Twelve years ago, Tiffany Shlain founded The Webby Awards, the leading international honors for websites. As business leader and creative director for nearly a decade, Tiffany Shlain along with Maya Draisin and hundreds of others built The Webby Awards into a global institution and industry bellwether, attracting thousands of entries from more than 40 countries and all 50 states.
From the beginning, Tiffany was always interested in honoring the best of the internet while also playing with the award show model. In 1996, she was hired by Greg Mason, the publisher of The Web Magazine, an IDG publication, to produce the first Webby Awards, an idea which was initially brought to IDG by Erik Nelson, the Ex.Pr. of The Discovery Channel's then series Cyberlife. From it’s inception, Tiffany instituted a five-word speech rule, brought on great companies like Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Intel, Audi, and collaborated with artists, performers, and made original short films for the sold out 3000 person events. She brought in eclectic roster of guests to the awards shows that has included Al Gore, Prince, internet pioneer Vinton Cerf, journalist Thomas L. Friedman, Google Founders, Ariana Huffington and artist Bill Viola. In 1998, Tiffany co-founded The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences with Maya Draisin and Spencer Ante which today has over 500 members and serves as The Webbys’ judging body.
After a decade devoting her time building The Webby Awards, she brought in Recognition Media to run The Webby Awards. Today she focuses her time exclusively on her filmmaking and lecturing, and as Executive Director of The Moxie Institute. Her work today merges the worlds of film, the Internet, and social change. Recognition Media, a company based in New York, now owns and runs the Webby Awards.
The 12th Annual Webbys were held in New York City in June 2008.
Articles from Tiffany’s time with The Webby Awards:
BBC, June 13, 2006
The New York Times, June 8, 2005
Accepting a Webby? Brevity, Please
BBC, November 30, 2005
Net Thinkers Look to Web’s Future
CNN
Highlights of the 2005 Webby Awards:
