David Bowie and BBC scoop Webby awards

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 6 Jun 2007 at 12:10

David Bowie, the BBC and Manchester United are among the British winners at the 11th annual Webby Awards.

In a sign of the internet industry's return to rude health the 100-plus awards - the so-called internet Oscars - were presented in a glittering ceremony in New York. It's a far cry from the days of the dotcom crash when the awards were dished out in a low-key virtual ceremony.

Bowie was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award and hailed by the organisers as a 'rock icon and internet visionary', for a career that 'has pushed the boundaries of art and technology'.

His citation reads: '[His career has ranged] from Ziggy Stardust to BowieNet, the seminal Internet service provider he launched in 1998 - where Mr Bowie encouraged fans to do everything from contribute to song lyrics, download exclusive singles and even remix his own music - to BowieArt, an innovative Website that connects the next generation of visual artists with art collectors worldwide.'

In among the among the other one hundred-plus awards, stand out winners were Flickr for the Community award, LinkedIn and Facebook (Social Networking category), HowStuffWorks (Education), FactCheck (Political) and TreeHugger.com took a Blogging award.

From a UK perspective, the BBC scooped awards for News and Radio (for Radio 1), The Guardian won the Newspaper category and the Manchester United Official Site shared the Sport award.

The BBC's five word acceptance speech was 'Alan, we're thinking of you', highlighting the plight of kidnapped BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston.

You can find more details on the Webby Awards, and the five word speeches, here.