CEMCEMA

No, the Webby Awards are not Spiderman’s newest trophy. Instead, they’re an all-inclusive celebration of the Internet, awarded to those who make us laugh, cry, or just stare in awe at our computer screens.The Webbys are awarded by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. I’d never heard of it before, but I recognized several names: the Academy includes musicians Beck and David Bowie, artist and animator Matt Groening, Virgin’s Richard Branson, and Harvey Weinstein, among many others. All told, the group contains over 750 names. It’s impressive that they had the foresight to begin issuing these awards in 1996, when the Internet was only a seedling of the megalithic network it has grown into.Every year, more than 100 categories are judged, divided among Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video. In addition, each category has two winners: one selected by the Academy’s judges and one chosen by online voters (“The People’s Voice Award”).The Webby ceremony has grown into quite the event, and this year’s was no different. Held on June 14 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the event was hosted by B.J. Novak, actor/writer for The Office. Perhaps his performance in the 2^nd season premiere, “The Dundies”, was an inspirationthe episode centered around an office awards ceremony.Another feature of the ceremony is the signature five-word acceptance speeches. Several winners had obviously prepared theirs. Vinton Cerf, co-inventor of the Internet, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award and said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Andrey Ternovskiy won the Breakout of the Year Award for his site, ChatRoulette.com, and said, “Internet is a cool thing.” Zach Galifianakis, star of The Hangover, won Best Actor for his Internet series Between Two Ferns. His speech: “How am I on time?”