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Tag: Webby Awards

  • Patton Oswalt To Host 17th Annual Webby Awards

    Comedian and social media superstar Patton Oswalt has been tapped to host the 17th annual Webby Awards. The Webby Awards, an award show presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, is one of the most prestigious internet-based award ceremonies. It’s often referred to as “the Oscars of the internet.”

    The IADAS is made up of over a thousand member judging body that features high-profile public figures like Arianna Huffington, Vint Cerf, David Bowie, Biz Stone (Twitter), and Kevin Systrom (Instagram). Last year’s Webby Awards generated more than 1.2 billion media impressions.

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    There’s also a “People’s Voice” element to the voting, which you can check out here.

    The ceremony will take place at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, May 21st and will be available to watch on-demand the next day on the Webby Awards’ official site.

    “Patton can out-nerd the nerdiest of nerdy nerds, and out-funny just about anyone,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “He’s the perfect Webby host.”

    The Webby Award is handed out in various categories, including websites, advertising, online video, apps, and this year will introduce new categories based on “the social web.”

    This year, Nike leads the pack with 17 nominations, followed by Google, The New York Times, and HBO with 12 each and NPR with 10. Music site Pitchfork and comedy site Funny or Die also lead the field with 8 and 7 nominations, respectively.

    Patton Oswalt made headlines earlier this week when his Facebook and Twitter posts regarding the Boston Marathon attacks went viral.

  • Steve Jobs Gets A Video Tribute At The Webby Awards

    Last night’s 16th Annual Webby Awards saw a tribute to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The tribute was introduced by the actors who starred in some of Apple’s most well-known advertisements. Justin Long and John Hodgman, better known as the Mac and PC of the “I’m a Mac” ads, spoke briefly before introducing Richard Dreyfuss, who provided the voice-over for the 1997 “Crazy Ones” ad.

    Dreyfuss spoke briefly about Jobs and his impact on the world of technology – and the world in general. He noted that companies like Google and Facebook produce products and services that are widely used and extremely popular, but that the companies themselves are not trusted. Jobs, he said, was different; he “got it.” Though not particularly interested in the cult of personality, Jobs was able to produce hugely popular products while simultaneously maintaining an excellent public image for both himself and his company. Acceptance speeches at the Webbys are generally limited to five words, and Dreyfuss did his best to uphold this tradition by describing Jobs as the “exception that proves the rule.”

    A video tribute to Jobs followed Dreyfuss’s speech. The video features several well-known figures offering their own tributes to Jobs – some in only five words, some in a few more. You’ll probably recognize quite a few faces in the video, which includes tributes from Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bono, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, President Obama, and others. Check it out below:

    And in case you don’t remember the “Crazy Ones” ad, you can check it out, too. The voice over was written by Jobs himself. He even recorded it himself, though he ultimately chose to have Dreyfuss provide the voice for the ad.

  • 2012 Webby Awards Nominees Announced

    2012 Webby Awards Nominees Announced

    The Webby Awards, the lofty honor bestowed to the Internet’s best offerings, announced today the nominees for its 16th annual showcase. The 2012 awards show will be hosted by comedian extraordinaire Patton Oswalt and will feature some of the past year’s most notable online breakthroughs, ranging from Google+ to Tim Tebow to Spotify to some hilarious videos from Funny or Die.

    While Academy judges like Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Musician David Bowie, and Instagram founder Kevin Systrom will select the Webby winners, millions of Internet users will also help decide who takes home a coveted Webby by voting in The Webby People’s Voice Awards. Voting for the public begins today and will run through April 26.

    Winners will be announced May 1 and honored at the celebrity-rich ceremony at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Monday, May 21. Look for winners to deliver the patented Webby 5-Word Speeches to follow in the tradition of past victors like Anna Wintour (“Sometimes geeks can be chic”) and Angry Birds (“Stay angry, get those pigs!”).

    A year after honoring online activists in Egypt, and following what many have called “The Year of Protest”, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences also announced nominees for the inaugural People’s Special Achievement Webby for Social Change, honoring important Internet work that played an integral role in advancing and organizing the masses in 2011’s sociopolitical climate. This year’s nominees are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Kiva, and Change.org. The winner will be selected by the online public as part of Webby People’s Voice voting.

    Funny or Die made quite an impression by garnering four nominations, some of them for its series of hilarious videos combining pop culture with wry humor such as casting Don Cheadle as Captain Planet and When Harry Met Sally 2 starring Billy Crystal.

    Another nominee, below, is a Nike commercial about Back To The Future‘s Marty McFly’s future sneakers starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Bill Hader.

    “The nominees mirror this incredible year on the Internet, from memes to viral videos to cultural movements and extraordinary creativity,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of the Webby Awards. “IADAS has distilled the best and most innovative work on the web and we look forward to celebrating at this year’s ceremony in May.”

    With nearly 70 categories and 10,000 entries for this year’s awards, good luck trying to narrow down some of your choices. The full list of nominees can be found on the Webby’s official site.

  • B.J. Novak Roasts Google, Apple, Facebook at Webby Awards

    B.J. Novak Roasts Google, Apple, Facebook at Webby Awards

    B.J. Novak of NBC’s The Office and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basteds hosted the Webby Awards last night.

    In his opening monologue, he talked about how great Pandora is, how Apple should stop updating iTunes "for two days", unreliable Google Maps time estimates, the New York Times accepting an award from the Internet, Facebook privacy, and more.

    Watch the video below (hat tip to Silicon Alley Insider):

    Special Achievement Awards included: 

    – Webby Lifetime Achievement: Vinton Cerf
    – Webby Person of the Year: Roger Ebert
    – Best Actress: Amy Poehler
    – Film & Video Artist of the Year: OK Go
    – Webby Agency of the Year: BBDO
    – Webby Breakout of the Year: ChatRoulette
    – Webby Artist of the Year: PS22 Chorus

    A full list of Webby Award nominees and winners can be found here.