14th Annual Webby Awards call for entries

14th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS OPEN CALL FOR ENTRIES

Webby Awards Seeking Australia’s Best Websites, Online Film and Video Interactive Advertising, and Mobile Websites. 

What will be your five-word speech if you win a Webby Award? 

Giving Australian Internet innovators a chance to deliver one of its famous five-word speeches, The Webby Awards today kicked off its 14th annual call for entries at www.webbyawards.com. The early deadline is October 30, 2009.

Hailed as “one of the most prestigious awards in the world” by the BBC and the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile websites. 

Winners will have a chance to follow in the footsteps of such past Webby winners as World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee (“Free… open… Keep one Web,”), Al Gore (“Please don’t recount this vote.”), and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone (“Creativity is a renewable resource.”), in broadcasting their speech via the official Webby Awards YouTube Channel. Following this year’s ceremony, the Webby channel was #1 on YouTube for several days, with almost 1.5 million video views to date. 

View the “What will be your five-word speech be?” video clip featuring past winners delivering their five-word speeches.

2009 Webby winners from Australia included: 

Greenpeace – Send a Whale (Rich Media Advertising: Non-Profit/Educational)

View the five-word acceptance speech for Greenpeace.  

CommeSec iPhone  (Mobile Marketplace and Services)

Lonely Planet (Best Travel)

Tourism Australia (Best tourism)

“The Webby Awards gives winners – from up-and-coming designers to marketing strategists to acclaimed actors and directors – a chance to shine in a global spotlight,” said David-Michel Davies. “We’re looking forward to honoring the innovators from Australia who are pushing the Internet forward in exciting new directions.” 

Reflecting the Internet’s vital role in environmental protection, organizers also announced the debut of a Best Green award, honoring the sites that promote green living, business, tools and causes. For the first time, The Webby Awards will also honor the media strategies behind interactive advertising campaigns with two new categories – Best Use of Social Media and Best Use of Online Media. 

According to the Australian Webby Ambassador Simon Goodrich, managing director of Portable Content, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received a record nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries. The awards season was capped by a star-studded June gala in New York City hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers. 

The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Several Internet leaders from Australia are members of the Academy including Lonely Planet Publications Director of Global Business Development Chris Boden, ABC Innovation Manager of Digital & Interactive TV Chris Winter, AIMIA National President Guy Gadney, and CEO Australian Interactive Media Industry Association John Butterworth. Other members of the Academy include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.

Nominees for the 14th Annual Webby Awards will be announced in April 2010, and winners will be honored at a ceremony in New York City on June 14, 2010.