HUMOUR, online hits and social good blended at the Webby Awards – the internet industry’s version of Hollywood’s Oscars.
Addictive game “Angry Birds” along with the inventor of the mobile phone were among those honored late Monday (June 13) at a ceremony known for testing winners’ creativity by limiting acceptance speeches to five words.
“Sometimes, geeks can be chic," Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour said after actor Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter film fame presented her with a Webby for best fashion website.
IBM computer “Watson,” renowned for beating top human players on television trivia game show Jeopardy!, was named “person of the year” at the 15th annual Webby Awards.
“Person of the year, ironic,” a computerized voice speaking for the machine said while receiving a Webby from show host actress Lisa Kudrow, who suggested the machine jazz up its image by dating an iPad.
“That was clever,” Kudrow retorted. “You’re quite the word processor.”
At more serious moments, awards paid tribute to Egyptian protesters who used Twitter and Facebook in a bold uprising to oust Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and an Ushahidi service launched to map violence that followed a 2008 election in Kenya.
“Injustice, oppression, social media equals revolution,” Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab said in accepting a Webby dedicated to his people.
Chris Anderson, curator of prestigious TED gatherings devoted to making the world a better place, presented a Webby to a Kenya-born Ushahidi.com platform for using the internet to share stories in brutal situations.
“Our voices revolutionize the world,” said Ushahidi co-founder David Kobia.
Bargain-finding service Groupon won a Webby for “Breakout of the Year,” and explained the company's name was short for “group” and “coupon.”
Playful snippets from Webby winners included “I never touched the maid” and “Wait, there's no cash prize?”
Pandora radio welcomed its Webby with “Better than an IPO, almost.”
The California-based internet radio service has filed plans with US regulators for an initial public offering of stock.
Kudrow jokingly likened the rapid fire, terse nature of the ceremony to the Chatroulette website known for randomly pairing people for video chats.
The show streamed live online at YouTube and Facebook finished with a Webby presented to Rovio for globally popular mobile game “Angry Birds.”
Rovio chief executive Peter Vesterbacka cavorted in dressed like one of the green pigs whose egg-stealing makes them targets for birds in the game.
“Stay angry, get those pigs,” Vesterbacka said, only to be pelted with plush toy birds by the audience.
The Angry Birds iPhone application from Finland’s Rovio was named best mobile game.
Angry Birds was also named the winner of the People’s Voice award determined in an online vote.
Other Webby winners included teen pop star Justin Bieber, in a comedy category, Arcade Fire for “The Wilderness Downtown” video and The New York Times, which picked up awards in the how-to, travel and mobile categories.
Comedy website Funny or Die scooped up eight awards. Actor Zach Galifianakis was among the winners for his mock talk show “Between Two Ferns.”
Former Friends star Kudrow picked up a Webby for “Web Therapy.”
Social news iPad application Flipboard won awards in the news and social categories and check-in application Foursquare was tapped for best use of GPS and location technology.
The advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy scored a Webby for its popular video campaign starring Isaiah Mustafa as the “Old Spice Guy” and was also named Agency of the Year.
The Webby Awards honor excellence in website design, interactive advertising, film and video, mobile and applications in various categories.
The awards are bestowed by the New York-based International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
People’s Voice winners are selected by online voting at webby.aol.com and Webby Awards by judges including cooking guru Martha Stewart, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post.
