Editing Webby Awards (section)

== History ==
[[File:WebbyAwards-2008-ChocolateRain.jpg|thumb|2008 Webby Awards, [[Chocolate Rain]].]]

In its early years, the organization was one of several vying to be the premiere internet awards show.<ref name="Robischon">{{cite magazine |last1=Robischon |first1=Noah |title=Click-And-Drag Race |magazine= [[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=February 12, 1999 |issue=471 |page=88 |via=Ebscohost}}</ref> Both shows would compare themselves to the Oscars, as did media outlets such as ''[[The New York Times]]'' to Canada's ''[[Globe & Mail]]''.<ref name="Cheng">{{cite journal |last1=Cheng |first1=Kipp |title=More Felix Than Oscar |journal=[[MediaWeek]] |date=February 22, 1999 |volume= 9 |issue=8 |page=50 |url=https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/iq-news-analysis-more-felix-oscar-22113/ |access-date=May 20, 2020 |archive-date=October 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023212430/https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/iq-news-analysis-more-felix-oscar-22113/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The winners of the First Annual Webby Awards in 1995 were presented by [[John Brancato and Michael Ferris]], writers for [[Columbia Pictures]].<ref name="AA">{{cite journal |title=Achieving coolness on the Web |journal=[[Advertising Age]] |date= September 4, 1995 |volume=66 |issue=35 |page=15|via=Ebscohost}}</ref> It was held at the [[Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel]].<ref name="Basch">{{cite journal |last1=Basch |first1=Reva |title=And the lucky url is... |journal=Computer Life |date=December 1995 |volume=2 |issue=12 |page=42 |via=Ebscohost}}</ref> The televised Webby Awards were sponsored by the Academy of Web Design and [[Cool Site of the Day]]. The first Webby Awards were produced by Kay Dangaard at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel as a nod to the first site of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars). That first year, they were called "Webbie" Awards. The first "Site of the Year" winner was the pioneer webisodic serial [[The Spot]].

The modern Webby Awards were co-founded by [[Tiffany Shlain]], a filmmaker,<ref name="Guglielmo">{{cite journal |last1=Guglielmo |first1=Connie |title=Tiffany Shlain |journal=Inter@ctive Week |date=April 3, 2000 |volume=7 |issue=13 |page=74}}</ref> when she was hired by ''The Web Magazine'' to re-establish them,<ref>{{cite web| last= Moore |first=Boothe|title=From the Valley of the Geeks Comes the Digital Diva| url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-07-cl-48818-story.html |date= July 7, 2000|publisher= | work= Los Angeles Times|access-date=20 February 2014| archive-date= January 11, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120111125429/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/07/news/cl-48818 |url-status=live}}</ref> and were first held in San Francisco in 1997.<ref>{{cite news| work=[[Forbes]] |accessdate=2007-01-03|title=Webbys 2.0| first= Rachel | last= Rosmarin|date=2006-06-09|url= https://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/06/09/webby_internet_award_cx_rr_0609webby.html| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061215025202/http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/06/09/webby_internet_award_cx_rr_0609webby.html| archivedate= 15 December 2006 | url-status= dead}}</ref> They quickly became known for its requirement that winners give their acceptance speeches in five words.<ref name="thanks">{{cite magazine |title=Thanks, I Must Be Going |magazine=Time |date=May 15, 2000 |volume=155 |issue=20 |page=32 |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,996923,00.html |access-date=20 May 2020}}</ref> After this, the awards became more successful than the magazine and IDG closed the publication. Shlain and co-founder Maya Draisin Farrah continued to run The Webby Awards until 2004.<ref name="hist">{{cite web| url= http://www.webbyawards.com/about/history.php |title=Webby History |publisher= Webby Awards |access-date=October 8, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-07-cl-48818-story.html |title=From the Valley of the Geeks Comes the Digital Diva |first=Booth |last=Moore |date=July 7, 2000 |newspaper= Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111125429/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/07/news/cl-48818 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences]], which selects the winners of The Webby Awards, was established in 1998 by co-founders [[Tiffany Shlain]], Spencer Ante and Maya Draisin.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=127350&page=1 |title=hat Transcript: Internet Expert Tiffany Shlain |first=James |last=F. |date=September 15, 2000 |publisher=[[NBC]] |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=January 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121092620/http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=127350&page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Members of the Academy include [[Kevin Spacey]], [[Grimes (musician)|Grimes]], [[Questlove]], Internet inventor [[Vint Cerf]], [[Instagram]]’s Head of Fashion Partnerships [[Eva Chen (editor)|Eva Chen]], comedian [[Jimmy Kimmel]], [[Twitter]] founder [[Biz Stone]], [[Vice Media]] co-founder and CEO [[Shane Smith (journalist)|Shane Smith]], [[Tumblr]]’s [[David Karp]], Director of Harvard's [[Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society]] [[Susan P. Crawford]], [[Refinery29]]’s Executive Creative Director Piera Gelardi, and CEO and co-founder of [[Gimlet Media]] [[Alex Blumberg]].<ref name="judges">{{cite web| url= https://www.webbyawards.com/about/judges/| title=Webby Awards Judges| publisher=Webby Awards|  access-date=November 14, 2017}}</ref>

The Webby Awards is owned and operated by the Webby Media Group, a division of Recognition Media, which also owns and produces the [[Lovie Awards]] in Europe and Netted by the Webbys, a daily email publication launched in 2009. David-Michel Davies, CEO of Webby Media Group, current Executive Director of the Webby Awards and co-founder of Internet Week New York, was named Executive Director of the Webby Awards in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/business/media/10award.html |title=After Winning Advertising Awards, an Invitation to Pay for the Trophies |first=Stephanie |last=Clifford |date=August 9, 2009 |publisher= | website= The New York Times |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=November 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115212027/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/business/media/10award.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2009, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 US states and over 60 countries.<ref name="burne_press_release">{{cite press release | url = http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-release.php?id=156 | title = Webby Awards to honor David Byrne and Lorne Michaels for lifetime achievement | publisher = Webby Awards | date = May 28, 2008| access-date = June 1, 2008 }}</ref> That same year, more than 500,000 votes were cast in The Webby People's Voice Awards.<ref>{{cite press release| publisher= Webby Awards | date= May 5, 2009| url= http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-release.php?id=185| title= Winners for Best Interactive Advertising| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20120119003246/http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-release.php?id=185 |archivedate=January 19, 2012 | accessdate=April 2, 2010}}</ref> In 2012, the 16th Annual Webby awards received 1.5 million votes from more than 200 countries for the People's Voice awards.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17907624 |title = Webbys: BBC News website wins People's Voice news award |date = May 1, 2012 |publisher = [[BBC News Online]] | website= bbc.co.uk |access-date = May 2, 2012 |archive-date = December 8, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181208181135/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17907624 |url-status = live }}</ref> In 2015, the 19th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 13,000 entries from all 50 U.S. states and over 60 countries worldwide.<ref>{{cite press release |title=19th Annual Webby Award Nominees |url= http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-releases/vice-jimmy-fallon-oscar-selfie-like-a-girl-campaign-tinder-vine-michelle-phan-tyler-oakley-spotify-refinery-29-product-hunt-hbo-go-and-more-unveiled-as-19th-annual-webby-award-nominees/ |publisher=Webby Awards|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref>