History
Since its inception in 1996, The Webby Awards' unwavering mission has been to honor excellence on the Internet.Born as part of The Web, a magazine from tech publisher IDG, The Webbys used $30,000 and in-kind donations from 11 companies to produce the first-ever Webby Awards in ’96.
The awards launched with 15 categories, and Webby Winners were selected by an array of Internet aficionados – a group that would become the basis for the International Academy of the Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). When IDG closed The Web in 1998, it allowed the Webby team to carry on because of The Webby Awards’ overwhelming success (in fact, many from the original Webby team still guide the awards today).
“ If brevity is the soul of wit, then The Webby Awards might be the wittiest show of all time.”
The Webbys’ success parallels the rise of the Internet itself. From humble beginnings, The Webby Awards has become the undisputed top honor for Websites and Mobile Sites; Video & Film; Advertising, Media & PR; Apps & Software; Social; Podcasts; AI, Immersive & Games; and new this year, a dedicated suite of honors for Creators! And just as the Web is a critical tool for every area of life today, The Webby Awards remains the most important and relevant award honoring achievement in interactive media.
For over the past two decades, The Webbys has achieved many milestones. Work in Online Film & Video and Mobile & Apps was first honored in 2007—the year before the iPhone came out. In 2009, the daily email publication Netted by the Webbys was launched, now reaching an audience of over half a million subscribers.
The team behind the Webbys is also proud to have founded Internet Week New York alongside Mayor Bloomberg in 2008. IWNY is already a top annual gathering for Internet leaders, with 50,000 people turning out for more than 200 events throughout the city. In November 2010, the festival went global with the first-ever Internet Week Europe in London. In 2012, Crain Communications purchased the majority stake of Internet Week.
What’s more, last year’s Webby Awards received nearly 13,000 entries from over 70 countries around the world and were reviewed by an unprecedented quality of judges. The awards show, hosted at Cipriani Wall Street, is supported by great marketing and strategic partners like WP Engine, LinkedIn, Meltwater, KPMG, NAACP, Company, Vox Media, Vox Media, WSJ, Deadline, AdAge, TechCrunch, The Hustle, Morning Brew, and The Hollywood Reporter.
As always, The Webby Awards is pointing to the future. Our goal is to make the next 20 years even better than the last.
Historical Photos
Lifetime Achievement Winner Prince closes the 10th Annual Webby Awards with a special acoustic performance.
From the Left: Lifetime Achievement Winner Dr. Robert Kahn, Breakout of the Year Winner Chris DeWolfe of MySpace.com, and Webby Person of the Year Thomas L. Friedman.
Beastie Boys received Webby Artist of the Year Award at the 11th Annual Webby Awards.
Fritz Grobe and Stepen Voltz, creators of "The Great Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments", at The 11th Annual Webby Awards.
Chocolate Rain's Tay Zonday with Mashable Founder Pete Cashmore at the Webby Film and Video Awards.
Seth Meyers hosts the 12th Annual Webby Awards in New York City.
Martha Stewart presents Twitter co-founder Biz Stone with Breakout of the Year Award at the 13th Annual Webby Awards.
Bob Greenberg, Founder of R/GA, accepts an award at the 13th Annual Webbys.
Vint Cerf accepts a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th Annual Webbys.
Roger Ebert accepts Person of the Year at the 14th Annual Webby Awards.
Lisa Kudrow accepts for Web Therapy at the 14th Annual Webby Awards.
P.S. 22 accepts Artist of the Year at the 14th Annual Webby Awards .
Zach Galifianakis hangs out with the muppets at the 14th Annual Webbys.
Antoine Dodson performs with The Gregory Brothers at the 15th Annual Webby Awards.
Norah Jones performs Johnny Cash's Ain't No Grave as part of the Johnny Cash Project at the 15th Annual Webby Awards.
OK Go's Damian Kulash presents LCD Sound System's James Murphy with Artist of the Year at the 15th Annual Webby Awards.
Inventor of the Mobile Phone Martin Cooper accepts a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 16th Annual Webby Awards.
Vogue's Anna Wintour gives a 5-Word Speech at the 15th Annual Webby Awards for redesigned vogue.com
Daniel Radcliff presents to Anna Wintour at the 15th Annual Webby Awards.
Funny or Die's Chris Henchy and Adam McKay accept Webby Film & Video person of the year at the 15th Annual Webby Awards
Denis Crowley Presents former teacher Red Burns with a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th Annual Webby Awards
Spike Lee presents to Basketballer Jeremy #LinSanity Lin at the 16th Annual Webby Awards
Game of Throwns Kingslayer, actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau backstage at the 16th Annual Webby Awards
David Karp presents Michael Bloomberg with the 16th Annual Webby Lifetime Achievement Award
Justin Long (I'm a Mac) and John Hodgman (I'm a PC) pay tribute to Steve Jobs at the 16th Annual Webby Awards
Instagram accept Breakout of the Year at the 16th Annual Webby Awards
Jerry Seinfeld Accepts a Special Achievement Award at the 17th Annual Webby Awards
Ben Stiller, Ken Marino and Erica Oyama accept their Webby Award for Burning Love
Radio Labs Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad present the team behind the NASA's @MarsCuriosity
Steve Wilhite Accepts a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award at the 17th Annual Webby Awards