At the Best of the Web Awards

Learn From the Winners

• A team embraces readers as communities and creates efficiencies for editors.


• Deploying b2b social networking systems across brands.


• A (fashion) model partnership.


• An object lesson in advanced integrated advertising.


• Blogging as a publishing platform.


• A political blog becomes part of the historical record.


• A smorgasbord of news and views that reflects the spirit of marketers.


• Online social networking becomes a focused editorial product.


• A social network and a think tank in one for IT professionals.


• Information architecture as haute couture.


• Making an e-commerce site a content-rich experience.


• A legend in sports journalism opens its vault for the Web.


• An architectural site that invites and thrives on commentary.


• Give data miners direct access to content with headline-rich sidebars.


• A container ship founders at sea, in print and on the Web.


• A 151-year-old brand “thinks again” and reasserts itself online.


• Using Microsoft’s Silverlight technology to build a fictional storyline.


• The world of fashion finds a catwalk on the iPhone platform.


• Turn every topic page into a niche publication and social network.


• Information organized with the kind of efficiency you would expect from an eco-conscious pub.


• An editor takes a star turn in the form of a fashion-conscious avatar.


• Meeting the goal of a b2b publisher to deliver mission-critical information.


• A new site matches a brand’s new mantra.


• Don’t just ask a survey questions—drop users directly into a forum with a relevant topic.


• Youthful reporting becomes the building blocks for teachable moments.


• A user-generated bike ride database tallies 92,000 uploads.


• A sports brand feeds fans’ fantasies.


• A video series that gets families to build together.


• Who Looked Hot video grabs the stargazers.


• The usually dry IT world takes tips from the best of cable documentary work.


• An entertainment magazine transforms itself into a multimedia brand.


• VBirtual and live events merge.

Digital Hall of Fame Inductees

• A pioneer brings readers into the news creation process.


• Print trade brands get forged into a cohesive digital publishing engine.


• The industry’s CEO—as in “chief explaining officer.”


• An online editor whose name is synonymous with his publication.


• An editor who is the engine and the fuel for a fashion site.


• The sheriff of the digital eco-system.

Change of every sort has defined the last year past 16 months — in politics, the economy and, of course, in our own media business. What exactly we are changing into remains an open question at this point. But rapid response to change is in evidence among the many finalists and winners of min’s 2009 Best of the Web Awards. Call it “digital preparedness,” but magazine brands have been proving their mettle. No other media outlet knows how to package and structure news and information as effectively as magazines. Your brands are known for the perspective and context they bring to the torrents of data and alerts that now threaten to drown us. Whether it was an election cycle that whirled like a dervish, an economy that sank like a stone or a media landscape that quaked beneath our feet, the best magazine brands demonstrated that they had mature digital presence that combined the Web’s immediacy with magazine style and perspective.

Hall of Fame Inductees

Look at Scholastic’s remarkable Countdown to Election 2008 that sent scores of kid reporters into the field and educated a new generation about the electoral system. Or consider the remarkable packages from TheStreet.com and SmartMoney.com, the Balance Sheet blog at NewYorker.com or the Credit Crisis Center at Financial Week. Even the quick dialing down of consumerism was served by content such as This Old House’s Family Projects Web series, which leveraged the new homebodyism. And in a year when everyone was predicting the rapid demise of media business models as we know them, your industry demonstrated a resolve to explore new paths to digital profitability and sustainability. Vogue TV, Everything Channel and New York Media’s “Where’s Rogan?” tested new models for making digital media, finding larger audiences and making the medium pay out in a way that is equal to the content the advertisers promote. As an industry you both covered change and you embodied change. And as the media industries look to digital for their salvation and some kind of future, our Digital Hall of Fame inductees, Digital Teams of the Year and the winners and honorable mentions of this year’s Best of the Web Awards — all of whom we honored at a breakfast event at New York’s Grand Hyatt on March 18 — seemed to prove their digital preparedness for change. (Click on the winners and on “Honorable Mentions” under category headings to read profiles.) — Steve Smith, Digital Media Editor, min

