Spotify, Google+ and More Nominated for Webby Awards; People's Voice Vote Ends 4/26

In a year marked by the increasing convergence of entertainment and the social and mobile Web, the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS) announced Spotify, HBO GO, 106 & Park, Google+, Funny or Die and Pinterest among its nominees for The 16th Annual Webby Awards. A full list of this year’s nominees can be found at http://wbby.co/nominees.

While Academy judges like Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Musician David Bowie and Instagram founder Kevin Systrom will select the Webby winners, starting today, millions of people will also help decide who takes home a coveted Webby by voting in The Webby People’s Voice Awards. The public has until April 26 to vote.

Winners will be announced May 1 and honored at a star-studded ceremony at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Monday May 21 at 5:30PM. There, they’ll deliver their famous Webby 5-Word Speeches in tradition of past victors like Anna Wintour (“Sometimes geeks can be chic”) and Angry Birds (“Stay angry, get those pigs!”). The show will be hosted by critically-acclaimed stand-up comedian, writer and actor Patton Oswalt and streamed live in HD at webbyawards.com.

A year after honoring online activists in Egypt, and following what many have called “The Year of Protest”, IADAS also announced nominees for the inaugural People's Special Achievement Webby for Social Change, honoring important Internet work that played an integral role in advancing and organizing the masses in 2011’s sociopolitical climate. This year’s nominees are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Kiva, and Change.org. The winner will be selected by the online public as part of Webby People’s Voice voting.

Once again, the entertainment industry’s biggest names harnessed the power of the Web to connect and interact with their fans, using collaborations with Best Comedy Website nominees CollegeHumor (6 nominations) and FunnyorDie.com (4 nominations) to draw attention to charitable endeavors. Highlights from this year’s nominees include Ben Stiller, Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Sean Penn, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Jack Black, Kevin Spacey and President Bill Clinton in “A Decade of Difference: The Clinton Foundation - Celebrity Division”, benefitting the 10th Anniversary of The William J. Clinton Foundation; and Wieden+Kennedy’s work for Nike’s “Back for the Future,” which featured Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Bill Hader, and benefitted The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Other accomplished artists and entertainers worked on collaborations meant for purely entertainment purposes. Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes partnered with Webby Award-winner Jim Carrey in the FunnyorDie.com original “Drunk History Christmas”; Tim Tebow starred in ESPN First Take’s "All He Does Is Win”; and Zach Galifianakis was once again honored for his work in “Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis.”

“The nominees mirror this incredible year on the Internet, from memes to viral videos to cultural movements and extraordinary creativity,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of the Webby Awards. “IADAS has distilled the best and most innovative work on the web and we look forward to celebrating at this year’s ceremony in May.”

Leading news and media organizations such as NPR (9 nominations), The New York Times (8 nominations), and The New Yorker (7 nominations) also earned multiple nods for their online content and mobile applications. Other news brands with multiple nominations in the Mobile Web category include National Geographic (5) and Wired Magazine (4), illustrating the growing importance of the mobile device as a tool for news distribution.

Viewers can watch The 16th Annual Webby Awards LIVE in HD on Monday, May 21, 2012, at a new, earlier start time of 5:30 PM EST at www.webbyawards.com.

The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising & media, online film & video, and mobile & apps. Established in 1996, The 16th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide.