Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So is butt ugly.
And thus this corollary to the old saw is about to commence cyberspace's harshest season: It's time once again for the Mud Brick Awards, the dubious distinction given to the Web's homeliest home sites.
On March 18 -- notably the very same day the Webby Awards will honor the Web's very best -- Netstudio Corp., a small Berkeley, Calif., Web graphics company, will announce the semifinalists for its 1999 version of what is the Internet's answer to Mr. Blackwell's Worst Dressed awards.
The semifinalists will be unveiled during a live ZDTV Webcast that day.
From now until then, Netstudio will be accepting nominations from the public. The criteria and details for submitting nominations are at the Muddies page of NetStudio's Web site.
This year, the Mud Bricks will be awarded in three different categories: big business, mid-to-small-sized businesses, and government organizations. The entries will be vetted by a panel of 12 judges. (Disclaimer: Among them are commentators John C. Dvorak and Jesse Berst, who represent various magazines, TV shows and Web sites from Ziff-Davis Inc., which publishes ZDNN.)
Last year, Mirabilis Ltd., an Israeli company that was acquired by America Online Inc.and renamed ICQ, came out on top, winning the Mud Brick for a Web site so crammed with information it made one judge "nauseous."
columbiasc.com, a South Carolina Web hub operated by All Net Media, won in the small- to mid-size business category.
Both sites have since been redesigned.
