Portable Planet

The winners of The 11th Annual Webby Awards will be saluted alongside a remarkable slate of special achievement honorees, including rock legend David Bowie, eBay President and CEO Meg Whitman on behalf of the eBay community, and the co-founders of YouTube, at the June 5th gala in New York City, Webby organizers announced today.

The Webby Awards winners were revealed today in a wide range of categories, including Websites and brand new categories honoring online film and video, interactive advertising, and mobile content.
 
In addition, over 400,000 votes were cast by people around the world for their favorite sites, videos, and ads in The Webby People’s Voice Awards presented by Verizon. A full list of both Webby Awards and People’s Voice Awards winners can be found at www.webbyawards.com.

Organizers also announced recipients of this year’s Webby Special Achievement awards, including:

Webby Lifetime Achievement - David Bowie: The rock icon will be honored for a career that has pushed the boundaries of art and technology — from BowieNet, the seminal Internet service provider he launched in 1998, to UltraStar, his digital media company that creates cutting edge online content for artists like The Rolling Stones, The Police, and Mariah Carey, to BowieArt, an innovative Web site that connects emerging visual artists with collectors worldwide.

Webby Lifetime Achievement - The eBay Community: eBay President and CEO Meg Whitman will accept the award on behalf of the 233 million registered buyers and sellers who have made eBay a cultural phenomenon and permanently changed the way people connect, discover and interact with each other.

Webby People of the Year- YouTube Co-Founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley: The co-founders of the video-sharing sensation will be saluted for YouTube’s role in transforming the media landscape and reshaping everything from politics to pop culture.

Best Actor and Actress - “Ninja” from “Ask a Ninja” and Jessica Lee Rose from “lonelygirl15″: “Ninja,” from the breakout online comedy series “Ask a Ninja,” and Jessica Lee Rose, who became an overnight sensation as the enigmatic star of the acclaimed fictional video diary “lonelygirl15,” will be honored at the first-ever Webby Film and Video Awards.

Past Webby Special Achievement honorees include Al Gore, Prince, Gorillaz, Thomas Friedman, the founders of Flickr, MySpace, and Craigslist, and Internet co-inventor Robert Kahn.

Hailed as the “Oscars of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-person judging academy whose members include Vinton Cerf, R/GA’s Chief Bob Greenberg, “Simpson’s” creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.

This year, winners will be honored at two ceremonies: The Webby Film & Video Awards on June 4th and The 11th Annual Webby Awards on June 5th. Both ceremonies will be hosted by comedian Rob Corddry (”The Winner”, “The Daily Show”) and will feature the Webbys’ famous five word speeches. (Al Gore’s 2005 speech: “Please don’t recount this vote.”)

“The Webby winners and special achievement honorees represent the very best in online creativity and innovation,” said Webby Awards executive director David-Michel Davies. “We’re proud to salute the people and organizations whose ideas and vision are transforming how we experience the world.”

Source: Webby Awards