(WHAS11) – We have all seen the Grammys, the Emmys, the Oscars, and maybe even the Tonys, but have you heard of the Webbys? The Webby Awards honor quality media and service exclusively on the Internet. The winners of Webby Awards make themselves known online through interactive and social media. The four major categories of contenders for the awards include websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile communications and applications.
A unique practice at the Webby Awards is limiting winners to five word acceptance speeches. The broadcast and the red carpet entrances were also all streamed live online on Monday night. There are potentially two winners in each category: one official Webby Award and one “People's Voice” award.
Although the Webbys are just celebrating their 16th year of awards shows, many big names made an appearance and were able to accept awards for their online achievements. Louis C.K. was handed the Webby coil for Person of the Year. The comedian got a lot of attention when he took a risk and offered his latest performance on DVD through his website for a very low price by cutting out the middle man of distribution. WebbyAwards.com says he has “changed the game for the entire entertainment world.”
Louis C.K. was just one of many award winners who have innovated the World Wide Web to create a more interactive and personal experience for its users. Bjork was named Artist of the Year for her creativity of combining music and the internet into one experience. Besides people being honored, many websites and applications were recognized for their impact on the internet including Dropbox, Google+, Instagram, Yelp, Spotify, and Evernote (any of those sounding familiar?)
Other people who showed up for the show are comedian Jim Gaffigan, actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore, and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The whole shebang was hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt who wrapped up the event with his five word speech saying, “Innovate, collaborate, educate, communicate & Bieber!”
For more about the Webby Awards, to watch a highlights video of the show and for all the winners, check out their website here.
