The best new sites on the internet will be revealed at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Web Awards on Sunday, March 10 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas. A list of finalists for these awards is now available online at http://www.sxsw.com/interactive/web_awards/finalists.php. Specifically geared towards sites that went live in the 2001 calendar year, the SXSW Website Competition recognizes the world’s most exciting, up-and-coming internet destinations in over 20 different categories.
“The developers and designers who created the sites that win the SXSW Web Awards are the people who are going to be shaping the look and feel of the internet in the next few years,” comments SXSW Interactive Festival Event Director Hugh Forrest. “While the financial problems of the dot.com world receive a good deal of media attention, we often forget that very creative minds are still doing amazing things on the internet. The quality of all the sites that made it to the final round of judging proves that this industry hasn’t given up and that its best innovations are yet to come.”
Web surfers can choose their favorite site from among these finalists by visiting http://www.sxsw.com/vote. This link leads to a ballot page for the People’s Choice Award, which is given to the finalist site that receives the most online votes from the public at large. Voting for this award closes on Friday, March 1. Users can cast multiple votes, but only one vote is allowed per user per day.
The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be announced as part of the SXSW Web Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 10. This pageant will be emceed by the ever-unpredictable John Halcyon Styn. The star of http://www.cockybastard.com, Styn won the 2000 Webby Award for Best Personal Website and has emerged as one of the most entertaining personalities on the internet. In addition to Styn’s antics, the program for the Web Awards features plenty of food, drink, networking opportunities and live entertainment.
The SXSW Web Awards are one of the highlight events at the SXSW Interactive Festival, which begins Friday, March 8 and concludes Tuesday, March 12.
Now in its ninth year, SXSW Interactive celebrates the most creative minds and best new ideas in the new media industry. Speakers include Lawrence Lessig (Professor of Law at Stanford University and author of “The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World”); Joshua Davis (the internationally-acclaimed New York-based Web designer who is the genius behind the experimental site http://www.praystation.com ), and Bruce Sterling (cyberpunk author of “Heavy Weather,” “The Difference Engine” and “Holy Fire,” and frequent contributor to Wired and numerous other magazines). For a complete list of the 100
speakers at this year’s event, see http://www.sxsw.com/interactive/panels/speakers.php.
Registration for the SXSW Interactive Festival is priced at $225 through February 8th. This fee covers admission to the Web Awards, the keynote conversations, panel discussions, the Trade Show, receptions, parties and other special events. Registration price increases to $250 after February 8.
SXSW Interactive is part of SXSWeek, a 10-day extravaganza that also includes the SXSW Film Conference & Festival and the SXSW Music Conference & Festival. The various new connections and ideas that are formed when the most innovative thinkers in these three different industries are mixed together is one of the most unique aspects of SXSW.
For complete details on SXSWeek, see http://www.sxsw.com.
For complete details on the 2002 SXSW Interactive Festival, see http://www.sxsw.com/interactive /.
Register online for all SXSW events at http://www.sxsw.com/attend /.
