For Immediate Release
Contact: Jill Feldman, jill@mkpr.com
Patrick Kowalczyk, patrick@mkpr.com
Michael Kaminer Public Relations, 212.627.8098
9th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS® UNVEIL BEST SITES OF THE YEAR;
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE, WEBBY WINNERS
TO BE HONORED AT JUNE 6th CEREMONY IN NEW YORK
New York, NY (May 3, 2005) – The winners of The 9th Annual Webby Awards will be saluted alongside former Vice President Al Gore at the internet honors’ ceremony in New York City on June 6th, the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced today.
Winners of The Webby Awards, selected by the Academy, were revealed today in over 60 categories – from popular favorites like Community, Fashion, Film, and Politics to new categories making their debut this year, such as Blog, Beauty, Real Estate, Retail, and Social Networking. The 9th Annual Webby Awards received a record number of entries from over 40 countries and all 50 states.
In addition, over 200,000 votes were cast by the people around the world who chose their favorite sites in The People’s Voice Awards. A full list of Webby Awards and People’s Voice winners – and the teams behind them – can be found at www.webbyawards.com.
Organizers also announced the first-ever recipients of The Webby Special Achievement Awards.
Setting the record straight on one of recent history’s most persistent political myths, The Webby Awards will present former Vice President Al Gore with The Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the pivotal role he has played in the development of the internet over the past three decades. Academy member Vint Cerf, widely credited as a founder of the internet, will present the award to Gore.
Other Webby Special Achievement recipients include: Craig Newmark, the founder of craigslist, for Webby Person of the Year; The Kleptones, an acclaimed British band pioneering new musical genres and methods of online distribution, for Webby Artist of the Year; and Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield, the founders of Flickr, who have taken photo sharing and management to an exciting new level, for Webby Breakout of the Year.
Hailed as “the online OSCARS®” by Time Magazine, The Webby Awards is the leading international honor for web sites and the people behind them. The awards are presented by the Academy, a global organization dedicated to the creative, technical and professional progress of the internet. Members include musician David Bowie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser, Oracle chairman Larry Ellison and fashion designer Max Azria.
More than 450 winners, industry leaders, and celebrities will attend the gala event on June 6th at New York City’s legendary Gotham Hall, hosted by comedian Rob Corddry of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This year marks the first time The Webby Awards will be held outside of their San Francisco birthplace.
The ceremony will showcase winners delivering the Webbys’ trademark five-word acceptance speeches, and presenters such as celebrated digital filmmakers the Spiridellis Brothers, the founders of Jib Jab, and other surprises.
“The winners of The 9th Annual Webby Awards reveal how the web has become the driving force shaping popular culture, the marketplace, and society as a whole,” said Tiffany Shlain, the founder and chairperson of The Webby Awards. “From visionaries like former Vice President Al Gore to the inventive organizations and individuals behind this year’s winning web sites, The Webby Awards are proud to salute the people who have made the internet such a powerful and influential medium.”
Highlights of The 9th Annual Webby Awards winners include:
- Webby Awards winners ranged from powerhouses like Mercedes-Benz USA (Automotive), Google (Best Practices), Merck (Health), and Skype (Telecommunications), and to up-and-coming or lesser-known sites like Graffiti Archaelogy (Arts), Dogster (Community), Rtm86.com (Personal Web Site), and 43 Things (Social Networking).
- People’s Voice winners included web giants like cars.com (Automotive), ING Direct (Banking/Bill Paying), Yahoo! Hotjobs (Employment) and ESPN (Sports), and new favorites like BookCrossing.com (Community), Eddie Izzard (Humor), 101 Cookbooks (Personal Site) and BrandonBird.com (Weird).
- 13 sites won both a Webby Award and a People’s Voice Award including: SK Telecom Mobile Museum (Animation or Moving Image); Google (Best Practices); Boing Boing (Blog); McSweeney’s Internet Tendency (Copy/Writing), Adobe’s Words at Play (Home/Welcome Page); Consumer Reports (Guides/Ratings/Reviews); CNET’s Download.com (IT Hardware/Software); BBC OneMusic (Music); BBC News (News); Virgin Radio (Radio); Chipotle (Restaurant); SingingFish.com (Services); Comedy Central’s Indecision 2004 (Television); and ChannelOne.com (Youth).
- Biggs Gilmore Communications, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Critical Mass, David Day + Associates, Poke, Wunderman, and Xylem Interactive are among the interactive, advertising, and design agencies behind the winning sites.
- The 9th Annual Webby Awards winners hail from 11 countries outside the United States including: The United Kingdom’s Alexander McQueen (Fashion); South Korea’s The Uninvited (Film); Sweden’s Hands on CERN (Science); and New Zealand’s NewZealand.com (Tourism).
The Creative Group, a division of Robert Half International, the premier staffing company for creative professionals, is the Title Sponsor for the 9th Annual Webby Awards. Adweek Magazines are Lead Media Sponsors. Other sponsors and partners include Fortune and FSB; Ektron; 2Advanced Studios; MX Interactive; The Online Publishing Association; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Rackspace Managed Hosting.
Review all winners of the 9th Annual Webby Awards at www.webbyawards.com.
About The Webby Awards:
Called the “OSCARS® of the Internet” by the New York Times, the Webby is the leading international award honoring excellence in Web design, creativity, usability and functionality. Established in 1996, the 9th Annual Webby Awards received over 4,000 entries from all 50 states and over 40 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: The Creative Group; Adweek Magazines; Fortune and FSB; Ektron; 2Advanced Studios; MX Interactive; The Online Publishing Association; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Rackspace Managed Hosting. For more information, visit www.webbyawards.com.
About the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS):
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the creative, technical, and professional progress of the internet and interactive media. The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes over 500 members consisting of leading experts in a diverse range of fields, such as musician David Bowie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, business guru and author Tom Peters, The Body Shop president Anita Roddick, fashion designer Max Azria, “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening and Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser. For more information, visit www.iadas.net.
The Webby Awards and The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences are registered trademarks of International Data Group.
OSCAR® is a federally registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences are in no way affiliated with or sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or OSCAR®.
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