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political and entertainment worlds, The Webby Awards tonight honored the best of the Web at Cipirani Wall Street.
The highlights of the show included the Webby Special Achievement Awards and the famous 5-Word Speeches.
Critically acclaimed stand-up comedian, writer and actor Patton Oswalt hosted the Awards and once
again brought his brand of Web-savvy comedy to this year’s theme, “The Internet is huge. Winning is huge.”
“Tonight, we celebrated how vast and pervasive the Internet truly is,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive
Director of The Webby Awards. “The Internet is huge, and the Webby Awards is proud to acknowledge and honor
the individuals and organizations that are changing the way we live, work and play.”
Notable 5-Word Speeches include:
- Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti – “The Oscars should do this.”
- Obama for America – “Choose the duck-sized horses.”
- Mars Curiosity Rover – “Curiosity kills ignorance. Encourage science.”
- Agency of the Year Tribal DDB – “We’re hiring. Send your resumes.”
- The Uncultured Project – “Some winners aren’t online yet.”
- Google Maps for iPhone – “Only get lost on purpose.”
- Humans of New York – “Still can’t pay my rent.”
Highlights of this year’s Webby Awards include:
Colin Quinn presented Jerry Seinfeld with the Outstanding Comedic Performance
Webby Award. Seinfeld accepted the award for his web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
saying “Why five words? It doesn’t…” in his classic comedic style.
Actress Robin Wright presented a Special Achievement Webby Award to actor Kevin
Spacey and producer Dana Brunetti for the Netflix series House of Cards,
which revolutionized the way television series can be distributed via streaming video sites. Wright heralded House
of Cards by proclaiming that “the age of binge watching has fully arrived.”
Steve Wilhite, inventor of the GIF file format, brought the crowd to their feet when he arrived on
stage to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award. His 5-Word Speech presented on the screen settled the debate,
“It’s pronounced ‘Jif’ not ‘Gif.'”
Impersonating his dating show host counterpart Michael Ian Black, Chris Harrison
presented the Webby Special Achievement to >Ben Stiller, Ken Marino and
Erica Oyama for Burning Love. The trio accepted by saying, “Ladies and gentleman,
Beyonce! Gracias.”
Arianna Huffington presented the Webby Breakout of the Year Award to the Obama for America
2012 team, including Michael Slatby, Harper Reed and Teddy Goff, for the presidential campaign’s digital
accomplishments. Slatby, Reed and Goff accepted the award saying, “Choose the duck-sized horses.”
NASA’s Veronica McGregor, Courtney O’Connor and
Stephanie L. Smith accepted the inaugural Webby Award for Overall Social Presence, part of the new
social suite of categories, with the speech, “Curiosity kills ignorance. Encourage science!”
Comedian, musician and actor Fred Armisen presented the Webby Artist of the Year Award to
Grimes, who won for her popularity among and interaction with music blogs around the world.
Michelle Beadle accepted the Webby Athlete of the Year Award on behalf of Oakland Raiders punter
and vocal advocate of LGBT rights Chris Kluwe, whose videotaped five word speech was, “Treat
others with empathy. Bye!”
The 17th Annual Webby Awards also featured a performance by electronic pop act Tanlines. The
Brooklyn-based duo played their most downloaded song, “All of Me,” off their hit album Mixed Emotions.
In a touching moment, The Webby Awards honored the late Reddit founder Aaron Swartz with a speech
by Ben Wikler, Swartz’s best friend and founder of the Web radio show Flaming Sword of Justice. Wikler’s speech
emphasized Swartz’s dedication to pursuing a free and open Internet. Robert Swartz, Aaron’s father,
joined Wikler on stage.
For the second year in a row, The Webby Awards, with the help of BuzzFeed, awarded the Meme of the
Year to a cat-related entrant. This year’s winner was Grumpy Cat, beating out Gangnam Style,
Goats Yelling Like Humans and Harlem Shake.
Watch the full Award show, highlights and more from the 17th Annual Webby Awards at
watch.webbyawards.com beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday,
May 22, 2013.
LINKS TO POST-EVENT FOOTAGE:
- High-res photos will be available for your post-event coverage at this link (Photo credit:
WireImage/The 17th Annual Webby Awards):
http://www.webbyawards.com/press/event_photos.php - Embeddable video highlights from the evening are available here:
watch.webbyawards.com
** PLEASE CREDIT THE 17th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS WITH ALL VIDEO AND PHOTO USE***
About The Webby Awards
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award
honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, Interactive Advertising & Media, Online Film &
Video, Mobile & Apps, and Social. Established in 1996, this year’s Webbys received over 11,000 entries from all
50 states and over 60 countries worldwide this year. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of
Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft, Google+, Citibank,
Twitter, Dell, Vitamin T, Quantcast, Dell, MailChimp, Yext, Engine Yard, Funny or Die, MLB Advanced Media, Mashable,
Business Insider, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Area17, Forsman & Bodenfors and Guardian News and Media.
Visit: www.webbyawards.com
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