Sharing the Internet Love
Each year the The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences seeks to recognize excellence on the Internet by awarding influential and ground-breaking websites, online film and video, interactive advertising, and mobile apps. The 18th Annual Webby Awards announced winners in gaming & game-related categories recently.
The 18th Annual Webby Awards celebrated these contributions to the world on Monday, May 19, 2014. Patton Oswalt, a renowned actor and comedian, hosted the awards at Cipriani Wall Street. Winners were chosen by a panel of judges comprised of David Karp (founder of Tumblr), Arianna Huffington, and Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti (Trigger Street Productions). The public can view the awards on demand at WebbyAwards.com.
In addition to celebrating specific works, the judges also honored several individuals for demonstrating exemplary commitment to digital innovation with Special Achievement Awards. This year Lawrence Lessig received a Webby Lifetime Achievement for his influential work in intellectual property through political activism and co-founding of Creative Commons. Kickstarter was named the Breakout of the Year for proving the monumental power of crowd funding that will henceforth impact the way we invest in and launch innovation. A Special Achievement Award went to the Webby Artist of the Year, De La Soul, for shrugging off copyright restrictions and making their entire discography available for free to the public. They demonstrated the message that having their fans hear their music was more crucial than earning profits.
Freddie Wong received a Special Achievement Award as well. His work in crowd-funding the production of “Video Game High School,” a popular YouTube series, emphasizes the potential of such high-quality Web series. As a result of his series, he formed a marketing partnership with Lionsgate.
2014 Webby Athlete of the Year title went to the Jamaican Bobsled Team for crowd-funding their trip to the Sochi Olympics. This dream became a reality only through the generosity of the donating public and the viral reach of the Web.
The public had input on the Webby Awards as well. Over 500,000 people from more than 200 countries cast their votes for Winners of the Webby People’s Voice Awards. Vice Media (7), Google (5), and Tumblr (4) earned the most People’s Voice awards.
Many winners won recognition from the judges as well as the public. For instance TED won 6 awards for Best Education & Reference & Apps (Webby and People’s Voice), Education & Discovery in Social (People’s Voice), Best Events & Live Webcast Video (Webby and People’s Voice), Best Variety Video (Webby). Here is a rundown of some other highlights:
- Best Music App (Webby): Jay Z’s Magna Carter Holy Grail App;
- Best Use of Interactive Video (Webby and People’s Voice): Pharrell Williams won awards for his video “24 Hours of Happy”;
- Best Use of Mobile (Webby and People’s Voice) and Best Social Media Website (Webby): Vine;
- Best Social Gaming (Webby and People’s Voice) and Best Handheld Game (People’s Voice): QuizUp;
- Best Mobile Game or App (Webby and People’s Voice): The Scarecrow, which also won 3 other awards.
The Webby Awards grows each year and continues to be the largest, most comprehensive recognition of excellence on the Internet. Check out the full list of winners here.
