I mean, come on. Who else are they going to give it to? Rebecca Black? Ridiculously Photogenic Guy? When it comes to Internet pioneering in the entertainment industry, no one has done more this past year than Louis C.K., who has been awarded the Webby Person of the Year. Louis C.K. won the award for setting a “new precedent for distribution,” after his “Live at Beacon Theater” comedy special was made available online for $5 a pop, a strategy that earned him $1 million in two weeks. He cut out the middle man, made a ton of money, and then gave $250,000 to his staff and $280,000 to charities recommended to him by fans on Twitter. That pretty much makes him a Saint in Internet circles.
The distribution model paved the way for Aziz Ansari and Jim Gaffigan, among others, to also release their comedy specials straight to the Internet, keeping money out of corporate fat cats and in the pockets of those who earn it. Louis C.K. should also be commended for his 20 Commandments to Live By.
Webby Awards are handed out for best achievements on the Internet. Other winners this year include:
Bjork as artist of the year for her album “Biophilia,” Instagram as breakout of the year, Facebook as the first winner of the People’s Special Achievement for Social Change Webby and Juliette Lewis and Graydon Sheppard of “Shit Girls Say” as Webby actresses of the year.
Other notable winners include HBO Connect for best TV website, The Onion for best humor website, Kiefer Sutherland’s “The Confession” for best drama, Pinterest for best social media app, Will Ferrell for best actor for the FunnyorDie.com video “President Bush Reacts to Osama Bin Laden’s Death,” and best long-form comedy video went to FunnyorDie.com for “Drunk History Christmas with Ryan Gosling, Jim Carrey and Eva Mendes.”
The complete list of winners can be found here, if you want to wade through them all.
