The Webby Awards 2012

A week ago the best of the internet was celebrated in New York. The Webby Awards is the Internet's most respected symbol of success. Past winners have been included industry leaders such as Twitter, Google, iTunes, BBC News, The New York Times, Funny or Die, Wikipedia....

The 16th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. Webby Awards are awarded in over 100 categories. The winners are selected for recognition based on excellence in the following criteria:

• Websites & Mobile: Content, Structure and Navigation, Visual Design, Functionality, Interactivity and Overall Experience
•  Interactive Advertising: Creativity, Integration, Overall Experience
•  Film & Video: Concept & Writing, Quality of Craft, Integration, Overall Experience 

Winners are chosen by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences which is a global organization of industry experts and technology innovaters, such as musician David Bowie, Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, Martha Stewart, Instagram founder Kevin Systrom, Arianna Huffington, Flickr cofounder Caterina Fake, R/GA chairman Bob Greenberg, "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. And the Webby People’s Voice Award, which is chosen by the public in an online voting system. A record 1.5 million people voted online this year.

Some of this year’s notable wins were Pinterest, Spotify and Google+, as well as Facebook, which beat out Twitter and YouTube in the category of “People’s Special Achievement Webby for Social Change.” Another 2012 Webby highlight was Instagram which was honored as the “Webby Breakout of the Year” in light of its billion dollar acquisition by Facebook.
Icelandic singer-songwriter Bjork received recognition for her album Biophilia, which incorporated touchscreen technology  in a multi-dimensional, digital album, and Juliette Lewis and Graydon Sheppard who received special “Best Actresses” awards for their wildly popular YouTube series "Sh*t Girls Say".

But it wasn’t all about fun and glamour, President Obama, former Vice President Gore, and U2 singer Bono were among those featured on a video tribute to late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs: