The 4th Philippine Web Awards (2001)

The 4th Philippine Web Awards was held on November 16, 2001 at the Meralco Theather in Manila,  Philippines. It’s the fourth year that IT enthusiasts, web designers and developers vie for the country’s most sought for annual web awards.

The awards is created and organized by THE WEB Philippines (a bi-monthly publication of WS Computer Publishing Corporation, Philippine licensee of the International Data Group IDG).

 

Best Web Sites

Category Site Name URL
Arts Halfproject.com http://www.halfproject.com
Banking and Finance Unionbankph.com http://www.unionbankph.com
Celebrities & Personalities Donna Cruz.com http://www.donnacruz.com
Commerce Power Books Online http://www.powerbooks.com.ph
Community WeAreAnime.com http://www.weareanime.com
Corporate Alchemy Solutions http://www.alchemy.com.ph
Education & Resource Library Link http://www.librarylink.org.ph
Government & Law Hangin.org http://www.hangin.org
Home & Living MomsWorld http://www.healthyoptions.com.ph
Media GMA network http://www.igma.tv
Music PhilMusic.Com http://www.philmusic.com
News & Zines Candymag.com http://www.candymag.com
Organizations UP Mountaineers http://www.upmountaineers.com.ph
Personal Skylight http://nikki.katgyrl.com
Portal The Pinoy hhttp://www.thepinoy.com
Recreation Shootout http://www.bhong.com/shootout
Services JobStreet.com Philippines http://www.jobstreet.com.ph
Travel Lakbay.net http://www.lakbay.net
Weird & Humor The Sacred Shroud http://www.pixelworks.com.ph/shroud

People’s Choice

Category Site Name URL
Arts Lopez Museum Online http://www.lopezmuseum.org.ph
Banking and Finance Unionbankph.com http://www.unionbankph.com
Celebrities & Personalities Sharon Cuneta: Megastar Online http://www.sharoncuneta.com
Commerce Bayantrade.com http://www.bayantrade.com
Community PinoyExchange http://www.pinoyexchange.com
Corporate Aboitiz Group of Companies http://www.aboitiz.com.ph
Education & Resource Philippine Wildlife http://www.philwildlife.com
Government & Law Philippine National Red Cross http://www.redcross.org.ph
Home & Living MomsWorld http://www.healthyoptions.com.ph
Media Monster Radio RX 93.1 http://www.rx931.com
Music PhilMusic.Com http://www.philmusic.com
News & Zines Inq7.net http://www.inq7.net
Organizations UP Mountaineers http://www.upmountaineers.com.ph
Personal Will I be Time for the Webbys? http://onlyindavao.com/my webby
Portal PinoyCentral hhttp://www.pinoycentral.com
Recreation The Official Website of the Phil. Basketball Ass’n http://www.pba.com.ph
Services JobStreet.com Philippines http://www.jobstreet.com.ph
Travel Lakbay.net http://www.lakbay.net
Weird & Humor iSpup.com http://www.ispup.com

Special Awards

Category Site Name URL
Ericsson Mobile Internet Site of the Year Lakbay.net www.lakbay.net/wap/home.wml
Yehey! Most Popular Site of the Year Unionbankph.com http://www.unionbankph.com

 

Original link to access list of winners:
Internet Archive Link 1
Internet Archive Link 2


Special Awards

Compared to the 2000 Philippine Web Awards which had three additional special website awards, the 2001 Philippine Web awards only has two — ‘Ericsson Mobile Internet Site of the Year’ which was given to popular Philippine travel site Lakbay.net for its WAP-enabled mobile website, and the ‘Yehey! Most Popular Site of the Year’ went to Unionbank.ph.


 

2001 Philippine Web Awards group pic - winners
2001 Philippine Web Awards group pic – winners onstage Meralco Theater

 

Oldies but goodness, they won again

PhilMusic.com

The 4th Philippine Web Awards had 95 finalists, out of which 13 were repeat winners from the past Web awards years. The biggest winner of them, is yes, PhilMusic.com by Jim Ayson.  It won again the ‘Best Website – Music’ category, and also the People’s Choice Music category 4th year in a row. It already had a total of 8 awards for 4 years. No one has defeated it in both the Best Music Website category and People’s Choice Music category for 4 years now.

Even Jim Ayson himself could not believe it, as he says every year there are many new websites being created and launched which could beat his site one day. However, the judges have decided, it still stands as the Best Website for Music.

Other notable repeat winners in this year’s awards are:

‘Webmaster Inday’ (Cheryl Fuerte) onstage delivering a speech
  • Lakbay.net (which bagged both the ‘Best Website for Travel’ and ‘People’s Choice for Travel’ award this year, apart from the ‘People’s Choice Award’ it got in 2000 and ‘Best Website for Travel’ in 1999)
  • DonnaCruz.com (which also won the ‘Best Website for Film/Celebrities’ in 1999, and the People’s Choice Award in the first webbies in 1998). Similar to Ayson, Webmaster Cheryl Fuerte says she also did not expect to win the web awards, with the competition being fiercer year after year, and the contenders getting competitive. But she says she’s prouder than ever to win this year, as this year’s judges include international experts such as Lynda Weinman and Dan Shafer.
  • Sharon Cuneta Online (won again in the People’s Choice category of celebrities), it had also won in the People’s Choice category in previous years
  • UP Mountaineers re-emerged as a winner again in both the Best Website award and People’s Choice award in the Organizations category
  • HealthyOptions is another repeat winner in the Health category
  • WeAreAnime.com by Ronald Guanzon is one of the top winners – not just in its own category but also as the winner of the Best Acceptance Speech. Webmaster Ronald Guanzon also won another award that night for RX93.1.
  • UnionbankPH, another repeat web awards winner, is the biggest winner of the night, bagging three awards– the Best Website and People’s Choice in the Banking/Finance category’,  as well as becoming the ‘Yehey! Most Popular Site of the Year’ (awarded to a site that had received the most number of votes in the People’s Choice Awards. 

