Pinterest, Google+ win big at Webby Awards

The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, have been around for some 16 years now. In the world of online that’s a seriously long time. Over those 16 years they’ve recognised some of the most innovative players in tech. This year is no different.

In terms of prestige, the Webbys, are a bit like the Oscars of online. In terms of spirit they’re more like earlier iterations of the MTV Movie Awards.

In truth though, they’re not really like any other big awards shows. For one thing, the winners are announced before the actual awards show (so everyone can have a good time on the night), for another award winners are limited to five word speeches.

The winners are divided into four sections: Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile & Apps. Each section is divided into categories and nominees can win in multiple sections and categories.

Although the full list of winners will only be revealed later today we can reveal who some of the big winners are.

In an exclusive early look at the list, best business blog winner Mashable revealed a number of first-time Webby winners.

Among them were Pinterest, which won the award for best social media website and Google+, which gets the People’s Voice award for social media.

Icleandic singer Bjork meanwhile won artist of the year for her album Biophillia. As we’ve previously written, the album explores the convergence of music, nature and technology. Each “song” on the album takes the form of an individual iPhone app that is also part of a greater whole. Included with the songs are interactive games and visualisations.

Best web service went to cloud storage giant Dropbox as did the Webby for the site with the best practices.Facebook meanwhile wins a brand new award for helping to foster global change, Factcheck.org for best political site and Epicurious for best lifestyle site.

Look out for the full list of winners in the next couple of hours.