The 17th Annual Webby Awards, A Call for Entries & Announcement of New Judges & Categories

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) has announced the opening of the Call for Entries for the 17th Annual Webby Awards. Also announced today is the addition of twenty new Webby judges, including our own Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Scott Beale, and the addition of social media categories. Executive Director of The Webby Awards, David-Michel Davies, is quoted as saying, “Social has been an integral part of the Internet, and thus The Webbys, since we began honoring the best of the Web in 1996. However today Social is no longer something that is realized through just a website, app, specific platform or campaign. It is a principal thread that flows through everything we do online. Our new Social suite of categories is specifically created to recognize the people, brands and experiences that excel at Social in 2012.”

The early entry deadline is October 26, 2012 and nominees will be announced in April 2012. The Webby Awards ceremony takes place in Spring 2013 in New York City.

New members include New York City Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne [Haot], Tumblr Founder and CEO David Karp, LearnVest Founder and CEO Alexa Von Tobel, Code for America Founder and Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka, blogger Robert Scoble, Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig, Director and Artist Chris Milk, OK Go Lead Singer Damian Kulash, Laughing Squid Founder Scott Beale, Fab.com Founder and Chief Design Officer Bradford Shellhammer, and Skillshare CEO Michael Karnjanaprakorn. IADAS, which nominates and selects the Webby Award winners, is composed of Web industry experts, Internet Co-Inventor and Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist Vinton Cerf, Instagram Co-Founder Kevin Systrom, and media mogul Arianna Huffington.

via The Webby Awards