Tangled web of Webbys

We thought about covering the Webbys ourselves, but after realizing there are nearly 70 (not kidding) categories, we figured we'd defer to someone imminently more qualified to pick apart this everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to awards. Herewith, our colleague hits some highlights.

We just hope he doesn't have to watch all those Yoga Today videos.

By Steve Bryant

The New York Times called the Webbys, the awards platform for superlative online content, "the Oscars of the Internet".; It's a somewhat apt comparison, but it distracts from the significant differences that exist between Hollywood and the online industry. I'm no Oscars cheerleader, but I've always found the Webbys to be, in comparison, a confused awards program. Here's why:

1. The Webbys celebrate genres, not people
   The Oscars recognizes the people behind the films. The Webbys recognizes content. Why? a) the enormous amount of content, and b) the tech industry's relatively egalitarian ethos. But it leads to a confusing array of award categories that are barely differentiated, and no clear explanation of why this is so. It also fails, in some cases, to highlight what exactly the winner did to receive the award.
2. The Webbys celebrates two mediums
   The Oscars celebrates one medium: film. The Webbys celebrates three types of content (websites, advertising, and video) across two mediums (Internet and Mobile). What possible standard for judgment could you apply to such a disparate pool of nominees, and how do you differentiate between, for example, an animated short branded by GE (Samurai, nominated in Animation and Sound Design) and online video used in an advertisement?

Simply, an awards show for the Internet attempts to cover too much. The effect is rather like a high school list of superlatives. Best Dressed. Most Likely to Succeed. Most Kissable. The awards can seem arbitrary. And, when it comes to online video, there's a tension between the Internet's mish mash of discrete, one-off vids and longer series work. How can you possibly give an award for best comedy short? Isn't the entire web a comedy short? Also: can somebody explain the "Viral" category to me? Is that like awarding an Oscar for biggest box office receipts by accident.

I understand the Webbys importance to the websites and companies that receive them (my day job's spent at a company that's very excited to be nominated twice). But the truth is the metal springy-mabobs would mean more if they were awarded in fewer categories, and if those categories were better defined.

That said, I'll play along for now. Despite my qualms about the award process, the nominated vids are all very entertaining. Below, my picks for the online video winners in the first five categories. I'll post subsequent categories throughout the next two weeks (hey, it takes a while to watch all this stuff). I'll update with who really won after the Webbys in June.

Bryant runs our brother blog, Reel Pop, deftly surfing online media and watching a lot of crappy content so you don't have to. Exhaustive list of Webby nominees here.

Animation Winner: It's JerryTime! South Park meets Larry David, adopts Tom's Vanilla Sky face Runner-Up: Samurai Cotton swab swordsmen, Salacious Crumb-esque voices

Best Editing Winner: Viva La Creacion Fractal-esque vids eating themselves, all made within 24 hours Runner-Up: Slate V Cartoons + politics = redundantly funny.

Best Sound Design Winner: Samurai The yappy midget ninjas were a nice touch Runner-Up: i5virus Excellent mixing of environmental sounds with electronica soundtrack

Best Use of Animation/Motion Graphics Winner: New York Times Style Magazine "Circle Squared" Square peg, round hole, well done Runner-Up: MTV Puberty Poop is funny

Best Writing Winner: Getting Away with Murder Clerks, but with psychopathic hitmen and Jewish mothers. Runner-up: The Onion News Network More consistently funny than The Daily Show. True.