Business

Webby Award nominees announced

Amazon.com, the Internet Movie Database and independent sites are among those cited.

Written by Maria Seminerio, Contributor Jan. 5, 1999 at 4:00 p.m. PT

Amazon.com, the Internet Movie Database, The Onion and Salon were among the Web sites singled out by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences as nominees for the 1999 Webby Awards.

The third annual honors ceremony for the best Web sites of the year, set for March 18 in San Francisco, is nicknamed "the Oscars of the Internet." Nominees were chosen in 22 categories, including commerce, community, news, music, finance, games, humor and sports. Academy officials noted that this year's nominees include sites produced by individuals as well as online giants, and many originate outside the U.S.

"The 1999 Webby Award nominees truly reflect the diversity and creativity that make the Web such an amazing place to engage, entangle, and explore," said Tiffany Shlain, president of the IADAS and executive producer of the awards ceremony, in a statement.

Among the judges picking the winners will be musician David Bowie, former New Yorker editor Tina Brown, movie director Francis Ford Coppola, new media guru Esther Dyson, and cartoonist Scott Adams. Some 3,000 "digerati" are expected to attend the event, Shlain said.

The balloting will be overseen by independent auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, IADAS officials said.

Also on Wednesday, the academy kicked off online balloting on the Webby Awards site in a separate contest to be decided by Netizens. Winners of the People's Voice Awards for the best Web sites will also be announced during the Webby Awards show, set to be Webcast live, IADAS officials said.

The complete list of categories and nominees:

Arts

The Doors of Perception
www.jodi.org
ParkBench
The multi-cultural Recycler
will.teleportacia.org

Commerce

Amazon
Cdnow
eBay
Gap Online
The Tire Rack

Community

iVillage
The Mining Co.
Seniornet
Talkcity
Third Age

Education

Journey North
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
The Global Schoolhouse
The Math Forum
Web66

Fashion

HingMag
London fashion Week
Lumiere
PaperMag
www.walt.de

Film