The newly added “Most Liked .hk Website” award to encourage public engagement
HONG KONG, 20 November 2014 – Building on the success of the “Top10 .hk Website Competition” over the last five years, Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporate Limited (HKIRC) aims to extend its outreach to more online users this year as it rebrands the competition the “Best .hk Website Awards 2014”(the Awards). The Awards, now open for application until 15 January 2015 at 12pm, will promote more outstanding .hk websites in the local Internet community and allows broader scope to recognise as many outstanding .hk websites as deemed appropriate.
According to a report on “How Hong Kong Small Businesses Are Growing in the Digital Economy”, those small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) making use of the Internet are more likely to enjoy better business outcomes and have better growth prospects. In particular, the high digitally engaged SMEs enjoy 2.9 times more business growth compared to those which are less digitalised1. Also, according to the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center (HKCERT), Security incidents in Q3 2014 have climbed 44 per cent compared to the same period last year2. Therefore, it is essential that this Awards helps highlight the latest cyber security concerns to website owners and continue to demonstrate best practice of .hk and .香港 domain names.
1How Hong Kong small businesses are growing in the digital economy, by Ipsos Business Consulting.
2Hong Kong Security Watch Report (Q3 2014), by Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre.
This year, HKIRC introduces the newly added “Most Liked .hk Website” award to encourage public engagement. This award will be given to the .hk website which attains the most votes cast online. Hong Kong people are allowed to cast votes on shortlisted websites. In addition, due to the growing concern with security threats, HKIRC will continue to exercise the initial security screening process created last year with the aim of promoting a safe Internet environment.
“Nowadays, the Internet is an open platform for users to generate and share content. Therefore, having a good website is absolutely necessary for organisations of any scale in any industry. Businesses are also encouraged to embrace technology and leverage their websites for online marketing purposes in order to enhance their competitive edge,” said Mr. Jonathan Shea, CEO of HKIRC, “The newly rebranded Awards has provided a valuable opportunity for businesses, organisations and different parties in both private and public service sectors to gather and share knowledge and experience to establish the best practices of outstanding websites.”
“Moving forward, we hope the Awards will raise the overall standard of .hk websites, strengthening the position of Hong Kong as a regional internet hub.”
Some facts about the Awards:
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Four Awards streams:
- A: Commercial
- 100 employees or more
- Less than 100 employees
- B: Non-commercial
- 100 employees or more
- Less than 100 employees
- C: Government Departments
- D: LegCo Members
- A: Commercial
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Four judging criteria:
30% – Overall design and functionality (e.g. good design and ease of navigation)
30% – Engagement (e.g. online game, etc)
20% – Use of Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc)
20% -Accessibility (e.g.“Web Care” elements, catering for the needs of the disabled, elderly, etc) -
Prizes and entitlements to awardees*:
| Stream | Award | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| A: Commercial | Best .hk Commercial Website Award (with less than 100 employees) (Gold/ Silver/ Bronze) |
Trophies or certificates, and cash HK$5,000 – HK$15,000 |
| Best .hk Commercial Website Award (with 100 or more employees) (Gold/ Silver/ Bronze) |
Trophies or certificates | |
| B: Non-commercial | Best .hk Non-commercial Website Award (with less than 100 employees) (Gold/ Silver/ Bronze) |
Trophies or certificates, and cash HK$5,000 – HK$15,000 |
| Best .hk Non-commercial Website Award (with 100 or more employees) (Gold/ Silver/ Bronze) |
Trophies or certificates, and cash HK$5,000 – HK$15,000 | |
| C: Government Departments | Best .hk Government Website Award (Gold/ Silver/ Bronze) |
Trophies or certificates |
| D: LegCo Members | Best .hk LegCo Members Website Award (Gold/ Silver/ Bronze) |
Trophies or certificates |
*Winners of other relevant awards such as “The Most Honorable Award”, “Most Liked .hk Website Award”, “The Best Nominator Award” will receive trophies only. Number of awards of all 4 streams to be confirmed.
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Winners will also be entitled to display the official logo of the Best .hk Website Awards in their promotional materials, participate in various promotional campaigns to publicise their achievements and have an opportunity to participate in sharing, networking and speaking engagements at events.
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Application period starts today through to 12:00pm on 15 January 2015. Shortlisted websites will be open for public voting from 4 February to 24 February 2015. Results will be announced during 31 March – 1 April 2015 and the awards presentation ceremony will be held tentatively on 22 April 2015.
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Interested parties can simply apply through www.bestwebsite.hk. (All submitted information should be in typewriting in English or Chinese)
Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited (HKIRC) is a non-profit-distributing, non-statutory company limited by guarantee designated by the Government of the HKSAR to undertake the administration of Internet domain names under the .hk and .香港 country code top level domain. HKIRC provides registration services for English domain names ending with .com.hk, .org.hk, .net.hk, .edu.hk, .gov.hk, .idv.hk, .hk and Chinese domain names ending with .公司.香港, .組織.香港, .網絡.香港, .教育.香港, .政府.香港, .個人.香港, .香港, and other domains to be introduced from time to time in Hong Kong.
Media Contacts:
HKIRC
Dorothy Chow / Carmen Ip
Tel : 2319 3883 / 2319 3828
Fax : 2319 2626
Email : marketing@hkirc.hk
LEWIS PR
Cheris Lee
Tel : 3944 5015
Fax : 3944 5001
Email : cheris.lee@lewispr.com