The Webby awards are generally considered to be prestigious, and major web sites and companies appear to take them seriously. In the past, there was a big awards ceremony in San Francisco, etc.
But now it seems that the Webby organization may have fallen on hard financial times, because they no longer put on a ceremony, and -- get this part -- the statue is no longer given freely, but the winners are eligible to buy them, as well as to buy "frame ready" certificates for members of the team.
The price for the statue is $350, the price for the certificate is $35. I will not be spending any donor money on this, and since I'm not actually expecting to ever have a regular job with a regular office where I need to illustrate to customers how impressive I am, I'm doubtful as to whether I will personally want one of these.
But it occurred to me that these things might be valuable to some contributors, and apparently I can order them for anyone who wants them. If you work in the Internet industry, especially at a big company, then having a Webby trophy or certificate for your office might be nice. It would be a good way for a freelance web designer with a small office to decorate the office and show clients that you have experience with something great.
So I thought I'd just mention it here, in case there's interest.
Contact me. I won't order one for anyone who has been banned or anything like that, unless they want to donate double to the foundation. ;-)
--Jimbo