public was available prior to April 30, and over 500,000 votes were cast. The awards ceremony was made available for viewers via the official Webby YouTube channel.

The 14th annual 2010 Webby Awards were held in New York City on June 14, 2010. They were hosted by comedian B. J. Novak, and the lifetime achievement award was given to Vinton Cerf. The awards were judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

The 16th annual Webby Awards for 2012 were held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on May 21, 2012, and hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt. Winners were selected from among roughly 10,000 entries and voting by the public for the People's Choice Award was available prior to April 26. The awards ceremony was streamed live in HD on its website.

The 19th annual Webby Awards for 2015 was held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on May 19, 2015, which was hosted by comedian and actor Hannibal Buress. The awards ceremony was streamed live at the Webby Awards webpage. Judges from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences picked the over one hundred winners, which may or may not match the people's choice.

The 21st annual Webby Awards were held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on May 15, 2017, which was hosted by comedian and actor Joel McHale. The Webby Awards have been dubbed the "internet's highest honor" and, in 2017, received nearly 13,000 entries from 70 countries.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About The Webby Awards". Webby Awards. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  2. ↑ Castillo, Michelle (May 20, 2014). "The Most Memorable 5-Word Webby Award Speeches Expressing gratitude in sound bites". AdWeek. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ HEFFERNAN, VIRGINIA (April 20, 2008). "Broadcast Spoofs". New York Times . Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  4. ↑ Richtel, Matt. NEWS WATCH; Forget the Oscars, Here Come the Webbys Archived March 18, 2020, at the Wayback Machine . New York Times. January 7, 1999.
  5. ↑ Kaplan, Karen Awards Count On Firm for Accuracy . Los Angeles Times. December 14, 1998.
  6. ↑ A brief history of guardian.co.uk . The Guardian. April 30, 2010.
  7. ↑ Robischon, Noah (February 12, 1999). "Click-And-Drag Race". Entertainment Weekly . No. 471. p. 88 – via Ebscohost.
  8. ↑ Cheng, Kipp (February 22, 1999). "More Felix Than Oscar". MediaWeek . 9 (8): 50. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Achieving coolness on the Web". Advertising Age . 66 (35): 15. September 4, 1995 – via Ebscohost.
  10. ↑ Basch, Reva (December 1995). "And the lucky url is...". Computer Life. 2 (12): 42 – via Ebscohost.
  11. ↑ Guglielmo, Connie (April 3, 2000). "Tiffany Shlain". Inter@ctive Week. 7 (13): 74.
  12. ↑ Moore, Boothe (July 7, 2000). "From the Valley of the Geeks Comes the Digital Diva". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  13. ↑ Rosmarin, Rachel (June 9, 2006). "Webbys 2.0". Forbes . Archived from the original on December 15, 2006. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
  14. ↑ "Thanks, I Must Be Going". Time. Vol. 155, no. 20. May 15, 2000. p. 32. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Webby History". Webby Awards. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
  16. ↑ Moore, Booth (July 7, 2000). "From the Valley of the Geeks Comes the Digital Diva". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  17. ↑ F., James (September 15, 2000). "hat Transcript: Internet Expert Tiffany Shlain". NBC. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Webby Awards Judges". Webby Awards. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  19. ↑ Clifford, Stephanie (August 9, 2009). "After Winning Advertising Awards, an Invitation to Pay for the Trophies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Webby Awards to honor David Byrne and Lorne Michaels for lifetime achievement" (Press release). Webby Awards. May 28, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Winners for Best Interactive Advertising" (Press release). Webby Awards. May 5, 2009. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Webbys: BBC News website wins People's Voice news award". bbc.co.uk. BBC News Online. May 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  23. ↑ "19th Annual Webby Award Nominees" (Press release). Webby Awards. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  24. 1 2 Olson, Catherine Applefeld (July 17, 1999). "Net Talent Search To Pick A Lilith Fair Act". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 29. p. 76. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  25. ↑ Resnikoff, Paul (April 6, 2017). "Are the Webby Awards a Scam?". Digital Music News. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Eligibility, Guidelines and Fees". www.webbyawards.com. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Press Release". Webby Awards. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Judging Process" Archived February 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine . Webby Awards. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  29. ↑ "Categories". Webby Awards. Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
  30. ↑ "For First Time Ever, Webby Awards will take place in New York City" (Press release). Webby Awards. April 5, 2005. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  31. ↑ "Home". webbyawards.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  32. ↑ Bacle, Ariana. "Patton Oswalt to host Webby Awards for third time". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  33. ↑ Vitto, Laura (March 31, 2015). "Comedian Hannibal Buress to host the 2015 Webby Awards". Mashable.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  34. ↑ Carr, David (June 8, 2005). "Accepting a Webby? Brevity, Please". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
  35. ↑ Gross, Doug. "It's settled! Creator tells us how to pronounce 'GIF'". CNN. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  36. ↑ Johnson, Steve (May 14, 2008). "Critics pour vitriol on Webby Awards". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  37. ↑ Shafer, Jack (April 9, 2008). "What? You've Not Been Honored by the Webbys?". Slate . Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  38. 1 2 Taylor, Marisa (May 7, 2009) The annual controversy over the Webby awards. Archived November 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Wall Street Journal , Digits blog. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  39. ↑ Thomas, Owen (April 5, 2009). "The Webby Awards Remain the Best Scam Going". Valleywag. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  40. ↑ "About Us". Anthem Awards. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  41. ↑ Grein, Paul (December 5, 2023). "Taylor Swift & Elton John AIDS Foundation Among Finalists for 2024 Anthem Awards". Billboard . Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  42. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (February 15, 2022). "Anthem Awards: 'The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,' Netflix Among Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 3, 2024.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.