Presenting.... The 1997 Best of the Web!

Since the time voting started in January, over 10,000 unique sites were nominated in the 1997 Best of the Web competition. The top five sites in each category were presented for open voting during December. Below are the sites that were voted the Best of the Web!

Best Commercial Site

Exemplifies the use of the Web to sell products or increase a company's visibility.

Sony (33%)

Honorable Mentions:
Amazon.com (31%)
Pepsi (21%)

Best News Site

The best source for news on-line.

CNN (40%)

Honorable Mentions:
MSNBC (24%)
USA Today (17%)

Best Entertainment Site

The best site relating to the entertainment industry.

E! Online (38%)

Honorable Mentions:
Spawn (22%)
MTV (18%)

Best Sports Site

The best sports-related site.

ESPN Sportszone (47%)

Honorable Mentions:
NFL (23%)
NASCAR (14%)

Best Professional Site

Valuable sites to professionals in some field.

The Car Connection (40%)

Honorable Mentions:
MacIntouch (13%)
Epicurus (9%)

Best Personal Homepage

PhotoALF Gallery (35%)

Honorable Mentions:
Raven's Nest (22%)
Wasson's Web Wonderland (20%)

Best School/University Site

A site that makes the school easier to use for students, and more attractive to the rest of us.

M.I.T. (33%)

Honorable Mentions:
University of Southern California (27%)
University of Texas (25%)

Best Educational Site

The most informative on the Web... this does not have to be school or university; it can be any information resource.

National Geographic (56%)

Honorable Mentions:
The Computer Museum Network (17%)
The WholeFamily Site (13%)

Best Navigation Aid

The search engine, a meta index, or other tool that best helps users navigate the Web.

Yahoo (55%)

Honorable Mentions:
AltaVista (17%)
Excite (12%)

Most Entertaining Site

Not to be confused with "Best Entertainment Site." The site that is the most fun.

Bingozone (49%)

Honorable Mentions:
The Bartenders Joke of the Day (24%)
Comedy Central (16%)

Most Important Concept

An idea that breaks new ground on the Web.

Hotmail (37%)

Honorable Mentions:
MapQuest (23%)
iPrint (20%)

Best Community Site

The best site that exists to serve a local community.

RuralVermont.com (35%)

Honorable Mentions:
Polish Community of Victoria (22%)
KansasCity.com (22%)

Best Government Site

The best site by a governmental agency.

NASA (46%)

Honorable Mentions:
FBI (21%)
The White House (17%)