FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Michael Kaminer Public Relations, 212.627.8098
Patrick Kowalczyk, patrick@mkpr.com
Jill Feldman, jill@mkpr.com
San Francisco (April 29, 2002) – Reflecting a year that saw the Web play an increasingly vital role in everyday life, sites as disparate as The Vatican and Planned Parenthood and the Peace Corps and the U.S. Army are among the 140 nominees competing for The 6th Annual Webby Awards, The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences® announced today.
Encompassing the incredible diversity of the Web, the Academy unveiled the nominees for the Best Web Sites in 28 categories, including Activism, Finance, Community, Film, Travel, Personal Web Sites, Sports, Spirituality, and Weird. Nominees in NetArt and Technical Achievement will be announced Monday, May 6. A complete list of nominees is available at http://www.webbyawards.com/main/webby_awards/nominees.html.
Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as a celebration of ?sites that pave important paths to the Internet?s next phase,? The Webby Awards is the leading international honors for Web sites and individual achievement in creativity and technology. The awards are determined by the Academy, a diverse, 350-person organization whose membership includes Francis Ford Coppola, David Bowie, Esther Dyson, Rob Glaser and Julia Child.
The public can also vote for their favorite Web sites in The People?s Voice Awards. Beginning today, online fans can cast their ballots at http://www.webbyawards.com/peoplesvoice/.
?With more than 500 million people online today, we?ve reached a stage where the Web is part of the fabric of our lives,? said Maya Draisin, the executive director of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. ?The 2002 nominees – both large and small – are setting the standards for the medium and transforming the way we live.?
Tiffany Shlain, founder and director of The Webby Awards, agreed. ?The 2002 nominees demonstrate that the Web is really getting back to what it does best ? connecting, building communities, entertaining, and enhancing everyday life,? she said.
As evidence of a growing interest in the Webbys and the Web itself, the Academy received a record number of entries this year, with submissions coming from 36 countries. 2002 international nominees include BBC News Online (United Kingdom), Freemuse (Denmark), RTE Interactive Radio (Ireland), and The Vatican (Vatican City).
Several sites are also nominated in more than one category including: Idealist.org (Activism and Community); Beliefnet (Community and Spirituality); and Amazon.com (Best Practices and Commerce). BBC-affiliated Web sites are nominated in three categories ? news, radio, and TV.
For the second year in a row, the Academy will present The Best Practices Award, which recognizes a single Web site that serves as a model of excellence. This year?s nominees are Google.com (2001 winner), Amazon.com, National Geographic, Peace Corps, and U.S. Army Basic Training.
The Sixth Annual Webby Awards also mark the debut of three new awards: The Rising Star Award, which recognizes the fastest-growing site, Top U.S. Site, and Top Global Site. In partnership with Nielsen//Netratings?, these awards are determined using their Internet audience rankings for May 2002.
Winners will be announced at The 6th Annual Webby Awards, which will be held on Tuesday, June 18th, 2002 at the California Palace of The Legion of Honor in San Francisco. In keeping with Webby tradition, winners will once again be held to a five-words-or-less acceptance speech.
The Webby Awards and People?s Voice Awards voting process is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Review all the nominees for the 6th Annual Webby Awards at http://www.webbyawards.com/main/webby_awards/nominees.html.
Download a Word Document with all nominees: 6th Annual Webby Award Nominees.
About the Webby Awards
Founded in 1996, The Webby Awards is the leading international honors for consumer Web sites and individual achievement in technology and creativity. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences selects the nominees, winners, and presents the awards event. Sponsors for The Sixth Annual Webby Awards include SBC, International Data Group (IDG), Getty Images, Hewlett-Packard, The Creative Group, Business 2.0, Elias Arts and partner Nielsen//NetRatings. Balloting is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. For more information visit http://www.webbyawards.com.
About the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the creative, technical, and professional progress of the Internet and evolving forms of interactive media. The Academy’s goal is to assemble a brilliant panel of leading new media experts, visionaries, journalists, and luminaries to propel the Internet and Interactive Technology into the future. The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes over 350 members such as Francis Ford Coppola, Bjork, Tina Brown, Esther Dyson, Matt Groening, Ira Glass, and Larry Ellison. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Forbes, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and wallpaper*. For more information, visit www.iadas.net.