Question: Web Awards?

Are they for real? Are they something to be proud of? Or do they just hand out the award to anybody who applys so that they can sell their plaques and trophies and crap?

I've noticed that there are tons of different sites and organizations offering awards. A lot of the winning sites frankly look like garbage. Some are good though.

Web awards are just that, web awards, meaning very unrealiable just like everything else on the web. For example, the first site I *ever* created, way back in the day when tons of awkward frames, marquees, and straight vertical text were popular for the newbie (i'm sure yall remember those good ol' days), I eventually applied for a golden web award just for a joke, and I won it. My site sucked a**. Literally.

Aren't there any awards that are actually given to sites that deserve recognition?

If not, teamphotoshop should start one...

teamphotoshop has a site of the week which you have to apply for, and designers can recognise the awards that mean something, ie- macromedia site of the day, or flashkits award i think, www.whoswe.com has won a lot of awards, the main ones are the awards given at design conferences like flashforward and so on..... and wrong section

A web award is good for the one who wants to feel appreciated for his/her effort to create a website. It doesn't really make it more special to others who visit though.
So if you have an urge to get one of those webawards to make you feel good, do so.....

thanks to whoever moved the thread. I didn't mean to post it in the showcase section.

I got suspicious when I noticed that there was a web award ring and about 80 gazillion different "awards" that all sounded like the same thing.

Anyway, acknowledging that it wouldn't improve the site, would you say that putting awards on a page would cheapen it at all (even if they're not in a prominant location)? I ask because I think my clients might appreciate to know that their site is winning web awards--even if people like us know that it's really ****e.

Web awards mean nothing, IMO. I don't see anywhere/anyplace that gets more recognition/hits/etc. just for getting a web award of some sort.

Most web awards are simply a "who's who" business scheme to try to get clicks-throughs for cash, or even having the "winner" pay to get them.

I won an award for my site. Supposedly it went before a 'panel of judges' and a week later i won the award. I still receive spam email from them urging me to get their internationally recognised plaque.

That only goes to show that awards really suck and serves no real purpose. AND what you can get out of those is only spam....

lol... there are places online somewhat that you can sign up for awards... if thats where you are trying to accomplish... but IMO they dont really server a purpose other then to show that your special... :D