Thousands of Votes Cast on Webware.com for the Hottest Web 2.0 Sites, Services

and Applications

http://www.webware.com/100

            SAN FRANCISCO, May 19 - CNET (http://www.cnet.com/), where people go to discover the latest in technology and consumer electronics information, today announced the winners of its third annual 2009 Webware 100 Awards.  Winners were selected by the Webware community in an online voting poll that drew more than 630,000 votes.  The 2009 Webware 100 Awards recognize the best Web 2.0 sites, services, and applications that are leading the next wave of innovations.

          "This is the year that people have truly embraced Web 2.0 sites, services, and applications as a medium to communicate and collaborate," said Rafe Needleman, editor of CNET Webware.com.  "We've seen more people use services like Google Docs, Facebook, and Twitter, and believe the 2009 Webware 100 Awards will become a valuable resource for those who want to learn more about Web 2.0.  Leveraging the expertise of our editors and the passion of our users, this annual list recognizes those companies and organizations who are committed to creating innovative experiences and tools on the Web."

           Thousands of entries were received for this year's awards, and finalists were selected by the Webware editors.  The Web 2.0 community selected 10 winners each in ten different categories.  The 2009 Webware 100 winners are: 

Audio & Music:  Amazon MP3, Grooveshark, iTunes, Jamendo, JamLegend, Lala, Last.fm, Nexus Radio, Pandora, and Project Playlist

Browsing:  Diigo, Firefox, Flock, Google Chrome, iGoogle, Internet Explorer 8, Maxthon, Opera, Safari, and XMarks

Commerce:  Amazon, Craigslist, Etsy, Elance, Eventbrite, PayPal, Woot, Zillow, ZipRealty, and ZocDoc,

Communications:  Digsby, Dimdim, Gmail, Hotmail, Pidgin, RingCentral, Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Postbox, and Yahoo Messenger

Infrastructure & Storage:  Adobe Air, BitTorrent, Carbonite, DropBox, Dropio, Facebook Connect, Mozy, OpenID, Windows Live SkyDrive, and YouSendIt

Location-based services:  Goog411, Google Earth, Google Maps, FlightStats, Live Search Maps, OpenTable, PolicyMap, TripIt, Topix, and Yelp

Photo & Video:  Amazon Video on Demand, Flickr, Hulu, Justin.tv, Picasa Web Albums, Picnik, Photobucket, Ustream, Vimeo, and YouTube

Productivity:  FreshBooks, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Intuit QuickBase, LogMeIn, Microsoft Office Live Small Business, Microsoft Office Live Workspace, Mint, Remember the Milk, and Zoho

Search & Reference:  About.com, Answers.com, Ask.com, eHow, Google, Live Search, Scour, WikiHow, Wikipedia, and Yahoo,

Social & Publishing:  Bebo, Drupal, Facebook, Gaia Online, Hi5, Meebo, MySpace, StarDoll, Twitter, and Wordpress.com (with Wordpress platform)

Also, winners of the 2009 Webware 100 Editors' Choice were announced today.  This new category recognizes noteworthy achievements, technology, and upcoming applications.  The 2009 Editors' Choice Winners are:

Best Exit:  Farecast

Best Newcomer:  GoodGuide

Best Twitter Rip-off:  Presently

Failure to Launch Award:  Cuil and Mobile.Me (tie)

Lookout Google Award:  Twitter Search

Most important technology:  OAuth

Oncoming train award:  Google Voice

Rafe's Trust me on this award:  Windows Live Sync and Evernote (tie)

Start-up's Friend Award:  Amazon Web Services

Technical Achievement:  Aviary

To view all the winners and finalists, go to:  http://www.webware.com/100.

About CNET

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