The seventh annual Webby Awards are due to be held in San Francisco on Thursday, when a group called the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences will announce its choice of the 30 most outstanding Web sites of the year.
The location makes the event unusual. With nerves in the United States frayed by war and terrorism, the academy decided to abandon its usual star-packed soiree and, instead, will host the event online, with small parties held in a handful of cities.
Celebrants will be provided with a 'party-in-a-download' package, featuring cocktail recipes, badges and music. There will be no events in Asia to mark the event.
Born in a bygone era when the Web explosion was fuelled by a heady mix of idealism, innovation, self-deception, media hype and good old-fashioned greed, the Webbys managed to turn themselves into an overnight authority, although there were already hundreds of self-appointed Best of the Web awards.
The success of the awards was the result of a combination of the founders' drive and confidence and the helpful fact that the Webbys were born in Silicon Valley.
The judges also had laudable selection criteria, namely that a site 'loads fast, doesn't suck'. The hype behind the inaugural Webbys in 1996 even persuaded San Francisco mayor Willie Brown to open the event, along with a stack of hi-tech sponsors. Having support from publisher IDG and its short-lived magazine The Web cannot have hurt.