Kiwis take centre stage in NYC

The Webby Awards encourage free thinking, transparency and ingenuity on the web, IT Brief reports.Kiwi innovation shone last month when several companies walked away with prestigious Webby Awards. The star-studded event honoured comedians, social networking sites, online companies, consumer brands and web aficionados.Wellington-based online accounting software provider Xero won two awards within the banking and bill payment category, including the coveted People’s Choice Award, and rubbed shoulders with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and inventor of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee.Xero CIO Craig Walker (pictured) said competitions such as the Webbys did not encourage best practice within IT because the guidelines for entry were not based on compliance. But he added that awards encouraged creativity, innovation and standards to which the industry could be upheld.Walker said: “Being recognised by your peers makes you want to shout about it. It’s the icing on the cake. [This competition] is about making waves in the industry. We strive to build relationships with our customers. Winning awards creates a good image and reputation for the company.”The following comment on Xero was sent to the Webbys: “If Xero was a person I would like to give them a hug. I am no longer scared about accounting and I owe it all to this brilliant piece of software. Accounting with Xero, as sad as it sounds, is actually fun.”The winners were allowed five words in which to express their gratitude at the awards. Berners-Lee, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the invention of the World Wide Web and for guiding its use and development towards creativity and humanitarian values, said: “Free…open……keep one web.” Twitter’s Stone, who won the Breakout of the Year award, said: “creativity is a renewable resource.”Other New Zealand winners included Auckland-based Alt Group, which won the Best Association Award, and Netsafe and design agency Apropos, which were nominated together for promoting computer security and cyber safety through their website NetBasics.The Webby Awards were established in 1996 and are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The awards received more than 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries around the world. This represents the largest amount of entries ever received by the Webbys in its 13-year history. The awards were held in New York’s financial district on June 8.