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Built to last: Six sites show that things do get better with age

Cheryl Fuerte
December 10, 2001

Built to last: Six sites show that things do get better with age

'Built to last: Six sites show that things do get better with age' is an article in the 'Post-Philippine Web Awards Supplement' section from the December 10, 2001 issue of ComputerWorld Philippines. This is written by Julie A. Rubio.

ONCE ayear, a multitude of Web designers, developers and ITenthusiasts converge to vie for the country’s most coveted and most glamorous awards for Web site design. OnNovember16, the design wars came to head again with the
staging of the 4” Philippine Web Awards at the Meralco Theater.

Of this year’s 95 finalists, 13 were previous winners. Atthe head of this elite PhilMusic.com, group which has dominated the Music category since the Web Awards were launchedin 1998. This four-time Web awardee was also a repeat
winner in the People’s Choice Awards, bagging the Award for Music thrice, a testament to the site’s popularity. In 1998, Philmusic.com ran away with the PLDT Web Site of the Year, an award given only to the highest-scoring site across all categories.

This year's music category saw both new and familiar faces in contention. Finalists included old standbys TitikPilipino.com, Musiko.com, major-label power-house Sony Music Philippines, and newcomer Immuseek.com

“I walked onthe stage and I couldn’t believe it. I’ve actually won 8 awards for four years, You know, you can’t own a lucky streak that long. Every year, you never knowwhat’s going to happen. It’s always a cliffhanger, and I don’t expect to win everytime. There’s always some big competitor every time anyway. It’s nerve-wracking, actually" said Jim Ayson, Philmusic.com Web master and designer.

Unionbankph.com, for its part, took the 4th Philippine Web Awards bystorm when it bested four othertop financial Websites by winning the Banking and Finance Category award. The site also bagged the People’s Choice Award for Banking and Finance and Yehey’s Most Popular Web Site award.

So, whatgives this site the edge over the competition? “We have a lot of features on our site that make people visit our site: from background informationto enter-tainment,” Unionbankph.com Web master, Steve Crisologo, said.

The People’s Choice for Banking and Finance category and Yehey’s Most Popular WebSite Awards were judged by the number of votes each Web site
garnered from apublic poll held one month before the awarding ceremonies. Unionbankph.com was able to gather enough votes not only to win the Banking and Finance category but also to win the most popular Website across all categories.

Meanwhile, donnacruz.com remains a hot favorite, winning this year’s award for the Celebrities category. The site also won in 1999 and it received the People’s Choice Award in 1998.

The donnacruz.com site went online in 1996, when die-hard DonnaCruz fan Cheryl Fuerte first experimented with the Internet. Fuerte, more popularly known as “Inday” in the Internet community, decided to create a site in honor of her idol, Donna Cruz, little knowing that her labor of love would quickly become one of the greatest local celeb sites. With limited skills, a raw design sense, but with all the new technologies at hand, Fuerte launched “The Donna Cruz Homepage.” The rest, as they say, is history.

“This is our second time to win a Webby and it’s such a great honor to win again. This site has been around for five years. It’s basically the contributions of the have made the site very successful.” Fuerte said.

Cheryl Fuerte

December 10, 2001
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  1. Built to last: Six sites show that things do get

    better with age ByJulie A. Rubio SUPPLEMENT WRITER ONCE a year, a multitude of Web designers, developers and IT enthusiasts convergeto vie for the country’s most coveted and most glamorous awards for Website design. OnNovember16, the design wars cameto head again with the staging ofthe 4” Philippine Web Awardsat the Meralco Theater. Of this year’s 95 finalists, 13 were previous winners. Atthe head of this elite PhilMusic.com, dominated the Music category since the Web Awards were launchedin 1998. This four-time Webawardee was also a repeat winner in the People’s Choice Awards, bagging the Award for Music thrice, a testament to the group which was has site’s popularity. In 1998, Philmusic.com ran away with the PLDT WebSite ofthe Year, an award given only to the hest-scoring site across all categori category saw both new and familiar faces in contention. Finalists included old standbys TitikPilipino.com, Musiko.com, major-label power- houseSony MusicPhilippines,and newcomer Immus' k.com. “T walked onthe stage andI couldn’t believe it. I’ve actually won8 awardsforfour years, You know, you can’townaluckystreak that long. Every year, you never knowwhat’s goingto happen.It’s always acliffhanger, and I don’t expect to win everytime. There’s always somebig competitor every time anyway. It’s nerve-wracking, said Jim Ayson, actuall Philmusic.com Web ma and designer. Unionbankph.com,forits part, took the 4th Philippine Web Awards bystorm whenit bested four othertop financial Websites by winning the Banking and Finance Category award. Thesite also bagged the People’s Choice Award for Banking and Finance and Yehey’s Most Popular Web Site award. So, whatgivesthis site the edge overthe competition? “Wehave a lot of features on our site that make people visit our site: from backgroundinformationto enter- tainment,” Unionbankph.com Web master, Steve Crisologo,said. The People’s Choice for Banking and Finance category and Yehey’s Most Popular WebSite Awards were judged by the number of votes each Website garnered from apublic poll held one month before the awarding ceremonies. Unionbankph.com was able to gather enough votes not only to win the Banking and Finance category but also to win the most popular Website across all categories. Meanwhile, donnacruz.com remains a hot favorite, winning this year’s award for the Celebrities category. Thesite also won in 1999 and itreceived the People’s Choice Award in 1998. The donnacruz.comsite went online in 1996, when die-hard DonnaCruz fan Cheryl Fuertefirst experimented with the Internet. Fuerte, more popularly knownas “Inday”in the Internet community, decidedto createasit her idol, Donna Cruz, little knowing that her labor of love would quickly become oneofthe in honorof greatest local celeb sites. With limited skills, a raw design sense, but with all the newtechnologies at hand, Fuerte launched “The Donna Cruz Homepage.” Therest, as they say,is history. “This is our second timeto win a Webby and it’s such a great honorto win again. This site has been around for five years. It’s basically the contributions of the fans and Donna Cruz herselfthat have made the site very successful.” Fuerte said. This year, Lakbay.Net regained its tith the best Travel Site of the Year, after coming up empty The win wasnottotally unexpected. The site had walked off with the award in 1999 andit wasjust a matteroftime beforeit won again. In lastmonth’s Awards, in fact, Lakbay.Net did 1999 two betterby also winning the People’s Choice Award and the son Mobile Internet Site ofthe Year Award. Lakbay.Net an Internet- based National Travel Reservation System, created by Kalak-bayan Travel Systems Inc., that primarily aimsto provide travelers with accurate Philippine travel information and easy-to-use reservation and payment facilities. Asa subsidiary of Benpres Holdings Corporation, thesite capitalizes onthe strengthsof the Lopez Group to bringits servicesclosertoFilipinos and to Philippine travelors world wide last ye