[fourlittlebees]

I was actually discussing Web awards in general, and included two examples: ONA and the Webbys, but there are certainly a LOT more. There is a great deal of focus on U.S. audiences; how many sites are there that do what Pandora or Hulu does for non-North American audiences? How many awards/recognition programs are there that allegedly cover international audiences and truly do that? It has nothing to do with me speaking only English (which isn't the case, at any rate).

[erickhill]

The TIS Innovation award has an international category. That being said, one challenge in recognizing international sites is simple user awareness. Our award is user-driven. 85% of our users are from the U.S. Thus, most of their submissions reflect that reality.

For other award programs offered by other companies, unless their judges are incredibly diverse, I imagine that their awards are an obvious reflection of themselves and their attendees.

In terms of conferences, I have to say I was blown away at this week's DEMO by the massive international presence there (Taiwan, Israel, France, Italy, India, etc.). Not sure if that's perceived as a strong suit, or a weakness, when compared to TC50.

[fourlittlebees]

Eric, I'd agree, but at the same time, why is the U.S. so unaware of sites in other countries? It can't just be a language barrier, since there are tons of great English-language sites that aren't American. I get the feeling that the U.S. is so wrapped up in itself that the rest of the world is just passing it by.