Internet Award: Something's going on

 
Best of Swiss Web The race is on to find the best Swiss web projects of the year. 
To stand still is to go backwards, as the saying goes. With Best of Swiss Web 2008, the coveted Internet Oscars are introducing some new features. The big award night will take place in March. Even if Best of Swiss Web is in no immediate danger of dying out, the Swiss Internet award is still always on the move. In its eighth year, major changes are once again on the agenda. The changes will affect the timing and the prizes to be awarded as well as the role of the jury. This will be accompanied by a clearer positioning of the main prize: the Master of Swiss Web will become an audience award in its entirety.New: industry overviewThe changes start with the entry process: each project will now be assigned to an industry by the participant when it is submitted. The purpose of this exercise is to gain an insight into the performance of the various sectors: Which sector records the most submissions, which the best? The best projects in each sector are communicated, but no prizes are awarded.
As before, all natural and legal persons resident or domiciled in Switzerland are eligible to participate. Works from the fields of e-business and the Internet are eligible in one or more of the eight categories. These remain unchanged: Technology Quality, Technology Innovation, Creation, Business Efficiency, Marketing Sites, Online and Mobile Campaigns, Usability and Public Affairs. In 2008, the established categories will be joined for the first time by an annual theme under the motto "The Web is Round". Here, football-related concepts will be put under the microscope. All submitted productions must have gone online in 2007 or have been largely produced in the last year.
New: Olympic prize showerNow, however, there will no longer only be winners and seal of approval recipients in the categories. The category winner will now receive a gold seal for a project that is excellent in all respects and a trendsetter in its field. In addition, silver and bronze seals will now also be awarded in each category. The members of the expert juries can award silver to up to three projects that are exemplary in their implementation and bronze to up to five projects that are convincing in a particular aspect.
Of the submissions that survive the pre-judging and are discussed on the actual jury day, none will be left empty-handed in future. Anyone who has made it this far and has been shortlisted will automatically receive a label from Best of Swiss Web 2008 together with an honorable mention as a solid "swiss made" ICT project.
New: Audience determines MasterWhoever wants to win the Master will still need to be nominated by the overall jury in future. On the one hand, the ten projects that perform best in the award distribution and shortlist ranking will automatically be nominated. This means that those projects that were submitted in as many categories as possible and performed well in them will have the best chance of being nominated for the Master's shortlist.
However, the jury has a right of veto or can give a project a wildcard. However, this puts an end to the jurors' influence. After that, only the Netzwoche and Netzwoche Ticker readers and finally the audience at the awards ceremony will decide who takes home the coveted trophy. The previous jury vote will no longer apply; readers' and public votes will be weighted equally.
If you want to secure one of the coveted Best of Swiss Web prizes, you have to act now: The submission deadline is now open until December 28. The juries will meet in January and thus carry out the preparatory work for the subsequent readers' choice by mid-February. Nothing will then stand in the way of the award ceremony in a dignified setting. The winners of the gold, silver and bronze awards and the new Master of Swiss Web will be decided on March 11, 2008 at the Kongresshaus Zurich.   
Alessandro Monachesi
Best of Swiss Web 2008: The schedule 
November 21, 2007:
Start of the submission period
December 28, 2007:
Application deadline
January 7 to 18, 2008:
Pre-judging of the submitted
Projects, creating the shortlist
January 23, 2008:
Jury day, determination of the winners and nominations for the Master of Swiss Web
January 30, 2008:
Start of the Master's election with the presentation of the Master's nominations in Netzwoche
February 15, 2008:
Conclusion of the reader poll
March 11, 2008:
Award Night, award ceremony at the Kongresshaus Zurich and master election, presentation of the ICT Yearbook 2008
What is Best of Swiss Web? 
Best of Swiss Web
is an initiative of the Swiss interactive media and software association (Simsa) and Netzwoche. Best of Swiss Web aims to promote the use of e-business and Internet technologies in Swiss companies and to set binding quality standards for the Swiss ICT sector. The Best of Swiss Web Association is responsible for sponsorship.