• On The Insider: Miley Cyrus in Sex and the City 2
May 6, 2008 7:08 AM PDT

Colbert's Webby honor: 'Person of the Year'

by Caroline McCarthy
  • Font size
  • Print
  • 2 comments

He might not get to fulfill his presidential dreams, but comic pundit Stephen Colbert will still end 2008 with at least one, uh, honor: Person of the Year at the 12th Annual Webby Awards.

The "Oscars of the Internet," presented by a consortium of technology, media, and entertainment hotshots known as the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, announced their winners and honorees on Tuesday. This year's Webbys will be presented next month as part of Internet Week New York.

Colbert received the Person of the Year accolade for his reputation as a digital buccaneer of sorts: over the past year and a half, his Colbert Report show on Comedy Central has prompted Google bombing, Wikipedia vandalism, what might have been the fastest-growing Facebook group in history, and (on a completely different note) hundreds of thousands of dollars for DonorsChoose.org when he promoted it on air.

Stephen Colbert: comedian, pundit, Web renegade, Webby honoree.

(Credit: Comedy Central)

The Webby Film and Video Awards, an offshoot of the Webbys proper, selected filmmaker Michel Gondry as its Person of the Year: Gondry's latest flick, Be Kind Rewind, sparked a trend in "sweding" (low-budget "remakes" of movies) on the likes of YouTube, and Gondry has made an online-video splash himself, with seemingly impossible Rubik's Cube puzzle clips.

The Webbys' "Artist of the Year" award went to Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am for his "Yes We Can" song and video in support of presidential candidate Barack Obama.

For a full list of Webby winners, which include Flickr, Facebook, I Can Has Cheezburger, Yelp, Digg, Apple, The New York Times, TED Conferences, HuffingtonPost.com, Kiva, Mint, PostSecret, and CNET Networks' Chow, click here.

Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline.
Recent posts from The Social
Mark Zuckerberg's grand missive: The translation
Twitter founder formally unveils 'Square' project
This year, you can stalk Santa from your car
Hungry fail whale eats up Twitter lists
Location start-up SimpleGeo maps out funding
Facebook changes stock structure: IPO on the way?
Joost: It coulda been a contender, or not
LinkedIn's platform loosens up
Add a Comment (Log in or register)
I like those webby awards
by Magallanes May 6, 2008 8:18 PM PDT
I like those webby awards, it's fine to see people that decided (for you) who is cool and who is not, and whats webpage i must visit and whats not.

Anyways, who is colbert?.
Reply to this comment
by panacea00000 March 14, 2009 3:13 PM PDT
The Webby Film and Video Awards Opening Film
URL: http://www.d-kitchen.com/webbyawards/credits.html

Credits:
Bryce Wymer
Jacques Broquard
Lloyd Alvarez
Ylli Orana
Andreas Berner
Abbe Daniel
Reply to this comment
advertisement

Inside the Apple, er, Microsoft Store

Although Redmond's foray into retail bears a big resemblance to Apple's approach, Microsoft has added some distinctive features to draw casual PC buyers and techies alike.

Big marketing budget drives Moto Droid sales

Verizon and Motorola are spending big bucks--$100 million--on marketing the new smartphone, and it looks like it will pay off with 1 million devices sold by year's end.

About The Social

CNET News' Caroline McCarthy is a downtown Manhattanite who believes that, despite popular opinion, the Web can actually help your social life. She's happily addicted to fun social-media tools from Twitter to Yelp to Facebook, sends an inordinate number of text messages, and has a tendency to waste time at the office reading restaurant blogs. Here, she explores all facets of the Web's gregarious side, as well as the unique tech culture in her home city of New York. (Don't call it Silicon Alley.)

Add this feed to your online news reader

The Social topics

advertisement
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right