Why I Support The Webby Awards
September 17, 2007 at 10:48 am
As your Webby’s Ambassador for Ireland, I am obliged to tell you about the Webby Awards. But I’m not obliged to be the Ambassador. I support and believe in the Webbys because they are the only web awards worth taking part in.
Reasons to enter the Webbys
- Longest running – now in their 12th year
- Global – because the web is global and not restricted to this tiny part of the planet. Plus think of the traffic if you got shortlisted!
- Massive media coverage due to the quality of those who take part
- 5 Word Acceptance Speeches – another innovation which certain other awards ought to take note of!
But the real reason why the Webbys are the superior awards on this planet (or as the BBC called them “the Oscars of the Web world”) is because of the Voting Procedures.
Unlike the Net Visionary Awards which are a popularity contest, the Golden Spiders which are about the size of your purse, or the DMA’s – huh? Wha are they?.. Webby awards tend to go out to the very best in the categories. Shortlisted nominees get reviewed by the members of the prestigious International Academy of Digital Arts & Science and those who garner the most votes wins. Not only that but in true democratic Web fashion, there is also a chance for the people to vote in the People’s Voice Awards. So for every category, there are two winners. In many cases, the Webby and the People’s Voice Award goes to the same thing, because let’s face it – quality is quality. But I think it’s interesting to see where the ‘experts’ and the people agree and diverage.
So what are you waiting for? Start thinking about who you think ought to be representing Ireland on the Webbys stage. Have a look at the highlights reel from this year’s awards.
The Webbys4Ireland site is shortly going to be updated to allow you to make suggestions about possible strong Irish entries. The plan is to contact these directly, help them overcome the Irish “oh no I couldn’t do that” humble attitude (does it still exist?) and there will be some sort of alcohol-laden shindig to cheer them all as they enter and enjoy the Early Bird Discount!
So start thinking about it and check out this year’s categories. There are new ones coming on this year and I’ll publish a list of them tomorrow:
Comments (7 responses)
While I see the value of the Webbys, I also know a lot of people who enter Irish Awards Programmes because of the obligatory piss-up that runs alongside the evening programmes. It’s hard to discount the pulling power of the social evening out at Irish awards events. I’ve never considered Irish awards at more than a social outing so comparing the metric of the Webbys to the Irish rubic is akin to comparing an Irish pub to an American bar. Both serve drink but the distinctions become quickly apparent.
I hear you Bernie, but I have to say I disagree with you! You can’t compare the gig in the Killiney Hotel or the Burlo with the Glittering 3 Day Party that is the Webbys. I was in New York for the awards this year and got to hob nob with some serious players; learned loads just from chatting to people. And for this sub section of the American public, they knew how to party. Here’s some of the pics from the after party on night 3, in a cool venue in Meat Packing District: http://www.flickr.com/photos/webbys/sets/72157600350005890/
See if you can spot me!
I suppose it’s about how you view your world. Do you pitch yourself on the global scale (which I know you do with your large US following) or are you confining yourself to a small section of corporate Ireland?
Of course while you like to take jibes at the Net Visionary awards you forget to mention that they are FREE to enter, whereas the Webbys aren’t
Michele
And you might like to remind people that you sponsored an award at the Net Visionarys last year, so you might be a little biased?
But really I don’t think €163 is going to break the bank. That’s the early bird rate on the Webbys and if you visit http://www.webbys4ireland.com you will see big and bold on the home page that there is an early bird offer.
This is just the first blog post from me on the Webbys. I will be covering all aspects over the coming days and weeks.
MaryRose – it’s not a matter of bias. It’s a simple matter of fact. Yes – we sponsored the Net Visionaries for two years in a row and because companies such as ourselves sponsored them people didn’t have to pay to get nominated.
Michele
That was very noble! It’s also a very good sponsorship opportunity on the face of it because it gets your brand out there to the large corporates in Ireland. I’d be interested in why you’re not sponsoring it this year?
Mary Rose – We sponsor events up and down the country, in the UK, Holland and further afield. We can’t sponsor all of the events all of the time, so we chose not to sponsor the Net Visionaries as we’d already sponsored the national conference this year
Regards
Michele
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