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What? You've Not Been Honored by the Webbys?
If there is a less exclusive award on the planet, I've yet to hear of it.
Posted Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 6:54 PM ET
Entering your Web site in the Webby Awards is a little like buying a box of Cracker Jack—everybody wins a prize.
That's only a slight exaggeration. The 2008 contest—the 12th annual—will dispense awards in 119 categories next month, honoring Web sites, interactive advertising, film and video sites and teams, and mobile Web sites. The organization will announce winners May 6, but it has already designated "honorees" in each category, more than a dozen in some cases. The organization has also selected five different "nominees" in each category from which it will ultimately pick winners. But not just one winner—the group will bestow two top prizes in each category. There's the "Webby Award," selected by the group's judges, and the "People's Voice Award," chosen by online voters.
A "star-studded" ceremony is scheduled for June 9 in New York City, where Webbys, hand-cast thingamajigs that look like chromed bedsprings, will be passed out.
There's so much excellence being honored on the Webby Awards site that you need a mainframe to tote it up. I count nearly 600 nominees and upward of 1,100 honorees. The group would have you believe that it's a tough competition, boasting that of the nearly 10,000 contestants this year, fewer than 15 percent were official honorees. Please. I've heard of mail-order diploma mills that are more exclusive than the Webbys.
It's with great shame that I confess that Slate is a nominee in both the "Best Copy/Writing" slot and the "Best Editing" video category. I'm equally shamed by the fact that Slate isn't the only big-shot media entity whoring for a Webby. The New York Times, CondéNet, DDB Chicago, Disney Channel, MIT Media Lab, MLB, NPR, Wieden + Kennedy, MTV, Gannett, NBC, and practically every major Web presence you can think of has gathered the nominee or honoree accolade.
So, if everybody who plays is a winner, who really ends up winning?
The Webby Awards, of course. The group charges a fee of $275 for Web sites and up to $475 for each advertising-campaign entry. (If I knew Slate was spending money like this, I would have asked for a bigger raise in December.) Even after allowing for discounted entry fees, the back of the envelope says the Webbys could be taking in more than $2 million from its contestants. Then there's an undetermined amount of loot collected from corporate sponsors and partners (Adobe, Nokia, Getty Images, Reuters, Variety, Wired, Pequot Ventures, Brightcove, et al.) and tickets for the awards gala. The Webbys don't mind nickel-and-diming applicants for cash, either, selling "custom framed certificates to commemorate" nominees and honorees, says its Web site.
Again, I exaggerate. The Webby Awards aren't the only winners. The winners of the prizes, the nominees, and the honorees also benefit from exercising their bragging rights to clients and competitors who aren't smart enough to know a Webby Award is worthless. Some sites are already boasting about being picked on their own pages or in e-mail to me. The winning editors, publishers, designers, and ad jockeys also gain if they can convince their bosses to throw good money after bad by sending them to attend the Webby Awards events, which last year ran for three days in New York.
Clearly, the only way for Slate to reclaim its stupid Webby investment is to send me to New York for three days in June if we're fortunate enough to win.
******
Show how much you despise the Webby Awards by voting for Slate in the "People's Voice" contest. If we win, I'll denounce the rip-off from the podium provided Slate sends me. If you love the Webby Awards, send e-mail to slate.pressbox@gmail.com and show me the error of my ways. (E-mail may be quoted by name in "The Fray," Slate's readers' forum, in a future article, or elsewhere unless the writer stipulates otherwise. Permanent disclosure: Slate is owned by the Washington Post Co.)
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The 119 Webby Awards Categories
Web sites
Activism
Art
Associations
Automotive
Banking/bill paying
Beauty and cosmetics
Best copy/writing
Best home/welcome page
Best navigation/structure
Best practices
Best use of animation or motion graphics
Best use of photography
Best use of typography
Best use of video or moving image
Best visual design - aesthetic
Best visual design - function
Blog - business
Blog - culture/personal
Blog - political
Broadband
Celebrity/fan
Charitable organizations nonprofit
Community
Consumer electronics
Corporate communications
Cultural institutions
Education
Employment
Events
Family/parenting
Fashion
Financial services
Food and beverage
Games
Games-related
Government
Guides/ratings/reviews
Health
Humor
Insurance
It hardware/software
Law
Lifestyle
Magazine
Movie and film
Music
Netart
News
Newspaper
Personal Web site
Pharmaceuticals
Podcasts
Politics
Professional services
Radio
Real estate
Religion and spirituality
Restaurant
Retail
School
Science
Self-promotion/portfolio
Services
Social networking
Sports
Student
Telecommunications
Television
Tourism
Travel
Weird
Youth
Interactive advertising
Banner campaigns
Banner singles
Integrated campaigns
Mobile advertising
Online campaigns
Online commercials
Online guerilla marketing
Other advertising: branded content
Other advertising: e-mail marketing
Other advertising: game or application
Other advertising: viral marketing
Rich media advertising: business-to-business
Rich media advertising: business-to-consumer
Rich media advertising: nonprofit/educational
Rich media advertising: promotional
Online film and video
Animation
Best editing
Best sound design
Best use of animation/motion graphics
Best writing
Comedy: individual short or episode
Comedy: long form or series
Documentary: individual episode
Documentary: series
Drama: individual episode
Drama: series
Events and live broadcasts
Experimental
How-to and DIY
Music
News & politics: individual episode
News & politics: series
Public service and activism
Reality
Sports
Student
Technology
Travel
Variety
Viral
Mobile
Entertainment
Gaming
Listings and updates
Mobile marketplace and services
News
Social networking
Sports
Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2188581/
