It has been an incredible year for new media, with new phrases and technology in abundance. If you haven’t heard the terms Web 2.0, AJAX, Ruby on Rails or API, where have you been? The words "hacktavist" and "bouncebackability" and the verb "to Google" have all made it into the pages of the Oxford English Dictionary this June, so, surely, "podcast", "webcast" and "wiki" won’t be long in following.

But it was cabinet ministers who were made suddenly, and painfully aware, of the power of new media. Charles Clarke’s position as Home Secretary was made difficult by the New Statesman’s own blog by political editor Martin Bright. Revelations about John Prescott’s shenanigans made him famously cry: "I think it's called the internet, isn't it, or blogs or something, I've only just got used to letters." But, if Tom Armitage is right, (page 10), the confusion for Prescott is only just beginning. It’s not "new media", Armitage argues, the appropriate terminology should be "next media".

It’s not just individual politicians who are struggling in this new environment: the government and Whitehall collectively are battling to keep up. Luckily for them, Bill Thompson (page 12) has come to the rescue with some helpful suggestions and handy hints, including the creation of a new Lord.

All this, and more, fed into the 2006 New Media Award nominations and the winners (pages 6-9) reflect the theme "the power of ideas", with a plethora of innovation, accessibility and efficiency in evidence.

Which simply leads me to say congratulations to all the winners and to thank everyone who entered this year, making it one of the most enjoyable and difficult judging tasks we’ve had.

Kathryn Corrick
New Media Awards 2006 moderator

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