If you wanted more proof to add to your suspicion that after all this time anonymous schlongs still rule Internet content – here it is: ChatRoulette is being honored with a Webby.
Press release in full:
ChatRoulette, the video chat sensation that became a pop culture phenomenon almost overnight, will be honored with the Webby Breakout of the Year Award at the 14th Annual Webby Awards ceremony in New York City on June 14th, organizers announced today.
Founder Andrey Ternovskiy, a Russian teenager who created the site for his friends, will be on hand to accept the honor.
By combining video-chatting technology and randomization, ChatRoulette pairs users from all over the world in arbitrary video conversations, creating an new type of online experience that can be both thrilling and exhausting. Described by New York magazine as “one of those gloriously simple ideas that manages to harness the crazy power of the Internet in a potentially revolutionary way,” Chatroulette.com now boasts tens of thousands of users online at any given moment.
“ChatRoulette’s success offers a refreshing reminder that the Internet still offers a level playing field where anyone with a great idea or product can flourish,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “The product of a simple yet utterly original idea, launched without any concern for profit or growth, ChatRoulette embodies the sort of accidental innovation that only the Internet can produce.”
ChatRoulette will be saluted alongside Webby Award winners in a wide range of categories, from Blog to Fashion to Weird, as well as four other Special Achievement honorees – Roger Ebert (Webby Person of the Year), OK Go! (Film and Video Artist of the Year), Amy Poehler (Best Actress), and Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf (Webby Lifetime Achievement Award).
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards honor the year’s best Websites, ads, and mobile sites, as well as special achievement honorees.
Hosted by B.J. Novak of NBC’s The Office, the 14th Annual Webby Awards ceremony will feature winners and honorees delivering five-word speeches in the tradition of past Webby victors like Beastie Boys (“Can anyone fix my computer?â€) and Jimmy Fallon (“Thank God Conan got promotedâ€). Speeches and ceremony highlights will be broadcast on the Webby Awards YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/TheWebbyAwards).
About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The
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