Digital Hall of Fame Inductees

• Jeff DeBalko, president, Business Media Division, Reed Business Information
• John Byrne, executive editor and editor-in-chief, BusinessWeek.com
• Dave Morgan, CEO, Simulmedia Inc.
• Dave Morrow, editor, TheStreet.com
• Caroline Palmer, online editor, Vogue.com
• Kevin Poulsen, senior editor, Wired.com

Digital Teams of the Year

• Condé Nast Publications for Digital Development & Services
• TechWeb for Internet Evolution Development Team

Advertiser Program/Partnership

• Consumer: Vogue.TV for Model.Live • B2B: IDG Communications for IDG accelerateresults.com sponsored by AMD

Honorable Mentions:

• Condé Nast Digital Creative Services for Häagen Dazs - Help Save the Honey Bees
• Condé Nast Media Group for Chevrolet’s 2008 Fashion Rocks Presenting Sponsorship:
  "Shop, Rock & Roll"
• Hachette Filipacchi Media Group – ELLE.com for NYC's Defining Places Virtual Guide sponsored by Maybelline
• InStyle.com for P&G Downy Design Tag
• The Knot Inc. for Wal-Mart Canopy
• Source Interlink Media for XM Radio "Coolest Car Challenge"

Blog (Consumer)

• Entertainment Weekly for EW.com PopWatch • Newsweek for Newsweek.com – Stumper

Honorable Mentions:

• Cookie Magazine for Nesting
• Forbes.com for Rich Karlgaard/Digital Rules Blog
• Glamour Magazine for Smitten
• The New Yorker for The Balance Sheet - Blog by James Surowiecki on newyorker.com
• Sporting News for The Sporting Blog

Blog (B2B)

• Penton Media for the Big Fat Marketing Blog

Honorable Mentions:

• Managing Automation for The Edge Blog, ManagingAutomation.com
• The Rosen Group for AppScout
• TechWeb for Internet Evolution

Community / Social Networking

• Consumer: Rodale Inc. Men’s Health for Belly Off! Club • b2b: TechWeb for Internet Evolution

Honorable Mentions:

• Brides.com for Brides.com on MySpace
• Everyday Health and Vaseline
• Meredith Interactive for MixingBowl.com
• SI Digital/Citizen Sports Network for Facebook Fantasy Football

Design

• Razorfish for WWD.com

Honorable Mentions:

• Condé Nast Digital for Style.com
• Fit Pregnancy for fitpregnancy.com
• Gourmet for gourmet.com
• New York Media for nymag.com
• Penton Media for Nutrition Business Journal

E-Commerce Merchandising

• InStyle for Instyle.com Shopping

Honorable Mentions:

• Allure Magazine for Allure Virtual Store
• AutoWeek for AutoWeek Gear Store

Editorial Excellence (Consumer)

• Sports Illustrated Group for SI.com

Honorable Mentions:

• Forbes.com for Forbes.com
• Gourmet for gourmet.com
• Hearst Digital Media for Esquire.com
• New York Media for nymag.com
• Rodale Inc. Men's Health for MensHealth.com
• Scholastic Inc. for Scholastic.com/Parents
• Smart + Strong for POZ.com
• U.S. News Media Group

Editorial Excellence (B2B)

• McGraw-Hill Construction for Architectural Record

Honorable Mentions:

• CXO Media/CIO.com for CIO.com
• Financial Week for Credit Crisis Coverage
• Jobson Medical Information LLC for VisionMonday.com
• New England Journal of Medicine for NEJM.org
• Penton Media for WardsAuto.com

Email Newsletters

• CSP Information Group Inc. for CSP Daily News

Honorable Mentions:

• RCR Wireless News for RCRWireless.com Strategic Site Re-architecture Project
• SELF Magazine for Recipe of the Week Newsletter
• TheStreet.com for TheStreet.com Bell Series
• Veterinary Learning Systems for TechTalk

Integration with Print

• Wired.com for High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Sea: The Race to Save the Cougar Ace

Honorable Mentions:

