Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Judie Mulligan, mulligaj@fleishman.com
Fleishman-Hillard Public Relations, 415.356.1086

THE 1998 WEBBY AWARDS® UNVEIL WINNERS OF THE BEST WEB SITES OF 1997

2,000 Celebrities and Digerati Turn Out for The Webby Awards

http://www.webbyawards.com

San Francisco (March 6, 1998) - Giving a decidedly hip twist to run-of-the-mill awards shows, more than 2,000 movers and shakers in cyber-culture, entertainment, media, and politics donned their finest "future swank" attire tonight to honor the best Web sites of the year at the 1998 Webby Awards®

With San Francisco's elegant Palace of Fine Arts Theatre swathed in striking leopard prints and outfitted with giant video projection screens, winners were announced in 19 different categories ranging from Art to Weird.

Chosen by a select panel of 95 judges that included Chicago Bulls superstar Dennis Rodman, former California Governor Jerry Brown, Dilbert creator Scott Adams, Jane magazine editor Jane Pratt, film director Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy, Clerks), and Thomas Dolby, musician (She Blinded Me With Science) and CEO of Headspace Inc.

Winners spanned from tiny one-woman shop ENTROPY8 http://www.entropy8.com (Best Art Web Site) to Web powerhouses like CBS SportsLine http://www.sportsline.com (Best Sports Web Site). See next page for a complete list of winners or go to http://www.webbyawards.com.

Winners of the People's Voice Awards, which were chosen by the more than 100,000 people who registered to vote at The Webby Awards Web site http://www.webbyawards.com, were also announced at the ceremony. Several Web sites won both a Webby Award and a People's Voice Award, including Bert is Evil http://www.fractalcow.com/bert (Best Weird Site), CNN/Time All Politics http://ww.allpolitics.com (Best Political/Law Web Site), and the Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com (Best Film Site).

The high-charged, fast-paced ceremony was presided over by acclaimed software manager-turned-comedian Chris McGuire, who held winners to acceptance speeches of "five words or a 17-syllable haiku" and entertained the audience with his unique brand of high-tech (and sometimes lowbrow) humor. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown kicked the night off with a rousing welcome speech.

The Webby Awards were also viewed online around the globe thanks to the first-ever live 3-D Webcast. Free 3-D glasses that were custom-made for the Webcast were completely sold out two weeks prior to the event. "The purpose of The Webby Awards is to put the spotlight on those Web sites that deserve people's attention," said Tiffany Shlain, Producer and Creative Director of The Webby Awards. "We're extremely proud to play a role in both celebrating innovative Web sites and encouraging creativity on the Internet. Just like the Internet itself, The Webbies are only going to get bigger and better."

Following the ceremony, winners, nominees, judges, and guests rubbed elbows and boogied to the '70s funk of hot San Francisco band What It Is at a huge bash at The Exploratorium.

*** List of 1998 Webby Award Winners ***

ARTS
ENTROPY 8 http://www.entropy8.com
COMMUNITY
The WELL http://www.thewell.com
EDUCATION
StarChild http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov
FILM
The Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com
GAMES
BeZerk http://www.bezerk.com
HEALTH
Mayo Health Clinic Oasis http://www.mayohealth.org
HOME
BabyCenter http://www.babycenter.com
LIVING
gURL http://www.gURL.com
MONEY/BUSINESS
The Vanguard Group http://www.vanguard.com
MUSIC
Experience Music Project http://wwwexperience.org
NEWS
NEWS.COM http://www.news.com
POLITICS/LAW
CNN/TIME AllPolitics http://www.allpolitics.com
PRINT/ZINES
Salon Magazine http://www.salonmag.com
RADIO
AudioNet http://www.audionet.com
SCIENCE
Exploratorium: ExploraNet http://www.exploratorium.edu
SPORTS
CBS SportsLine http://www.sportsline.com
TRAVEL
CitySearch: New York City http://www.citysearch.com
TV
PBS Online http://www.pbs.org
WEIRD
Bert is Evil! http://fractalcow.com/bert

*** List of 1998 People's Voice Awards Winners ***

ARTS
Atlas http://www.atlasmagazine.com
COMMUNITY
WBS http://pages.wbs.net
EDUCATION
The Smithsonian http://www.si.edu
FILM
The Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com
GAMES
Imagine Games Network http://www.imaginegames.com
HEALTH
Ask Dr. Weil http://www.drweil.com
HOME
Better Homes and Gardens Online http://www.bhglive.com
LIVING
PlanetOut http://www.planetout.com
MONEY/BUSINESS
Nolo Press Self-Help Law Center http://www.nolo.com
MUSIC
MTV Online http://www.mtv.com
NEWS
ABCNEWS.com http://www.abcnews.com
POLITICS/LAW
CNN/TIME AllPolitics http://www.allpolitics.com
PRINT/ZINES
Merriam-Webster http://www.m-w.com
RADIO
The Art Bell Web Site http://www.artbell.com
SCIENCE
Mars Pathfinder Mission http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/default1.html
SPORTS
ESPN SportsZone http://espnet.sportszone.com
TRAVEL
Travelocity http://www.travelocity.com
TV
Sci-Fi Channel: The Dominion http://www.scifi.com
WEIRD
Bert is Evil! http://fractalcow.com/bert

About The Webby Awards®

The Webby Awards® honor the best creative and innovative Web sites of the year-and the talented editorial, technical, and design teams behind them.

The Webbies are the biggest night of the year for the online world. The sponsors of this year's event include Absolut, Alice 97.3 FM, LinkExchange, PC World, Chromatek, Rocket Lab LLC, San Francisco Chronicle, The Internet Industry Standard, Princeton Graphic Systems, Odwalla, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Gateway Limousine, Quantex, Diamond, Lotus, and Hotel Triton. The Webcast, sponsored by Netopia, Rent-A-Computer, RealNetworks, and Abovenet was produced by The Who and How Entertainment Network.