What a crazy, fun, intense, and exhausting week it turned out to be! There were parties, meetups, conferences, and endless meetings to be had, and it all concluded with the Webby Awards. I didn’t make it to the Webby Gala, but I did hit up the Webby Film & Video Awards, and had an amazing time with Tim Shey, Rachel Garcia, Erin Flood, Derek DeAngelis, Roy Weissman, and Vanessa Pappas!!

Vanessa Pappas, Kenyatta Cheese (Rocketboom), Erin Flood

The night started off with a cocktail reception, which I remarked felt like some sort of a high school reunion. Just about every person I adore from the Video 2.0 industry was there, and I felt at home.
We drank champagne, posed for pics (That’s Webby Award Winner Derek D and myself), and caught up with old friends as we readied ourselves for a three hour ceremony hosted by 30 Rock’s Judah Friedlander. As Derek D accepted the People’s Choice Award for Sports, we cheered him on from our seats (which happened to be next to where Lorne Michaels, Michel Gondry, Rosie Perez, and Seth Meyers were seated!!)

Derek D Accepts the FLD Webby Award from Michelle DeForest on Vimeo.

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I’m pumped for next week. Why? It’s Internet Week in NYC! Imagine SXSW Interactive, minus the panels, and set in the most lively city in the US. Sure it’s a bonus that I live here, and I have an excellent excuse to hit the parties at night and come in to the work late, but correct me if I’m wrong, NYC seems like a perfect setting for celebrating what we are all devoting our careers to try and make the most of.

*Brief History Lesson* It all started when the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting called up the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (aka the Academy behind the Webby Awards), and asked them to help rally companies to throw parties and make their meetups and conferences a part of the festivities.

The events start this Tuesday, June 3, and run through Tuesday, June 10 concluding with the Webby Awards Gala. And in case you hadn’t heard, Fast Lane Daily picked up a Webby Award so we’re ready to celebrate BIG TIME!

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The winners of the 11th annual Webby Awards were announced today, and in our business, all eyes were on the Online Film & Video group of categories, where we had four nominations in play. For every category, there’s a juried award and one chosen by popular vote, and sometimes both go to the same nominee, but most of the time they’re different.

Fast Lane Daily, our daily automotive news network, won the People’s Voice Award for the Sports category, in a category that also included nominees from CBS Sportsline, Heavy, and HBO Sports. Congratulations to everyone here at Next New Networks who worked on Fast Lane Daily this past year, especially the core team of Emil, Mike, Ian, Alan, Gene, and Derek D, the ultimate good sport. Below is a special video the team created for the Webby judges and voting public, and it’s a fun recap of how far they’ve come.

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I mentioned before that Erik Beck was up for the title of Hottest Male Web Host and though you and I both secretly know there’s no competition, we have to let the others know too. He’s made it to the finals and he’s up against 8 other male web hosts.

The male Web hosts left standing are: Leo Laporte (This Week in Tech), Gary Vaynerchuk (WineLibraryTV), Jeff MacPherson (Tiki Bar TV), Erik Beck (Indy Mogul), Michael Somerville (Love, Somerville), Kevin Rose (Diggnation), Martin Sargent (Internet Superstar), Chris Leavins (Cute with Chris) and David Price (The Middle Show).

So if you haven’t voted, VOTE NOW is your time to vote - you have until THIS FRIDAY, May 2 at 2pm PST. Be sure to tell all your friend because time is running out!

Have you ever watched Indy Mogul and thought to yourself, “Hey, this Erik guy is one sharp looking dude”? Well, you’re not the only one. Daisy Whitney from TV Week thinks so too. She’s compiled a list of The Hottest Male Web Hosts, and our very own Erik Beck is up against Eric Gunnar Rochow from Greenhouse. So if you’ve ever entertained those thoughts, now is the time to let those feelings rush forth. Vote Now! Polling ends Friday, May 2nd.

GO ERIK!

Update: Fast Lane Daily won the People’s Voice! Congrats to them and to all of our nominees and honorees!

Big congrats to everyone from the Next New Networks universe nominated for Webby Awards today:

• Sports: Fast Lane Daily
• How-To DIY: ThreadBanger
• Variety: Epic-Fu
• Viral: I Got a Crush on Obama (Barely Political)

Three of our other networks made the Webby Awards Official Honorees list, representing the top selections of submissions for the category. Channel Frederator’s “Internet People” (the first episode of The Meth Minute 39), Veracifier, and Indy Mogul’s Backyard FX all got honors along with some really great company in each of their categories.

A special congratulations to Steve and Zadi at Epic-Fu for their second nomination in two years — last year, when the show was called JETSET, they won the People’s Voice for Music/Variety.

All of the nominated programming is eligible to win the awards, which will be announced May 6. They’re also eligible for the People’s Voice Awards — and everyone on the Internet can vote, so please visit their site and vote for your favorites.

Congrats, everyone! And congratulations to our fellow nominees as well, especially in the Online Film & Video categories, including our friends at Wallstrip, Hometown Baghdad, Drawn by Pain, Super Deluxe, College Humor, Afterworld, and G4 TV, alongside great company like The New York Times, The Onion, National Geographic, HBO, and NPR. It’s been a great year for video online.