WASHINGTON: The online dating app Tinder was this year’s “breakout” Internet service while bad-boy news website Vice Media got multiple honors in the “Webby” awards announced on Monday.

The awards, unveiled by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, honoured dozens of websites and online services in categories including entertainment, education, humor and news, in the online equivalent of the Oscars.

The newly released HBO Go service won the Webby for the best streaming media website, while rival Hulu Plus won the “people’s voice” award in that category and another for best video mobile app.

Netflix was also a player in the Webbys — Chelsea Peretti was cited for best comedic performance for her Netflix special and Ellie Kemper and Tituss Burgess got Webbys for best actress and actor, respectively, for roles in the Netflix series “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. “Tinder, the online dating app with over 50 million monthly users — known for allowing users to “swipe” in either direction to show if they like or dislike a potential date — got the “breakout of the year” Webby, which will be presented at a May 18 ceremony.

The awards included those determined by a panel of judges as well as “people’s voice” Webby awards based on voting from some 500,000 Internet fans around the world.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2015

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