NEW YORK — Media personality and technology maven Shefik (https://shefik.info) returns as an Associate Judge for the 26th Annual Webby Awards (https://www.webbyawards.com), where he will serve alongside a panel of esteemed judges. This is the fourth consecutive year that Shefik has been named a judge for the competition.
This year's nominees include Apple TV+, Gucci, HBO Max, Google, NASA, Netflix, Patagonia, Smartless, Square, Twitch, The 1619 Project, David Zwirner's PLATFORM:, and The Washington Post, as well as some of this year's most talked-about personalities, including Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Laverne Cox, Lilly Singh, Megan Thee Stalion, Anthony Anderson, LeVar Burton, Questlove, Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monaé, and Lena Waithe. People's Voice voting is now open, where you can vote for your favorite nominees at https://wbby.co/vote. Voting is open until Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
"The Webby Awards has been honoring the very best in digital innovation and creativity for 26 years," said Claire Graves, President of The Webby Awards. "This year's nominees represent more than innovation. They are the coolest, most creative, most shared, watched, listened to, most breathtaking, moving, and talked about work on the internet. We're so proud to recognize them today."
Nominees are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) of which Shefik is also an official member of the Academy since 2018 (https://www.iadas.net/member/shefik/). Other members include Arlan Hamilton (Founder and Managing Partner, Backstage Capital); comedian and writer Ziwe Fumudoh; writer, director, and actor Quinta Brunson; Felecia Hatcher (CEO, Black Ambition); Sridhar Ramaswamy (Co-Founder and CEO, Neeva); Bob Greenberg (Chairman and CEO, R/GA); Kerstin Emhoff (Co-Founder and CEO, PRETTYBIRD); Dan Pfeiffer (Co-Host, Pod Save America); and Paulo Cunha (President, SeatGeek).
The Webby Awards had another record-breaking year for submissions in 2022 with more than 14,000 entries from 50 states and 70 countries worldwide. From the tens of thousands of global entries submitted, fewer than 12% were selected as nominees. The organizations earning the highest number of nominations this year include Netflix (26), Apple (19), National Geographic (19), HBO (18), CNN (14), Amazon (13), MTV (12), The Washington Post (12), Wondery (10), Spotify (9), Vox Media (8), Amazon Music (7), Meta (7), Electronic Arts (7), and Paramount (7).
Winners will be announced on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, and they will be celebrated at a star-studded in-person award show on Monday, May 16, 2022 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Fans will be able to watch special moments, and hallmark 5-word speeches from all the winners, starting at 7 p.m. ET at https://www.webbyawards.com, and with the hashtag #Webbys on Instagram and Twitter.
"I am once again excited to serve as an Associate Judge for the 26th Annual Webby Awards," says Shefik. "It is continuously amazing to be a part of the Internet's highest honor."
About Shefik
Celebrating over 25 years in the entertainment and technology industries, Shefik (https://shefik.info) is an accomplished industry insider, who has appeared on MTV, SiriusXM, PBS, BET, network television, and in print media, as well as internationally on TRT World (Turkey). He has held senior-level positions at many Fortune 500 companies and celebrated brands, including IBM, NBCUniversal, MTV World, Merck, Merriam-Webster, and Wolters Kluwer. A seasoned pro in social media with a career background as a Lead Architect and Senior Web Developer, Shefik is on the cutting edge of new media. As a videographer and producer, his work has been featured in television broadcasts and video productions for NBC's "3rd Hour of TODAY", TIME magazine, The Washington Center, TV One's "Unsung", and Broadway World. Additionally, his photography has been featured in print and online publications, such as The Independent (United Kingdom), Daily Mail (United Kingdom), Harvard Kennedy School Magazine, Playbill, and China Press, as well as around 100 television and radio outlets owned by Cox Media Group. He is currently the Executive Producer and Host of the nationally syndicated radio show "Shefik presents Invocation" (https://invocation.co), which is broadcast on 23 terrestrial radio stations and frequencies throughout the United States, as well as the internationally syndicated video series of the same name, via Amazon and other notable outlets.
Last Updated: October 11, 2022
