Why The Webby is Destined for Failure (if they don’t change their bloated ways)
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
Posted by Milan Vrekic
I have to state my displeasure with the Webby Awards and I will start by looking through the latest list of nominees.
Seeing companies like ‘The New York Times’ or the ‘The Guardian’ makes me think that the judges are completely mainstream oriented and as a result there are many good and deserving companies and websites that didn’t get nominated.
Secondly, I wonder, does anyone really care about categories like ‘Insurance‘ and ‘Real Estate‘, these categories are so trivial. The Webby has become far too corporate, I guess for some people web is all about marketing - promoting their companies and businesses. Personally, I want to see the sites I’ve never heard of - I don’t need The Webby’s to tell me how good the The New York Times website is, I KNOW that it’s good and we don’t need to give it another award. I want to be introduced to new concepts, new designs and I’m sure there is an upcoming Newspaper out there that has something excellent to offer readers - why not help them get exposure?
Back in 1999, I remember the Webby’s having only three categories; now, with 70 categories, the Webby’s have just become too bloated, too mainstream, and too corporate. Maybe we should register The Netty Awards and start hosting independent web awards. If The Webby’s wants to keep its fame and importance - it has to include more edgy and new companies - I understand that there HAS to be mainstream media involved, but I don’t see anything wrong in dropping some of the useless categories (ex. Pharmaceuticals) and including an independent category like the movie industry has done.
On the side note, Kevin Rose of Digg - whom I’m a huge fan of - won the People’s Choice Webby award for the ‘Best Practices‘. I have to wonder what does that even mean?
May 16th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
The Webby is different from, say, the Oscars or Grammys because there’s no unique event which qualifies entrants. It simply awards “excellence”, which means that it’s perfectly reasonable for the same company to win a category year after year if they are the clear leader and no one comes along with a viable challenge.
I understand your point completely, but I think what you’re asking for is simply not what the Webbys are. On the other hand, the SXSW Web Awards are only for brand new sites or ones that have undergone a major redesign, which considerably limits the field. I think you’d find it more in line with what you’re asking for.