Though Roger Ebert lost his ability to speak after surgery for cancer, he has found a new and powerful voice online. The film critic was chosen as person of the year by the Webby Awards.
The 14th annual Webbys, which celebrate Internet achievement, were announced Tuesday by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member group of Web experts.
Ebert was singled out for “raising the bar for online journalism” with his blog on the Chicago Sun-Times’ website. He is also an avid Twitterer and is planning a new movie-review TV program that he says will have a strong presence online.
The Webbys also honored the rock band OK Go, famous for their viral music videos, as video artist of the year. Amy Poehler, former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and star of NBC’s “Parks & Recreation,” was chosen as actress of the year for her online series “Smart Girls at the Party.”
The honoree for lifetime achievemen t went to Vinton Cerf, one of the Internet’s founding fathers who pioneered its communications technology at Stanford University. He is currently “chief Internet evangelist” for Google.
The Webbys have long been famous for their short speeches, which are limited to five words. (Al Gore, accepting his lifetime achievement award, said: “Please don’t recount this vote.”) This year’s winners will accept their awards June 14 in New York at a ceremony hosted by B.J. Novak of “The Office.”
Aside from the special achievement awards, the Webbys also honor a variety of categories, each of which includes a winner picked by the academy and one picked by public voting (though the two often arrive at the same choice).
In those categories, the top winners were College Humor and The New York Times, each with five awards, including awards from both the academy and the public.
Viral video of the year went to the Muppets’ cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The best m ash-up or remix video went to “Auto-tune the News” from BarelyPolitical.com.
Jim Carrey’s official website (www.jimcarrey.com) won for best celebrity or fan website. Filmmaker David Lynch’s “Interview Project” won for best documentary series.
Lisa Kudrow’s Web series, “Web Therapy,” won for best comedy series, though the “people’s choice” Webby in that category went to “Jake and Amir,” the College Humor series.
The website for the Make it Right Foundation, the nonprofit founded by Brad Pitt, was awarded the Webby for best activist website. Isabella Rossellini won for best individual performance in her “Green Porno” videos for the Sundance Channel.
Twitter won for best social networking; Foursquare won for mobile social networking; and Hulu won for broadband.
Frequent Webby honorees TheOnion.com and ColbertNation.com also were winners. The website for the satirical newspaper The Onion won for best humor, while the official site of Comedy Central’ s “The Colbert Report” won for best TV website.
The New Yorker’s website won for best writing and best magazine site, while Mashable.com won for both best business blog and best cultural blog. Best event webcast went to We’re All Fans, the interactive destination for the Grammys. In that category, The Associated Press won the people’s choice Webby for its live coverage of President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
A list of winners and Highlights follows:
Webby Person of the Year: Roger Ebert has raised the bar for online journalism and writing through his poignant and wildly popular blog, Roger Ebert’s Journal (http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/). Using his blog as a platform for thoughtful discussion on film, media, politics, and life itself, Ebert has found a powerful new voice and attracted an audience that thrives on vigorous debate and conversation.
Webby Film & Video Artist of the Year: OK Go has rewritten the rock & roll rule book by harnessing the creative and viral power of Internet video to reach new audiences and achieve critical acclaim. Their iconic treadmill video for “Here It Goes Again” has been viewed more than 50 million times, while its Rube Goldberg video homage – “This Too Shall Pass” – has surpassed 12 million views in just two months.
Best Actress: In her groundbreaking online series, “Smart Girls at the Party,” Amy Poehler has taken a simple concept – interviews with ambitious young girls – to unexpectedly entertaining new heights. Thanks to Poehler’s sweet, wry, and subtle humor, the series demonstrates the Internet’s ability to engage and empower a young audience.
Webby Lifetime Achievement Award: Widely respected as the co-inventor of the Internet, Vinton Cerf designed the TCP/IP protocols and basic architecture that laid the groundwork for the creation of the Internet. From his pioneering work at Stanford University in the 1970s to his current role as Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, Cerf continues to shape Internet commerce, communication and culture.
Highlights of the 14th Annual Webby Awards winners include:
A list of winners in notable categories follows:
Viral Video
The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY (Webby and People’s Voice)
Video Remixes/Mashups
Auto-Tune the News – http://www.barelypolitical.com/remix/episode/BP_20090903/auto-tune-the-news-8-with-t-pain (Webby and People’s Voice)
Individual Performance
Isabella Rossellini in Green Porno – http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno (Webby)
Amir Blumenfeld – http://www.collegehumor.com/jakeandamir (People’s Voice)
Celebrity/Fan
Jim Carrey Official Site http://www.jimcarrey.com (Webby and People’s Voice)
Documentary Series
Davidlynch.Com Presents Interview Project http://interviewproject.davidlynch.com (Webby and People’s Voice)
Variety Video
Live From Daryl’s House http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/ (Webby)
Reel Good Show http://www.indymogul.com/reelgood (People’s Voice)
Comedy: Individual Short or Episode
The Onion – http://www.theonion.com/content/video/sony_releases_new_stupid_piece_of (Webby)
Web Site Story – http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1913584 (People’s Voice)
Comedy: Long Form or Series
Web Therapy II – http://www.lstudio.com (Webby)
Jake and Amir – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQcVllWpwGs (Webby)
Axe “Clean Your Balls” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bevJr3Ra84Q (People’s Voice)
Activism
Make it Right – http://makeitrightnola.org/ (Webby)
Renew the world – http://www.stemcellfoundation.ca (People’s Voice)
Best Practices
Twitter – http://twitter.com (Webby)
NPR – http://www.npr.org (People’s Voice)
Mobile Social Networking
Foursquare – http://foursquare.com (Webby and People’s Voice)
Mobile Application
Evernote – http://www.evernote.com (Webby and People’s Voice)
Weird
Selleck Waterfall Sandwich – http://www.selleckwaterfallsandwich.tumblr.com (Webby)
FAIL Blog – http://www.failblog.org (People’s Voice)
Personal Blog/Website
Indexed – http://www.thisisindexed.com (Webby)
Broken Secrets http://brokensecrets.com/ (People’s Voice)
Humor
The Onion – http://www.theonion.com (Webby and People’s Voice)
Broadband
Hulu – http://www.hulu.com (Webby and People’s Voice)
Television
Colbert Nation – http://www.colbertnation.com (Webby and People’s Voice)
Best Web Service and Application
Tumblr – http://tumblr.com (Webby)
99designs.com – http://99designs.com (People’s Voice)