This year's list of nominees for Webby awards celebrating Internet achievement range from celebrities such as Beyonce and Ellen DeGeneres to Google and GoPro, the maker of popular mountable video cameras.
The organizations with the most nominations are Vice Media with 11, The New York Times with 10 and Google Inc. with nine. Among the online videos nominated is "24 Hours of Happy," a 24-hour music video starring Pharrell Williams.
The winners of the 18th annual awards will be announced on April 29. The Webbys are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a group of about 1,000 Internet experts and professionals. Webby categories are split into a regular award, chosen by the academy, and a "people's voice" award, which lets members of the public vote.
Among the mobile apps and games nominated are the secret-sharing app Whisper, vacation rental site Airbnb and QuizUp. The viral ads category includes "The Epic Split" featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, in which the action film star does a split in between two Volvo trucks, along with "Real Beauty Sketches" by Dove. The Citi Bike app, used for New York City's bike sharing program, is among the apps nominated in the city and urban innovation category which also includes PulsePoint, an app that lets people trained in CPR help people nearby who are in need of assistance.
This year's awards received more than 12,000 entries from over 60 countries. Of these, 8 percent were selected as nominees.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More