The online dating app Tinder was this year’s “breakout” Internet service while bad-boy news Web site Vice Media got multiple honors in the “Webby” awards announced last week.
The awards, unveiled by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, honored dozens of Web sites and online services in categories including entertainment, education, humor and news, in the online equivalent of the Oscars.
The newly released HBO Go service won the Webby for the best streaming media Web site, while rival Hulu Plus won the “people’s voice” award in that category and another for best video mobile app.
Photo: AFP
Netflix was also a player in the Webbys — Chelsea Peretti was cited for best comedic performance for her Netflix special and Ellie Kemper and Tituss Burgess got Webbys for best actress and actor, respectively, for roles in the Netflix series The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Tinder, the online dating app with over 50 million monthly users — known for allowing users to “swipe” in either direction to show if they like or dislike a potential date — got the “breakout of the year” Webby, which will be presented at a ceremony later this month.
The awards included those determined by a panel of judges as well as “people’s voice” Webby awards based on voting from some 500,000 Internet fans around the world.
Vice Media, which has a popular following among 18-to-34-year-olds and last year secured US$500 million in funding from investors, took 10 Webbys including for best writing, fashion and beauty, and for online documentaries.
NY TIMES, NEW YORKER NODS
The New York Times took four Webbys, including a “people’s voice” award for best news Web site, best cultural blog and best travel and adventure video.
The New Yorker won the Webby for best writing on a Web site and best magazine Web site, while BuzzFeed won for best news app.
Vanity Fair’s video segment on Edward Snowden, titled Patriot or Traitor?, won the Webby for best single episode for online film and video.
TED, an organization which produces video conferences on innovation, inspiration and imagination, took 11 Webbys, mainly in the education category.
A lifetime achievement Webby went to Wired magazine co-founders Jane Metcalfe and Louis Rossetto for their role in “shaping the way the world thinks about the effects of technology on culture, the global economy and civic life.”
French social media artist Jerome Jarre, known for using Vine and Snapchat for personal and artistic expression, was given a special achievement award.
Another special achievement nod went to the creators of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised awareness and more than US$200 million to help fight Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The panel of judges included US television host Conan O’Brien, Tumblr founder David Karp, media entrepreneur Arianna Huffington, YouTube star and video artist Freddie Wong, Internet pioneer Vint Cerf and Harvard professor Susan Crawford.
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