• Domino Magazine for MyDecoFile.com
• Everything Channel for Channelweb.com Tools for Accelerating Technology Sales
  Channel Campaign
• Meredith Interactive for Parents Cover Model Search
• Sports Illustrated Group for SI Swimsuit 2008

Marketing Campaign

• The Atlantic Group for Think.Again. – The Atlantic Project

Honorable Mentions:

• Condé Nast Digital for Style.com - iPhone Promotion
• Windows IT Pro for Paul Thurrott, News Editor

Micro Site/Custom Website

• New York Media for nymag.com’s “Where’s Rogan” Video Microsite

Honorable Mentions:

• Harvard Business Publishing for Downturn 2008: A Manager’s Survival Guide
• Source Interlink Media for Castrol Syntec “Top Shop Challenge” Campaign

Mobile Application

• Condé Nast Digital for Style.com – iPhone Application

Honorable Mentions:

• InStyle.com for InStyle.com Mobile
• Jobson Medical Information LLC for VMail Extra Mobile
• TheStreet.com/Polar Mobile for TheStreet.com Mobile

New Site

• Consumer: BusinessWeek for Business Exchange • b2b: Hanley Wood Business Media for EcoHome

Honorable Mentions:

• Advanstar Communications for DVM360.com
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for Feed the Pig
• ecomii for www.ecomii.com
• Bon Appétit Magazine for Bonappetit.com
• Gourmet for gourmet.com
• Turner for The Frisky

Podcast or Videocast

• Condé Nast Digital for Style.com’s “CandyCast”

Honorable Mentions:

• Condé Nast Digital for Men.Style.com – “In the Closet”
• Source Media for ABTV on the Radar
• The New Yorker for The Campaign Trail Podcast on newyorker.com

Premium Site

• Penton Media for Nutrition Business Journal

Honorable Mentions:

• Penton Media for WardsAuto.com
• TheStreet.com for Real Money Silver

Redesign Relaunch

• Consumer: The Atlantic Group for TheAtlantic.com • b2b: Penton Media for Chief Marketer Network

Honorable Mentions:

• contractmagazine.com of Nielsen Business Media
• Discover Media LLC for DISCOVERmagazine.com
• Sunset Magazine for Sunset.com
• Women's Health for WomensHealthMag.com

Special Online Coverage

• Scholastic News Online for Countdown to Election 2008

Honorable Mentions:

• InStyle for InStyle.com Grammys 2008
• McGraw-Hill Construction for Record Reveals: Boston
• Sporting News for Sporting News’ 2008 NFL Draft Coverage
• TheStreet.com for On the Brink

Uses of Interactivity

• Bicycling for Bicycling.com • Sporting News for Fantasy Scout

Honorable Mentions:

• Domino Magazine for MyDecoFile.com
• Kiplinger.com for Quizzes
• SmartMoney for SmartMoney Financial Crisis Center

Video: Magazine-Branded Show (Consumer)

• People.com for Who Looked Hot Video Series • This Old House for Family Projects

Honorable Mentions:

• Alpha Media Group for Blender Burner
• GQ.com for GQ Rules: How to Become a Well-Dressed Rebel in 30 Days
• Hearst Magazines for Seventeen.com Voting PSAs
• Vogue.TV for Model.Live

Video: Magazine-Branded Show (B2B)

• TechWeb for Internet Evolution

Honorable Mentions:

• CSP Information Group Inc. for CSPTV NACS Show Coverage
• InformationWeek Business Technology Network for InformationWeek’s Startup City TV

Video: Overall Use of Video

• Entertainment Weekly for EW.com Video

Honorable Mentions:

• Condé Nast Digital for Men.Style.com
• Fortune/Money for CNNMoney.com
• McGraw-Hill Construction for Architectural Record Video Library
• Newsweek for Newsweek.com Video

Virtual Tradeshow or Online Event

• InformationWeek Business Technology Network for InformationWeek 500

Honorable Mentions:

• Forbes.com for Forbes.com Investor iConference: Profiting In Volatile Markets
• InformationWeek Business Technology Network’s bMighty for bMighty bConnected