INTERNET
Obama's video receives Webby award
Tuesday 06 May 2008
The 12th edition of the Webby awards honoured Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am for his popular video supporting presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The clip, titled 'Yes we can', was viewed 17 million times.
Tuesday 06 May 2008
By AFPHip hop star will.i.am, whose Internet videos for US presidential hopeful Barack Obama have attracted millions of hits, is one of the big winners in this year's Webby Awards, organizers announced Tuesday.
Will.i.am, frontman of the Black Eyed Peas, joins satirical comedian Stephen Colbert and French director Michel Gondry among the top winners being recognized for online excellence with the so-called "Oscars of the Internet."
The Webbys, now in their 12th year, are considered the leading international awards for websites, interactive advertising and online video.
Colbert, host of the cable comedy/talk show The Colbert Report, picked up the Webby Person of the Year award for "the innovative way he has used the Internet... to make him the top search result for 'greatest living American,'" the organizers announced.
The comedian's presidential campaign on the social networking website Facebook attracted more than 78 members per minute in its first week, they said.
Gondry, meanwhile, was recognized for his film "Be Kind Rewind," which the organizers said inspired filmmakers to follow his lead in recreating scenes from their favorite films and sharing them online.
The Webby judges singled out will.i.am out for Artist of the Year in recognition of his "Yes We Can" video in support of Democratic hopeful Obama, viewed more than 17 million times since it came out in February.
The New York Times website picked up eight awards for its online and mobile news services as well as its online film service, while satirical website The Onion picked up seven Webbys for its online film and podcasts.
Past winners of Webbys include YouTube co-founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, rock legend David Bowie and former US vice president Al Gore.
The winners are selected by the 550-member International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, whose members include "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, columnist and writer Arianna Huffington and Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein.
The winners are to be honored at a gala ceremony in New York on June 10.
One thing that makes the Webby gala stand out from other award ceremonies is the five-word limit on acceptance speeches -- a rule that is rigorously policed by the audience for all but the special award winners.
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