    Webmaster Ronald Guanzon delivering his speech onstage
Webmaster Cheryl Fuerte ‘inday’ receiving the award onstage
Webmaster Jim Ayson receiving the award onstage

 

Here comes the new winners

Glamorously new

This year we see new winners. HalfProject by graphic artist Drew Europeo bagged the Best Website under the Arts category. iGMA also emerged as a winner together with Inq7.net (the newly launched venture between GMA-7 and Philippine Daily Inquirer).

The rise of online communities via popular messageboards enabled sites to have a deeper engagement with its visitors by letting them interact. PinoyExchange.com (popularly known as PEX) won the People’s Choice award in the Community category while WeAreAnime.com emerged as the Best Website winner in that category.

Services-oriented websites suchas PinoyCentral, a new website from ABS-CBN Interactive which aims to reach Filipino expatriates abroad, also won, as well as JobStreet.com.ph, BayanTrade and Library Link.

UAAP is out as it lost to Bhong’s Shootout and the Philippine Basketball Association’s website in the Recreation category. RX93.1 is also a new winner (although its webmaster, Ronald RG Guanzon, is veteran to the awards, winning in a previous web award) as well as websites such as iSpup.com, the Philippine Red Cross, Lopez Museum, and Aboitiz Group of Companies.

The personal category this year did not have any repeat winners like Mike’s World or Inday. Instead, new personal websites such as Skylight and Will I Be In Time for the Webbys won.

 

International judges – Lynda Weinman and Dan Shafer

Aside from a handful of local experts on web, graphics, and veterans in the Philippine Internet industry, international experts such as Lynda Weinman and Dan Shafer also were judges in this year’s awards.

Lynda Weinman is the graphics and web guru from Lynda.com and wrote a series of books – educational resources for Web developers worldwide. Dan Shafer is President of Shafer Media. Dan began his Web career as the first Webmaster and Director of Technology for Salon Magazine, now salon.com. He then became Master Builder at CNET, and more. He has authored more than 60 books primarily about computers and high technology.

This makes the victory of the Best Website awards category winners a special one, they are judged not just by local standards but by someone who is an international expert on websites.

 

The 2001 Philippine Web Awards Nominee Logos

Each website that made it to the final nomination round are given this distinction, they can display the nomination icon that will give the website more accolade.

 

Who are the finalists?


2001 Philippine Web Awards Complete list of Finalists
Ref: Internet Archive Link

Ericsson Mobile Internet Award

ClickTheCity Mobile
eBili WAP
Lakbay.net WAP
MyGlobe – Storit
PinoyCentral WAP

Arts

Eniyu Studio
Halfproject.com
Little Rocket
Lopez Museum Online
Quagmire

Banking & Finance

ABCapital Online
IDSFinance
Philstocks.net
Technistock
UNIONBANKPH.COM

Celebrities & Personalities

DonitaRose.com
Donnacruz.com
Sharon Cuneta: Megastar Online
Stage Crew Band
The Makiling Ensemble

Commerce

eRegalo.com
GC Philippines.com
myAyala.com
Power Books Online
Villman Computer Systems, Inc.

Community

Close-up Planet
Peyups.com
PinoyExchange
Tsinoy.com
WeAreAnime.com

Corporate

Alchemy Solutions
Honda Cars Kalookan
LVN Pictures
Meralco
San Miguel Corporation

Education & Resource

2studyit.com
Bato Balani
eWritelife.com
Library Link
Los Indios Bravos

Government & Law

Hangin.org
National Mapping and Resource Information Authority
National Statistical Coordination Board
Philippine Inter-Agency Committee on Intellectual Property Rights
Philippine National Red Cross

Home & Living

FemaleNetwork.com
MomsWorld
San Miguel Food Culinary Center
Tablenapkin.com
Virtual Pub

Media

ABS-CBN
Gameplan
GMA Network
PinoyTV
The Exchange

Music

Immuseek
Musiko.com
Philmusic.com
Sony Music Entertainment
Titik Pilipino

Organizations

Ateneo ACT 2001: Association for Communications Technology
Haribon Foundation
MEA Online: Ateneo Management Engineering Association
Sysads.org
UP Mountaineers

Personal

Acute.org
Site Jayadewa
Skylight
Swirl Central
Will I be in the Webbys?

Portal

BahayKO
Cybertambayan
MyPhilippines.com
PinoyCentral
The Pinoy

News & Zines

ABS-CBN News
Candymag.com
Generationrice
Inq7.net
MaARTe

Recreation

AutoIndustriya.com
Milo
NBA Live 2Xtreme
Shootout
ToTheGames.com

Services

cell.exchange.ph
EasyCall Communications Philippines
EYP.ph
JobStreet.com Philippines
Match.ph

Travel

GetAsia.com.ph
Lakbay.net
Marsman Tours & Travel
Planetgimmick
Viaje.ph

Weird & Humor

iSpup.com
Olops
Pol’s Page
The Only Gay Eskimo
The Sacred Shroud

 

Reference of the Official list of Finalists:
Internet Archive Link

 


Scanned copy / archive of Post-event advertisement: