Zeddies presented to Net players

New awards celebrating achievement in the Irish internet industry were presented at its inaugural event last night in the Rotunda Hospital.

The Zeddy Awards aim to recognising the achievements and hard work of the unsung heroes, sites and Web resources online in Ireland. "This event is a celebration of projects and personalities that have survived a tough summer," said Mr Kieran Curtin, a director of Zeriously, the group behind the awards.

Describing the event as "more Sundance than Oscars", he said the Zeddies were "about those who work the hardest, not spend the hardest." Zeriously received more than 700 nominations for awards that were short-listed into 14 categories ranging from "Best arts and cultures site" and "Best online Irish design", to "Irish site that you couldn't do without".

The categories were suggested through online polling and questionnaires filled out at the monthly Zeriously seminars. These evenings allow people to identify areas of interest and ask the Zeriously staff to approach well-known experts on the individual topics to present their thoughts. They allow people to meet, chat, catch up on industry information and network with their contemporaries and friends.

Although similar in concept to First Tuesday events, Mr Curtin describes them as more informal as there is no entrance fee, and no formal product launches or pitching take place.

Mr Curtin says his awards represent an alternative to rival competitions for which some of the companies featuring would not stand a chance of being short-listed against the bigger players.

There were 10 nominations in each of the 14 categories and polling closed on Wednesday. The event has a number of sponsors, including No.1 Brew Lager.

Part of the £50 (€63.5) entry fee included a contribution to charity Concern Ireland, as well as food, drinks and music.

Mr Curtin said interest in the awards was strong with the website, www.thezeddies.com, getting more than 1,500 unique visitors a day.

The Zeddies are the latest awards designed to recognise the Republic's online businesses and organisations. The oldest and best known of them is the Golden Spider Awards, now in its fifth year, which will be holding its 2001 ceremony on the September 6th. After that will come the Irish National Business Internet Awards, run by Web Ireland.

The shortlist of finalists for the fifth annual Golden Spider awards was announced this week by event organisers dot.ie magazine.

More than 1,000 sites were entered this year, making 2001 its most successful year. The awards, which are sponsored by Esat Business, serve to raise awareness of the individuals and companies at the forefront of the Irish internet industry.

There are 16 main categories for the awards, along with a sponsor's award, a reader's award and an award for "significant contribution to the internet industry".